The study – produced by the Business and Economic Research Center at the Middle Tennessee State University and sponsored by the Center for Nonprofit Management – is the first local assessment of the sector’s contribution, and shows that Nashville’s nonprofits are vibrant and economically powerful, bringing significant dollars to the region.
“In addition to the vital services performed by nonprofit agencies, they also have a major positive impact on the Nashville economy,” said Lewis Lavine, president of CNM. “We now learn that 15 percent of our economy’s revenues and jobs are a result of their activity.”
The nonprofit sector has a strong export base, attracting $2.8 billion from sources outside the Nashville MSA, or one in every three nonprofit dollars. The $20.9 billion in business revenue that was contributed to the MSA in 2011 from the nonprofit sector accounts for nearly 15 percent of revenue in the area. The sector employed 151,734 people in 2011, or 15.3 percent of total employment in the Nashville MSA.
Volunteerism also had a large impact. One in every three individuals over age 16 has volunteered with at least one nonprofit, generating 8,147 full-time equivalency work hours and $1.01 billion in economic activities.
Overall, Nashville ranks third in terms of the strength of the nonprofit sector among 10 peer MSAs, including: Birmingham, Ala.; Charlotte, N.C.; Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis; Jacksonville, Fla.; Kansas City, Mo.; Louisville, Ky.; Raleigh, N.C. and Richmond, Va.
The study used a number of data sources and surveyed a sample of 2,045 nonprofits, omitting churches and agencies with revenue of less than $25,000 in 2011.
About Center for Nonprofit Management: For 26 years, the Center for Nonprofit Management has been the Middle Tennessee leader in enhancing the nonprofit sector. CNM provides education, consulting, evaluation and recognition for nonprofit leaders, board members and staff. It was created in 1986 by the Frist Foundation and the United Way of Metropolitan Nashville to improve the skills of nonprofit executives in Middle Tennessee