Non-profits report widespread volunteer loss, increased spending

Arizona Gives, a program run by the Alliance of Arizona NonProfits and Arizona Grantmakers, has helped raise more than 23 million dollars for the state’s non-profit sector. We checked in with the Alliance’s Jennifer Purcell to see how Arizona non-profits are faring in this stage of the pandemic.

Arizona Gives Day, held this year on April 6, has been around since 2013. In 2020, Arizona Gives raised $6.1 million. In part due to the pandemic, Arizona Gives saw a 40% increase in donations. This year, they hope to do the same, if not more.

Like many areas, the pandemic has negatively affected the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits rely heavily on volunteers. According to Purcell, 78% of nonprofits reported some kind of volunteer loss, which equated to over 73,000 volunteers lost.

The pandemic also increased the amount of money spent. Nonprofits had to invest in technology to do things in a safe manner. They also had to spend money to purchases PPE. According to Purcell, nonprofits expenses increased by a total of 15 million dollars.

Especially in the human services department, demand for these nonprofits has increased during the pandemic. Nonprofits in the arts and culture department didn’t necessarily see an increase in demand but had to tilt to reassess how they would offer their services, such as remote offerings.