SPARC presents county nonprofit risk assessment, warns of ARPA ‘‘cliff’’ and service gaps

Daniela Garcia, administrator for the SPARC office in Adams County, told county leaders on Oct. 9 that staff completed an environmental scan and risk assessment of the county’s nonprofit ecosystem to test how organizations would cope with a “financial cliff” as pandemic-era federal funding winds down.

The analysis groups nonprofits into three service types — basic and immediate needs, stabilization services, and quality‑of‑life programs — and scores organizations on six financial metrics. "So today, we're here to, just do an overview of, an environmental scan and risk assessment that we did on the whole nonprofit sector in the county," Garcia said, summarizing the project and its purpose.

The assessment uses six equally weighted metrics — reserve ratio, revenue diversity, change in net assets, program expense ratio, debt-to-asset ratio and liquidity — each scored 1 to 5, producing an overall sustainability score. Juan Cortez, grant compliance specialist for the SPARC office, said staff compared those internal scores with Charity Navigator ratings to add an external credibility check. "To determine financial sustainability, the assessment uses six key financial metrics," Cortez said.

Why it matters: SPARC staff warned that the expiration of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and similar emergency funding could produce substantial service disruptions. The presentation highlighted a projected funding gap of more than $20,000,000 in the county’s basic-needs category under current assumptions and used stress tests (5%, 30% and 50% cuts to government grants) to model impacts on organizational budgets and sustainability scores.

Key findings

- Score bands…