The indices presented here for these 5 important contributed revenue sources reflect only the gifts made in the current year for use in the current year. The combined level of expenses supported by these five sources is quite different from sector to sector, ranging from 15% (PACs) to 37% (Music). No sector was similar to another in terms of distribution of support across funding sources.
Small and Medium organizations tend to cover more than half of expenses with contributed revenue but it’s not the same case for Large organizations where less than half of the expenses are covered by unrestricted contributed revenue. : 64.2% for Small organizations, 57.9% for Medium and 46.1% for Large (not shown in chart; see the Unrestricted Contributions Index). However, the larger the organization: 1) the more diverse its portfolio of contributed revenue; 2) the less reliant it is on cash contributions from these five sources given in the current year for the current year’s activities; and 3) the better able it is to do multi-year planning and attract funding now for future projects.
Large organizations cover 22% of expenses with contributions made this year for this year’s projects and another 19% with net assets released from restriction (NARR) – i.e., gifts made in a prior year for this year’s projects. By contrast, Small organizations cover 47% of expenses with current year gifts and 3% with NARR while Medium organizations support 36% of expenses with current year gifts and 12% with NARR. The remainder of funding for all size organizations comes from in-kind giving, tribal contributions, fundraising events, united arts funds, and parent organizations. Our index figures under-represent the bigger picture of support from trustees, individuals, corporations, foundations, and government that includes not only gifts made this year for use this year, but also gifts made in a prior year for use this year, and gifts of materials, services and facilities.
The indices presented here for these 5 important contributed revenue sources reflect only the gifts made in the current year for use in the current year. The combined level of expenses supported by these five sources is quite different from market to market, ranging from a low of 21% in New York to a high of 29% in Large Markets.