Talking the Real Economy
January 22, 2010
Just this week, the Nonprofit Quarterly debuted a new feature for 2010: The State We’re In. The premise is a great one: reports we hear about the economy bouncing back often don’t seem to be possible, given what we see happening to real people. Unemployment is rampant, which means there is still a tremendous need for services and a dip in donations. If the economy is improving, why can’t we see it?
That is where this feature steps in: it will follow the impact of stimulus money and the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) funding on state economies and talk about what that means specifically for nonprofits.
Sound dry? Kind of. But NPQ does a great job of reducing the info to three key indicators: the state’s budget deficit, the state unemployment rate, and the state stimulus package. Given these three factors, each state has its own particular weather report. High levels of economic distress mean stormy times for nonprofits.
But to me, the most interesting feature is a social networking one. Nonprofits can log in, share stories, and learn what others in the state are doing to successfully combat these economic challenges. There are only 14 states at the moment, but judging from the few I checked out, this has the potential to be a great and unique source of on-the-ground intel about how the “real” economy shapes up in 2010. Check it out here!
