Local nonprofits had a $1.4 billion impact on the economy in 2022, according to a recently released study from the Human Services Chamber of Hamilton County . Here's what to know.
Why was the study done?
The most recent Cincinnati Futures Commission report did not include the nonprofit sector, so Mike Moroski, executive director of the Human Services Chamber, wanted to show its impact.
The Human Services Chamber is an organization that represents over 90 human services groups in Hamilton County, with the mission of developing and advocating for public policies that provide opportunities for all community members to reach their full potential, according to its website .
"I think people take us seriously for the work we do, but I don't know if we're always taken quite as seriously for the impact we have on the economy," Moroski said.
Moroski said he wants people to recognize that the nonprofits in the region are an industry, a business and one of the largest employers in the region.
Who did the study?
This was the first study of its kind in the area. The Human Services Chamber worked with the Alpaugh Family Economics Center at the University of Cincinnati to study the economic and fiscal impacts of themselves, the Leadership Council for Nonprofits , and OneSource Center for Nonprofit Excellence .
Interact for Health and the Greater Cincinnati Foundation helped partially fund the study, with the rest being funded by the Human Services Chamber.
What did the study show?
The Human Services Chamber of Hamilton County, Leadership Council for Nonprofits, and OneSourceCenter for Nonprofit Excellence used the Alpaugh Family Economics Center to study their economic and fiscal impacts. This was done by collecting information from the nonprofits' tax filings, unemployment insurance data, and a database of 312 nonprofit organizations in the area.
A total economic impact is the sum of direct and indirect impacts. For this study, direct impacts included expenditures, jobs and wages. Indirect impacts included additional impact due to demand, income, jobs in other industries, or connections to other industries, according to the study.
The study found that nonprofits directly employed 24,003 people in the area in 2022, with these individuals earning wages totaling $751.4 million. The wages are spent and taxed, which contributes to the economy.
"Nonprofits here in Greater Cincinnati work not only to fulfill their mission and serve their stakeholders, but they are generating a substantial amount of economic activity and supporting jobs and wages," Brad Evans, director of research at the economics center, said.
The wages supported by the nonprofit organizations included in the study generated a total of $55 million in earnings tax revenue for state and local jurisdictions in 2022, and the spending of the wages resulted in about $32.1 million in sales tax revenue for state and county governments.
The study found that in 2022 nonprofits in the Cincinnati area had a direct economic output of $1.4 billion and an additional indirect economic output of $1.5 billion, through which 17,020 additional individuals were employed.
This gives the 312 nonprofits studied a total of $2.9 billion in economic output, 41,023 jobs, and $1.3 billion in wages.
Why does this matter?
The study is important because it shows the direct and indirect impact that the nonprofit business sector is making, Moroski said.
In the appendix of the report, he said, local residents will recognize many of the agencies listed, but might have had no idea that they are making a billion dollar impact.
"We're called nonprofit but the only thing that separates us from Procter and Gamble is the fiduciary relationship between the board and the ED (executive director) and that people can get tax write offs for donating to us," Moroski said.
The full report can be found here.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Cincinnati area nonprofits contribute $1.4 billion in direct economic output
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