Reporting

In summer 2023, West Marin Fund conducted an online survey of thirty-eight West Marin nonprofits. The ongoing purpose (over a period up to 10 years) is to provide information to West Marin nonprofits on how they are collectively faring, help funders and policymakers provide nonprofits with bestpossible support, identify organizational trends, and address distinct topics in alternating years (e.g., programs/services in odd years, financials in even years) The following results were compiled and analyzed by a local nonprofit consulting firm, J. Solomon Consulting. Key Findings Challenges Organizations reported many challenges in West Marin to be intractable; e.g., 82% reported decent, affordable housing for all to be very challenging or not achievable in the next 10 years. Emergency response 70% of organizations responded to at least 1 emergency in 2022, most commonly COVID. Services Organizations collectively offer a wide range of major services, the most common of which is educational services, followed by civic engagement and youth development. Staffing From 2022 to 2023, organizations increased their hiring notably: the overall number of nonprofit employees increased by 15% and the overall number of contractors increased by 30%. In 2022, over 2,000 volunteers provided services with an estimated value of nearly $2m. DEIJ…

In summer 2022, West Marin Fund conducted an online survey of thirty-nine West Marin nonprofits. The purpose of the survey was to provide information to nonprofits serving West Marin on how they are collectively faring, help funders and policymakers provide nonprofits with the best support and resources possible, and to identify organizational trends over multiple years. The following results were compiled and analyzed by a local nonprofit consulting firm, Mission Met. Key Findings Financials As a whole, the nonprofits maintained financial stability through the pandemic. The net income of survey respondents grew by 23% in both 2020 and 2021. Emergency government funding was crucial to the survival of many nonprofits. 78% of respondents maintained their reserve or endowment with a median of six months. Over 50% of the nonprofits would like assistance with finding County of Marin funding opportunities. Staff, Board, and Volunteers Staffing rates increased by 17% in 2021 compared to 2020. The rate of loss of volunteers due to Covid has slowed, but nonprofits were still losing volunteers in2021. In total, just over $500,000 in salary equivalent was lost in 2021 due to the departing volunteers. Programs and Services COVID-19 had a mixed impact on programs and services…

In summer 2021, West Marin Fund conducted an online survey of thirty-seven West Marin nonprofits. The purpose of the survey was to acquire information to help funders and policymakers provide West Marin’s nonprofits with the best support and resources possible. The survey will be repeated annually for the next several years. The following results were compiled and analyzed by a local nonprofit consulting firm, Mission Met. Key Findings Mixed Nonprofit Results in 2020 Financially, on balance, the nonprofits ended the year stronger than 2019. The wildfires and Covid pandemic negatively impacted the programming of many nonprofits—though many increased their emergency response services. The West Marin nonprofit sector saw significant growth in focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. 89% of respondents are addressing DEI issues in their own organizations. Staff and board member numbers dropped slightly; the number of volunteers dropped by 25%. A Virtual Pivot Not surprisingly, nonprofits were forced to adapt their services in a virtual world. Program delivery, board meetings, and fundraising were significantly shifted online. Volunteer Impact Due primarily to Covid, the nonprofits lost roughly $2.5M in in-kind volunteer services due to a 25% reduction in volunteers. Metrics Monitoring and evaluation are weak in 75% of…

In August 2020, the West Marin Fund conducted an online survey of fifty West Marin nonprofits. The following results were compiled and analyzed by a local nonprofit consulting firm, Mission Met. Key Findings Workforce The total workforce (employees and volunteers) of West Marin nonprofits dropped by 33% during the first half of 2020.  Programs 96% of the survey respondents either cut at least one program, canceled at least one program or event, reconfigured a program or event, or closed a facility. Over 50% of the respondents reported a decrease in effectiveness and impact.  Smallest Nonprofits West Marin’s smallest nonprofits are being disproportionately impacted by COVID compared to larger nonprofits. Biggest Challenges Moving forward, the two biggest challenges that these nonprofits are facing in response to COVID are adapting programs and raising funds.  PPP Funding from the federal Paycheck Protection Program was acquired by 54% of the qualifying nonprofits, helping to defer COVID’s impact. Moving forward In an analysis of short answer questions, fundraising and programming are viewed as both the biggest challenge and opportunity. Download Summary Download Complete Report View all nonprofit survey results ➝