For Nonprofits, Demand Is Up While Cash Is Low

A new survey revealed that the demand for nonprofit services is very high, but that many of these organizations simply don't have enough cash on hand to meet the needs of the people.

More than 4,500 nonprofits gave responses to the State of the Nonprofit Survey, as reported by The Huffington Post. The survey indicated that while nonprofits expect to see an 88 percent increase in demand for services in 2012, 57 percent only have enough cash on hand for three months or less.

While there are a number of reasons for this, the main issue is a decrease in government funding. The economic troubles the country endured has lead to cuts at the state and federal level, which have often targeted nonprofit funding.

The Huffington Post reported that one nonprofit that is experiencing these troubles is Worcester, Mass.-based Abby's House, which provides shelter and other support to homeless women and children. The length  of stay has increased from 11 nights to 33 in the past year, and the charity has been scrambling to come up with solutions to house the individuals that need shelter.

You can read the full story in The Huffington Post. If you want even more reading on this topic, check out our recently published column about how much cash nonprofits should keep in reserve.