Our April issue is one that I always enjoy because it’s our “Giving Back” issue, where we focus on all the good that is being done, and there’s a lot of it.
As of 2016, (the most recent data I could find) there were 17,001 nonprofit organizations operating in the state of Louisiana. Together, they employed 104,800 people — approximately 7.1 percent of the state’s workforce — and created $23 billion in revenue. In 2016, Louisiana foundations doled out $236 million, and individuals and companies gave $2.1 billion to charity.
Due in large part to efforts following Hurricane Katrina, the number of nonprofits in the state grew by 79 percent from 2005-2010, and while there has been some fall off since then, the nonprofit sector remains an important part of both our state and regional economy.
For companies, no matter what the business sector, giving back is also just good business — it connects companies to their communities, creates a positive corporate identity, makes employees feel good about where they work, provides valuable team building opportunities and increases the quality of life and economy. What more could you want?
On that note, I’d like to take this space to say thank you. Thank you to the tens of thousands of people who work at all the nonprofits changing lives and sculpting our community every day. Thank you to all of the businesses who choose to give of their time, treasure and talents for reasons that reach far beyond any tax incentive. And thank you to all the individual people and families that do the same all year long. It’s not easy to squeeze in the time to reach beyond our own lives, but it’s always worth it.
Happy Reading,
Kimberley Singletary
Managing Editor
Kimberley@BizNewOrleans.com
