Lake Times , Intermountain Commercial Friday, October 31, 1997 Salt Lake City, Utah $6 single copy TAX EXEMPTIONS Nonprofits are not necessarily nonprofit Nearly 250 nonprofits provide contractual services to 21 state agencies. In 1996, about 100 nonprofits reportedly were eligible for state audit because state agencies contribute the majority of their funding. Joe Stewart-Mash coordinator of the project, and Nancy Hansen of the Internal Revenue Ser- vice were very interested in this de- velopment. According to SUNUP'S interim first year reportusssl, nearly 8,000 active nonprofits are registered with the state and almost 6,000 tax-exempt Utah entities are registered with the IRS. More than 700 groups are au- thorized to solicit charitable contri- butions. Most of the organizations belong- ing to and targeted by UNA are 501(3)(c) designated which are clas- sified by the IRS as charitable, edu- cational, literary, cruelty prevention for animals and children, religious and scientific, and other. Of the 1994 Utah 5,879 tax exempt nonprofits, 3,423 are 50l(c)(3)'s. The SUNUP in- cludes other categories in order to get a more complete picture of the total nonprofit segment The majority, 262, of those listed as charitable organizations list their "activity" as gifts, grants and loans to other organizations. Nearly 250 nonprofits provide contractual ser- vices to 21 state agencies. In 1996, about 100nonprofits reportedly were eligible for a state audit because state agencies contribute the majority of their funding. "The state Auditor is supportive of SUNUP in part because of the possibility of turning up po- tential customers to serve under the aforementioned federal audit re- quirement" states the report. The state agencies, as listed on an Oct. 1990 vendor report, who did the most business through vending con- tracts with nonprofits are: Commu- nity and Economic Development's Continued on page A22 ATUS al I lent [)t ~ct : and Ken- were em- provide se- :enance for Nhite River ah County, railer they led for stor- of personal ongings. :y also ed mari- ra in the t. 'hat sum- ,somestate onalGuard onnel, un- state or- ,and other ~ and fed- entities en- ed in Op- ion Green- , a mari- ta eradica- program. /raided the tchings' andfound so quickly vas secure. icked" the edasearch rd, includ- was prop~ cation was l4whereas Thesearch edguiltyto ppeal the onstosup- page A25 U .S. nonprofits number more than one million and con- tribute almost $500 billion annually to the U.S. economy. According to Independent Sector in Sales & Marketing Manage- ment, 48.8% of the U.S. population volunteer time and 68.5% contribute money to charitable causes. Roz McGee, president of the Utah Nonprofit Association board, reports the first ever study on Utah's non pro fits' economic impact will be presented at the UNA conference November 6. It will be made avail- able to the public in December. Part of the economic report was given to the Record in advance of publica- tion. McGee said the study was quite a challenge, more work than antici- pated but what they learned was more than they expected. In 1990, the UNA was formed "by, and for, people who want a better, stronger, more professional not-for- profit community in Utah." The 120 member UNA, located at the University of Utah, works in con- junction with the Junior League, the U of U Center for Public Policy and Administration, the Utah Depart- ment of Commerce and the Utah Dept. of Community and Economic Development among others. The UNA instituted a three-year program to analyze the scope of the Utah nonprofit sector. Launched April 1, 1996, it is called the State of Utah Nonprofit Understanding Project (SUNUP). The scheduled three, now four, year plan is to construct a directory database of nonprofit organizations, gauge the demographics, economic impact and social contribution of Utah nonprofits, look at how public policy impacts nonprofit organiza- tions, and find ways to expand the capacity of nonprofits. What was not covered are the im- pacts of property and sales tax ex- emptions. The Utah State Tax Com- mission, the Salt Lake County Auditor's office, the Utah Founda- tion, the Utah State Taxpayer's Asso- ciation and the Utah Atheists were all contacted regarding the property tax issue and none knew of any study that could put verifiable numbers to it Nonprofits are charged with tak- ing up the slack from government reductions by creating partnerships health care organizations, arts, com- munity and trade groups. This sector of the economy is growing faster than private and gov- ernment sectors. U.S. nonprofits' employment grew 63% while private business grew 31% and government employment increased 27% from 1977-90. Utah's first nonprofit, incorpo- rated in 1868, was a religious corpo- ration. More than 70% of Utah's non profits were formed in the last 20 years and 641 new nonprofits incor- porated in 1996. Two nonprofits, Best Friends, a Kanab-based animal sanctuary, and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA1, Salt The state agencies ... who did the most business through vending contracts with nonprofits are: Community and Economic Development's 90 contracts worth $2.9 million, the Public Service Commission's $2. 7 million contract with the .Utah Association for the Deaf for the deaf relay. with private industry and govern- ment to underwrite and utilize re- sources to meet community needs. Nonprofit organizations, a.k.a. not-for-profit, independent, philan- thropic, voluntary, social or third sec- tor, have been defined as corpora- tions formed for a purpose other than to generate a profit. Nonprofits in- clude religious groups, schools, Lake City, were named to the Utah 100, the fastest growing companies in the state, October 22. The MountainWest Venture Group's ranking is based on voluntarily sub- mitted Utah-based corporations' rev- enue growth figures from 1992-96. Corporations must have minimum sales of $25,000 to be considered. Both Steve Klass of Klass Strategies, Volume 40 Number 45 INSIDE Under Analysis A2 Utah Technology A24