A March 2009 report, “Quiet Crisis: The Impact of the Economic Downturn on the Nonprofit Sector,” found that even as Americans struggle through the current recession, the nation’s nonprofit organizations are facing a triple whammy: the evaporation of wealth has decimated charitable donations; the state and local budget crunch is costing nonprofits their foremost paying clients; and the human need for nonprofit help is skyrocketing as nonprofit resources shrink.

Report authors Bruce Reed, President of the Democratic Leadership Council, and John M. Bridgeland, Chairman of NCoC’s Board of Advisors, survey the plight of America’s nonprofits, and offer a road to recovery. Among their findings:
• Nonprofits are a linchpin of the American job market: More than 14 million Americans – 11 percent of American workers – are employed by or volunteer full-time in the nonprofit sector. That’s more than the financial industry and the auto industry combined;
• Churches, many of which deliver social services to the poor and needy, raised $3 billion to $5 billion less than expected in the last quarter of 2008;
• United Way saw a 68 percent increase during the past year in the number of calls for basic needs such as securing food, shelter, and warm clothing;
• Chicago’s Meals on Wheels is trimming its budget by 35 percent; and
• The State of Arizona reports an increase of more than 100 percent in the number of people who sought social services from 2007 to 2008.

Reed and Bridgeland go on to suggest a series of post-partisan solutions designed to spur nonprofit recovery and give more Americans the opportunity to serve, including:
• Pass the Serve America Act.
• Adopt tax incentives to expand private giving and volunteering.
• Create a “Social Innovation and Compassion Capital Fund.”
• Utilize nonprofit housing and financial institutions in solving the nation’s massive mortgage and foreclosure problems.

With last week’s signing of the Serve America Act, America took a leap forward in overcoming the “Quiet Crisis,” but there is still work to be done. In his signing address, President Obama asked "every American to make an enduring commitment to serving your community and your country in whatever way you can.”

What suggestions would you offer for recovery in the nonprofit sector and in what ways do you think civic engagement and public participation can step up to meet our society’s most pressing needs in this challenging time?