Funded by The Philadelphia Foundation, a report was recently released that examines the financial stability of nonprofits across the five-county region.

In its findings, The Financial Health of Philadelphia-Area Nonprofits estimates that fewer than 40% of regional nonprofits are fiscally-strong, leaving the rest to be at-risk of instability or financial distress. The report lays out possible steps nonprofits should take to stay out of the red and prosper for the good of their communities.

Written by Oliver Wyman, SeaChange Capital Partners, and GuideStar, the report also points out the lessons nonprofit governing boards could learn from the for-profit sector, as based on a study in 2016 that surveyed New York nonprofits, and healthy risk management practices.

Some include:

• Consider financial risks, hypothetical losses, and plan accordingly for each scenario
• Recruit board members that are engaged, well-versed in the funding landscape, and diverse in backgrounds
• Conduct environment scans annually, and assess the benefits of staying afloat through organizational partnerships or redesigns

During a panel discussion hosted by The Philadelphia Foundation and centered on the study, David Griffith, executive director of ECS, shared another practice: Collaboration.

As posted by Generocity in an article that covered the panel, Griffith—who was a senior executive in the corporate setting for nearly 40 years before joining ECS—shared his belief that nonprofits “compete way more than we should, and there is great wisdom in us forming partnerships and collaborations.”

Click here to find the full report.