The NonProfit Times, in association with accounting firm Grant Thornton, has released the 14th Annual NonProfit Times 100, an in-depth study of the financial positions of the 100 largest not-for-profit organizations in the country.

The study was conducted through an examination of federal Form 990s, organizational annual reports, and personal interviews. To be included in the listing, an organization needs to raise at least 10% of its revenues from the public. Among the highlights:

• Two-thirds of the organizations reported positive growth. Of those that showed negative growth, six posted losses of at least $100 million.

• For fiscal year 2000-2001 (July 1, 2000 to June 30, 2001), the total revenue for the top 100 organizations grew only 2%, compared to 20% growth the previous year.

• Many organizations are limited to only spending money generated by investment income from donations. Many of the major gifts given during the 1990s are now valued lower than when they were received, causing programs across the country to get squeezed.

• Public support grew for conservation organizations, and helped buoy income by 11%, despite more than a 50% loss in investment income.

• Health organizations were hit hard, with an overall decline of 84% in investment income.

• Educational groups are seeing a decline in all of their revenue sources.

The report points out that some one-time transactions swayed the financial balance from negative to positive territory for a number of sectors, so careful analysis of the numbers is needed to predict future trends.

You may download the complete report for free.