FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Nonprofit Network (KNN), the state association of nonprofits, released an updated “More Than Charity” report on Jan. 28, 2020 at its annual Kentucky Nonprofit Day at the Capitol. Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman was on hand for the announcement, highlighting that in addition to its impact on the quality of life in Kentucky communities, the sector is also a powerful economic engine and a major employer. Significant findings include:
- The sector continues to grow – there are 20,467 registered tax-exempt organizations in Kentucky as of November 2019.
- The charitable nonprofit sector ranks fourth in private sector employers with 154,213 jobs at charitable nonprofits.
- One in 10 Kentuckians worked at a charitable nonprofit, 9.8% of the state’s private industry workforce.
- Charitable nonprofit wages exceeded $7.5 billion in 2017.
- Charitable nonprofits had expenditures exceeding $24 billion – pumping those dollars into the economies of Kentucky communities.
- The charitable sector outpaces employment growth in other private industries by 3.6%.
- Wages paid to employees of the charitable nonprofit sector were 9.6% higher than wages in other private industries, with the sector accounting for 10.6% of private industry wages.
- The majority of charitable 501 (c)(3) nonprofits in Kentucky are relatively small – 75% of Kentucky’s charitable nonprofits have annual operating budgets of less than $500,000 and 83% have annual budgets of less than $1,000,000.
“Nonprofits play a vital role in meeting needs in Kentucky communities and they are certainly important to creating a quality of life in communities that encourage businesses to locate in the Commonwealth. And this report illustrates that nonprofits are also more than charity – they are major employers of tax-paying Kentuckians, they are an increasing employer of choice and expenditures of nonprofits are putting needed dollars into the economies of Kentucky communities,” said Danielle Clore, CEO of KNN.
Lt. Governor Coleman added, “Kentucky nonprofits do incredible work and help support state government efforts in a wide variety of fields. We are delighted that the Kentucky Center for Statistics, better known as KYStats, was able to partner with KNN to help gather data that reinforces the broader impact these organizations have as an economic engine and job creator in the Commonwealth.”
All information contained in the report, including data for each of Kentucky’s 10 local workforce areas is available at https://www.kynonprofits.org/advocate/morethancharity.
The Kentucky Center for Statistics was KNN’s data partner in compiling the report, utilizing state and national data sources. The report was funded with support from Aetna and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky.
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