URBAN INSTITUTE Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy

National Study of Nonprofit-

MASSACHUSETTS Government Contracting

Survey Results (2009 Data)

NONPROFIT-GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS AND GRANTS: OVERVIEW

Human Service Nonprofits 2009 Government Contracting Experience
with Government Contracts/Grantsa Compared to Prior Years
Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .932
Better, 14%
Worse, 26%
Types of Nonprofits with Government
Contracts/Grants
Crime and legal-related . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2%
Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5%
Food, agriculture, and nutrition . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1%
Housing and shelter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25%
Public safety and disaster relief . . . . . . . . . . . .< 1% About the same, 60%
Youth development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3%
Human service: multipurpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56% Number of Government Contracts/Grants
Community and economic development . . . . . . 7% per Nonprofit
Total contracts/grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100% 1 government contract/grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23%
2–4 government contracts/grants . . . . . . . . . . . . 44%
Nonprofits with Government 5 or more government contracts/grants . . . . . . . .33%
Contracts/Grants, by Level
Local government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56% Total Nonprofit Government
State government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77% Contracts/Grants, by Level
Federal government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74% Local government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4%
State government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75%
Federal government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21%
CONTRACTING PROBLEMS
State Rankingb:
Key Problems Reported for Government Contracts Small and Big Problems

Payments do not cover full 36% 39

21%
cost of contracted services 42%

Complexity of/time required for 20% 42

49%
reporting on grants/contracts 31%

26% 31
Complexity of/time required
49%
by application process 26%

Government changes to 16% 36

32%
contracts/grants 51%

14% 39
Late payments (beyond
25%
contract specifications) 61% 1 = highest percentage of
nonprofits with problems;
Not a problem Small problem Big problem 51 = lowest percentage of
nonprofits with problems

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 CONTRACTING PROBLEMS (CONT’D) RECESSION

Nonprofits with Late Payments Nonprofits with Deficits, by Expenditure

from Government Size
Massachusetts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26%
Nationwide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41% 82%

Most Common Past Due Period for Government

54%
Contract/Grant Payments, by Level 47% 48%
43% 40% 42%
Local government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .n.r.
State government . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 days
19%
Federal government . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 days or more

CONTRACT LIMITATIONS
$100,000– $250,000– $1 million or Overall
Nonprofits Reporting Contract $249,999 $999,999 more
Limitations, by Type Massachusetts Nationwide
Require matching or sharing costs. . . . . . . . . . .44%
Limit program administrative/overhead. . . . . . .54%
Limit organization administrative/overhead . . .45% Massachusetts Nonprofits Experiencing
Declines in Revenue
Local government agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52%
ACCOUNTABILITY AND REPORTING
State government agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67%
Nonprofits That Report Outcomes or Federal government agencies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27%
Give Feedback to the Government Individual donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41%
Report results/outcomes of programs . . . . . . . . 88% Private foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47%
Give feedback on contracting procedures . . . . .64% Corporate donations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47%
Investment income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83%

Actions Taken by Human Service Nonprofits in 2009

49%
Freeze or reduce employee salaries
50%

Draw on reserves 35%

39%

35%
Reduce number of employees
38%

21%
Reduce health, retirement, or other staff benefits
23%

Borrow funds or increase lines of credit 14%

22%

28% Massachusetts
Reduce number of programs or services
21% Nationwide

Source: The Urban Institute National Survey of Nonprofit-Government Contracting and Grants, 2010.
Notes: Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding. Full report available at http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412159.
a. Number is based on a selected group of direct human service providers with budgets greater than $100,000.
b. See appendix for more details on state rankings.
n.r. Data not reported or too few respondents answered the question.

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