Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Nonprofit Sector Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Yolo Community Foundation: survey finds nonprofits facing rising costs, board diversity shortfalls and staff burnout
Summary
The Yolo Community Foundation told the council that a 68‑respondent survey of local nonprofits shows expenses outpacing revenue for most organizations, low reserves, and staffing and volunteer challenges; the foundation outlined training and grant services to strengthen local nonprofits.
Jessica Hubbard, executive director of the Yolo Community Foundation, and Carolina Valverde, the foundation’s program manager, presented survey results to the West Sacramento City Council on July 16, saying the foundation’s annual report aims to surface trends affecting Yolo County nonprofits.
Hubbard said the foundation oversees about 120 funds with nearly $15 million in assets and that last year the foundation distributed about $1.9 million in grants. “We do that primarily by offering several fund types…we have about 120 funds these days, approaching $15,000,000 in assets,” Hubbard said.
Valverde described the survey of 68 Yolo County nonprofit respondents. She said 53% of organizations reported expenses increasing at least 10%, while 37% reported revenue increases of at least 10%. The report found that 51.5% of responding organizations had less than six months of reserves available — a significant deterioration from the prior year — and that 44% of organizations expressed concern about staff burnout.
The presenters flagged governance and equity gaps: 48% of responding organizations reported that less than 10% of their board members are Black, Indigenous or people of color, while only 13 organizations reported a majority‑BIPOC board. Hubbard and Valverde urged nonprofit capacity building, board development and program training to improve operations and resilience.
Council members asked about geographic representation and whether Sacramento‑based nonprofits that serve Yolo residents were included in the survey. Valverde said the survey primarily reached Yolo‑based nonprofits and that the foundation is working to increase responses from West Sacramento–based and volunteer‑run groups.
The foundation proposed continued programs and partnerships — training cohorts, capacity‑building (YOLO Neon) and grantmaking to shore up struggling organizations — and invited the council and city staff to help promote the report and volunteer opportunities. No council action was required; the presentation was informational.
Ending: The foundation encouraged council members to share the report, support local nonprofits and to participate in upcoming training and giving events such as Big Day of Giving.
