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Collaborative Research Projects
Though the bulk of our research projects are conducted in-house, we occasionally participate in collaborative research projects with organizations like the American Symphony Orchestra League, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Dance/USA and Opera America.
Performing Arts Research Coalition (PARC)
TCG completed a three-year collaborative research project with four national service organizations-American Symphony Orchestra League, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Dance/USA and Opera America-that was funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. Working with the Urban Institute, the PARC group improved the way performing arts members in 10 site cities collected and analyzed data on their sector so that they can offer a more unified and factually based voice on issues of common concern. The collaborative process and the standardized survey models will remain in place and may be replicated in other cities. PARC also sought to develop a common set of financial and administrative questions for the national service organizations to ask their members in their respective annual fiscal surveys. Using these data for fiscal year 2001 and 2002, PARC produced a report that includes the country's leading performing arts organizations, as well as hundreds of smaller professional organizations.
Audiences prefer the performing arts over sports?
PARC's first landmark study of five cities measures not only attendance, but also the value placed on the performing arts by attendees and non-attendees alike. The study reveals that audiences for the performing arts are large and diverse and support for the performing arts is broad, with far-reaching cultural, social and educational implications. In 2002, more survey respondents attended a performing arts event at least once - more than respondents who attended a sporting event in the same time period. Attendance at arts events was perceived by attendees and nonattendees alike to be of significant value to communities, and especially important to the development and education of children.
Age not a factor in arts attendance?
While some have suggested that older attendees dominate arts audiences, research from the second PARC study indicates a weak relationship between age and attendance levels.
In June 2004, PARC published a summary report comparing and synthesizing the results of its previous two studies.
PARC also published its report based on the financial and administrative data compiled from its surveys of 1,469 performing arts organizations.
The Nonprofit Listening Post Project
Organized by Johns Hopkins University, the project involves over 1,000 not-for-profit organizations from various fields including social services, health, environment, community and economic development and arts and culture (represented by members of TCG and the American Association of Museums). These organizations serve as "listening posts" on the major developments in the nonprofit field. Periodic surveys will be administered covering a variety of topics including indicators of financial health, partnering, governance, human capital development, technology, etc., with regular "soundings" of findings that will be disseminated over the next five years.
First Sounding: Government Budget Cuts Put Squeeze on Nonprofit Sector
With the first sounding, 63 percent of the respondents rated recent local, state and federal government budget cuts as a "very significant challenge." According to the survey, these budget strains come on top of pressures resulting from the national economic downturn, which has constrained private charitable giving.
Second Sounding: Stressed but Coping: Nonprofit Organizations and the Current Fiscal Crisis
The second sounding revealed that 90 percent of nonprofit organizations surveyed experienced significant fiscal stress during 2003, but also found that 64 percent of these organizations boosted their revenues in the face of often-difficult economic pressures and expanded their activities. The authors state that "what this survey shows is that American nonprofits have become, in many cases, highly entrepreneurial organizations, responding actively and creatively to new fiscal pressures. At the same time, however, the survey also makes clear that these pressures are exacting a toll."
Third Sounding: The Health Benefits Squeeze: Implications for Nonprofit Organizations and Those They Serve
Looking at a nationwide sample of over 250 not-for-profits, the survey revealed that not-for-profit organizations are being especially hard hit by escalating health benefit costs. With not-for-profit employees making less than private sector workers, health benefits are one of the most important attractions of not-for-profit employment. A striking 93 percent of sampled organizations reported providing health insurance coverage for their employees and nearly two thirds of these organizations reported health benefit cost increases of 11 percent or more over the past year, well above the reported increases for all firms. Determined to avoid negative impacts on those they serve and unable to raise additional funds, more than 60 percent of organizations reported being forced to shift more costs onto their employees, while others eliminated raises or reduced other employee benefits.
Fourth Sounding: Nonprofit Governance and Accountability
This report offers the first up-to-date information on the actual governance and accountability practices of U.S. not-for-profit organizations. More than 600 not-for-profit organizations in the United States were surveyed for the report (including over 100 TCG members), which reveals that the overwhelming majority of the organizations responding have boards of directors that are already significantly involved in the key oversight functions that not-for-profit boards are expected to perform.
Fifth Sounding: Investment Capital: The New Challenge for American Nonprofits
For its fifth sounding, the Listening Post Project surveyed 600 not-for-profit organizations nationwide (with 49 percent responding) to learn about the capital needs of these organizations and the ease or difficulty they face in meeting these needs. In a 14-page report detailing the results of the survey, it is shown that these organizations have significant investment capital needs, but that despite these needs, many not-for-profits have limited knowledge of major capital resources such as insurance companies and pensions funds, and those that do have knowledge report substantial difficulty in accessing them. For example, 91 percent of participating organizations reported needing capital support for technology (the area of greatest need, according to the survey), but only 37 percent of these organizations reported success in raising the needed capital. Download the report for detailed survey results with conclusions and recommendations.
Sixth Sounding: Nonprofit Fiscal Trends and Challenges
Survey results from the sixth sounding show that despite continuing fiscal challenges, the percentage of not-for-profits reporting severe fiscal stress fell between 2003 and 2006. Reflecting this, a substantial majority—76 percent—of not-for-profit organizations in all fields, and of all sizes, reported generally successful financial performance during 2006. The study follows up on similar surveys of not-for-profit fiscal trends and challenges conducted in 2003 that provided the data for the second sounding report, "Stressed but Coping: Nonprofit Organizations and the Current Fiscal Crisis."
Seventh Sounding: Report on the Nonprofit Investment Capital Roundtable
In order to explore the problem of not-for-profit access to investment capital (which was the subject of its fifth sounding) in greater depth, the Listening Post Project held a Roundtable session on February 28, 2007. Roundtable participants sought to gain insights from not-for-profit practitioners, investment capital providers and other experts, and determine what changes, if any, might be needed. The seventh sounding report summarizes the major findings that emerged from this provocative session.
Eighth Sounding: The Nonprofit Workforce Crisis: Real or Imagined?
In the face of concerns about a workforce crisis in the not-for-profit sector, survey results from the eighth sounding indicate that not-for-profits have been surprisingly successful in recruiting professional and support staff despite significant challenges. Nearly 85 percent of organizations reported recruiting for such positions in the preceding year, and well over 80 percent of these reported satisfaction with the qualifications and commitment of the candidates they attracted. In addition, a substantial majority also indicated satisfaction with the salary requirements of their recruits.