Courtesy / Maine Association of Nonprofits
The 2019 impact report of the Maine Association of Nonprofits shows some telling figures.
Updated: April 8, 2020
Maine nonprofits are in 'extremely tough spot' due to public health crisis
File Photo / Maine Association of Nonprofits
Jennifer Hutchins, executive director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits, is worried about the sector's ability to weather the crisis. She is shown here speaking at her organization's 25 anniversary event last June.
Two weeks after a Portland-based nonprofit announced plans to cut 248 jobs in Maine's largest city, the head of the Maine Association of Nonprofits expressed concern about the sector's ability to weather a protracted economic crisis.
"I am definitely concerned about the long-term sustainability of our nonprofits," Executive Director Jennifer Hutchins told Mainebiz in an interview. "Just like businesses, we know they're laying hundreds of people off, so I'm afraid if they don't have reserve funds, it's going to be really challenging for them to make ends meet and come back."
That puts many in an "extremely tough spot," she added.
Out of 3,000 tax-exempt public charities in Maine, Hutchins noted that about one-third are in non-hospital health and human services, whose safety-net role is now in jeopardy because of having to keep employees and volunteers safe at home. She also noted the predicament of arts organizations that have had to cancel events.
"Without that revenue coming in, it puts them in a really difficult position unless they have been able to be an institution that has reserve funds."
In Maine, nonprofits contribute about $12 billion a year to the state's economy through wages paid, retail and wholesale purchases and professional services contracted, according to MANP's latest impact report published in 2019.
The report, "Adding Up Impact: Maine Nonprofits at Work 2019," also showed that nonprofits employ one in six Maine workers, or a total of 98,000.
Hutchins said that while large privately owned firms hit by the ongoing crisis may be able to gather enough capital to stay afloat, "you take a state like Maine with so many small nonprofits run by volunteers and filling critical needs ... They may not have the immediate deep pockets to run to.”
Anecdotally, she said MANP is also hearing that nonprofits are having a hard time accessing loans through the newly launched federal $349 billion Paycheck Protection Program. That's especially true of groups without a banking relationship, she said.
"The vast majority of Maine's nonprofits are small, many operating in underserved rural areas with limited banking relationships," Hutchins said. "Some banks are only extending loans to existing customers, so this could prevent some nonprofits from obtaining a loan due to their prior bank history."
She added: "We are concerned that charities, without the benefit of pre-existing relationships, may find themselves shut out of a support system when their services may be becoming even more critical."
Courtesy / Maine Boys to Men
Matt Theodores is executive director of Maine Boys to Men, a nonprofit based in Falmouth.
Among nonprofits applying for a loan through the Paycheck Protection Program is Maine Boys to Men, a Falmouth-based group that engages communities to shift attitudes and actions to end male violence against women and girls.
"I am hopeful that funds are available for nonprofit organizations like ours that are doing critical work," said Matt Theodores, the group's executive director. "This funding will help us get through a very challenging period, as we move forward with our planned multi-year program expansion across every county in Maine."
Highlighting sector's importance
On a more positive note, Hutchins said that over the long term she's hopeful that the crisis "provides us an opportunity to really highlight what the nonprofit sector does for our communities, and to work better with our business and government partners to make sure we build an infrastructure that protects what we want in our communities in terms of how we operate."
Theodores was similarly optimistic about carrying on the work of his own group.
"Our work feels more critical now than ever," he said. "As men, so many of us have been socialized toward self-reliance and toughness, when today's survival skills include less valued traits like empathy, self-compassion and connectedness. Maine Boys to Men remains committed to investing in the healthy development of boys and men, with an aim toward ending male violence against women and girls."
He also said that the group's programs are continuing online where possible, and volunteerism appears to be rising. Programs including Boot Camp for New Dads and MenConnect: Conversations in Masculinity have been running virtually for the past two weeks as the organization explores ways to bring additional programming online.
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