Are There Too Many Nonprofits?

The IRS, in its 2007 Data Book, recently reported that the number of nonprofits--501(c)(3)organizations-- increased by 6% between 2006 and 2007. This is the highest percentage in several years. The actual number went from 1,064,191 to 1,128,367 for an increase of 64,176.

The rapid growth in the nonprofit sector has been the subject of much debate in recent years with pundits weighing in on all sides of the issue. Do we have too many? Can you ever have too many organizations serving the public good? Is the fundraising pie large enough to accommodate all of these nonprofits? Is redundancy and repetition weakening the sector?

Here are some articles we tracked down that debate the issue:

• The Nonprofit World: Its Size and Scope. Chronicle of Philanthropy (subscription required). This is a comprehensive rundown of the stats about the nonprofit sector, published earlier this year.
• Do We Need 85,000 New Charities? Somebody Thinks So. From the Charity Governance Consulting website about the number of applications the IRS received for 501(c)(3)status between 2006 and 2007.
• Too Many Nonprofits? Let 85,000 Flowers Bloom! From the Donor Power Blog in reaction to concerns that there are too many nonprofits expressed in the article just above.
• Are There Too Many Charities? Interesting piece from last year on White Courtesy Telephone, a popular blog about the third sector.