Statewide group set up to aid charities

After more than five years of development, the Wisconsin Nonprofits Association is officially up and running.

Pooling the resources of charity groups across the state, organizers aim to support issues of common interest for the purposes of networking, career development, collective bargaining, building public awareness and political action.

JoAnn Stormer, executive director of the nonprofit Wisconsin Rural Leadership Program, said the state's charitable organizations don't receive the credit or support they deserve.

"The general perception is we're all just beggars," Stormer said. "It's like in that movie, where the boy holds up the bowl and says, 'Please, sir. Can I have some more?' It's not like that at all."

Stormer is working to change how people think about nonprofits in Wisconsin. She, along with Heidi L. Fisher, executive director of Literacy Volunteers - Chippewa Valley, aspires to create relationships across the sector that will allow nonprofits to grow in economic strength and political influence.

Stormer heads up the effort to get the WNA off the ground. As a consultant to the association's board of directors, she's spent much of the last few years looking into the feasibility of a statewide organization that could leverage the untapped might of charitable giving.

And Fisher authored a master's thesis entitled, "Creating a state association to support Wisconsin's nonprofits." Through research, Fisher and Stormer discovered the nonprofit sector is a powerful engine at the heart of the Wisconsin economy.

Nonprofits provide jobs

Collectively, Stormer said, philanthropic organizations are the state's 5th largest employer. "Nonprofits provide jobs to more than 250,000 people across Wisconsin," she said. "And then there's the money."

Charities in Wisconsin hold assets of $31.8 billion and generate more than $22 billion in gross receipts. That's according to a recent report from the National Center for Charitable Statistics. A study commissioned in 2003 by the Donors Forum of Wisconsin revealed that money generated by nonprofits throughout the state stimulates economic growth in local communities.

The study showed that 95 percent of money area charities raise remains in Wisconsin.

Association long overdue

Like any industry that provides employment, vital services and tax revenue, the nonprofit sector has an opportunity to advantageously use its strength and grow. Stormer said a professional association for the state's nonprofit sector is long overdue.

"In the U.S., Wisconsin is 15th when it comes to nonprofits," Stormer said. "Of the 15, we're the only state that does not have an association. We're the only ones that don't harness the economic capacity of our nonprofits nor do we generate awareness for these groups that build a better Wisconsin."

Collective purchasing

Forty-one other states and the District of Columbia all have a nonprofit association. These groups provide members with resources to run more smoothly. Negotiated goods and services discounts, for example, lower costs.

"By collective purchasing we have some power in that," Stormer said. "A small nonprofit may join the association for $75. If you're a member, you'll get 40 to 80 percent off office supplies. We just put money back into your organization's pocket."

Legal assistance can be provided at no cost or reduced rates. When it comes to legislative policy, association members have an advocate to lobby state and local government.

"We would be a voice for the sector," Stormer said. "Most other sectors have representatives in the Legislature. We don't talk about those things collectively, to discuss how nonprofits improve the quality of life in Wisconsin. This association can do that."

Helping remote groups

Kathy Martinson, director of the volunteer center at United Way of Dane County, said the Wisconsin Nonprofit Association would make a big difference for charity groups of limited resources, particularly those in remote areas of the state.

"We do a lot of work locally with resource development, volunteer development and resource management," Martinson said. "But I think a statewide organization will provide more of that on an even wider scale. Agencies throughout the state, whether they're affiliated with United Way or other nonprofit organizations, will really be able to benefit from the different resources the nonprofit association is going offer."

Anna Katz, executive director of Wisconsin Arts, said one of the best benefits the nonprofit association can offer is up-to-date technical information on things every nonprofit should know.

"That runs the gamut from the latest IRS regulations to legislation that's going to impact nonprofits and their constituents to managerial things like fundraising administration," Katz said.

"Running a business, as nonprofits are, is a complicated thing. People who run nonprofit organizations or any business must have the tools and information they need to run that organization, that business effectively."

James Edward Mills is a Madison freelance writer.