Indiana Nonprofits: Scope and Community Dimensions


A Joint Project of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Project Director: Kirsten Grønbjerg

Purpose: This multi-year, multi-phase collaborative project is designed to provide solid, baseline information about the Indiana nonprofit sector, its composition and structure, its contributions to Indiana, the challenges it is facing, and how these features vary across Indiana communities. We seek to help community leaders enhance their abilities to develop effective and collaborative solutions to community needs and to inform public policy decisions. We do so through a broad scope of research activities and dissemination efforts. Please follow links on the left for more information about the project.

Recently Completed:

  • Our most recent analysis of Indiana Nonprofit Employment: 2007 Report, updates our statewide analysis of the economic impact of the Indiana nonprofit sector through 2005. The report includes regional analyses for the state's fourteen Metropolitan Statistical Areas and eleven Economic Growth Regions.
  • We have completed an update of our comprehensive database of Indiana nonprofits. It is available in a web-based searchable format in collaboration with the Indiana Business Research Center.
  • Our first report on Nonprofit Capacity Assessment designed to help Indiana grantmakers develop grant opportunities that effectively meet the needs of Indiana nonprofits for capacity building and technical assistance. The survey was conducted in collaboration with the Indiana Grantmakers Alliance and Lumina Foundation for Education.

In Process:

  • Phase II in our survey of Nonprofit Capacity Assessment focuses on grant applicants to the Indiana Arts Commission. Subsequent phases will include respondents to our 2002 Indiana nonprofit survey.
  • Updates of our analysis of Indiana Nonprofit Employment through 2006, with new historical analysis back to 1989. Expected completion: late fall, 2008.

Previously Completed Work:

  • Full set of statewide reports based on our 2002 Indiana Nonprofit Survey. This includes analyses of Indiana's faith-based nonprofits, membership organizations, how the state's nonprofits relate to other organizations, manage their financial and human resources, are impacted by community and policy changes, and what their comprehensive profile is.
  • A full set of community profiles of nonprofits in twelve selected communities across the state based on expanded samples from our 2002 Indiana Nonprofit Survey and analyses of our comprehensive nonprofit database (as originally developed in 2002). For some communities we have also completed separate reports based on our analysis of nonprofit employment in Indiana.
  • A series of reports presenting a comprehensive analyses of nonprofit employment in Indiana and selected economic regions in the state. Will be updated regularly.
  • Other research results, including maps of Indiana nonprofits, results from our personal affiliation survey, and abstracts of conference presentations and journal articles.

  • Home | Citing and Terms of Use | Restricted Access
    Last Updated: May 2, 2008