THE ECONOMIC downturn has had a heavy impact on religious organisations in Ireland, with income down from donations, church collections, legacies and other sources.
A detailed analysis of the thousands of non-profit organisations and charities shows overall income for religious congregations and churches dropped from about €43 million in 2008 to €39 million in 2009, a drop of 10 per cent.
But the decline was sharpest in the area of legacies and bequests, which fell from €3.2 million to just under €1 million, a 70 per cent fall.
Religious groups reliant on membership subscription or sponsorship saw this income drop by 66 per cent, while fees from trading activities fell by just under 20 per cent and investment income was down by 17 per cent.
Church collections were also hit with income falling from just under €5 million to €4.6 million, a decline of about 6 per cent.
Among the areas where the religious organisations recorded an increase was in income from corporate donations (up 24 per cent) and use of tax reliefs (up 6 per cent).
The figures are contained in a report to be published today, Irish Nonprofits: What Do We Know? , published by the Irish Nonprofits Knowledge Exchange.
It is the most detailed analysis to date of the estimated 12,000 non-profit organisations in Ireland.
Non-profits generated an income of almost €6 billion, mostly from grants, donations and trading activity, and hold a combined total of about €3.5 billion in assets.
Overall, they form a significant part of the economy and employ more than 100,000 people.
Some of the biggest non-profit companies have sizeable turnovers and may employ several thousand people.
The largest non-profit – the Rehab Group – employs more than 3,500 people, while some 98 other non-profits reported employing more than 100 people. The majority, however, employ fewer than five people.
Other major charities or non-profits are Concern Worldwide – which had an income of €167 million in 2010 – and the disability service provider St Michael’s House in Dublin, which had an income of €92 million.
University foundations – which are involved in generating financial support from private individuals and corporations – are also significant in size and have raised millions of euro for University of Limerick, NUI Galway and University College Cork.
Irish Nonprofits Knowledge Exchange chief executive Patricia Quinn said the report’s findings provided the first “bird’s eye view of the entire non-profit sector” in Ireland.
“What this report reveals is that the non-profit sector provides almost as many jobs as the high-tech and bio sectors combined,” Ms Quinn said.
Until recently details of nonprofits were free to access on a website ( beta.Irishnonprofits.ie) run by the exchange as part of a project funded by grants and donations from a range of sources. The website ceased trading last month and the organisation is in discussions with a number of potential funders about putting the database back online.
Ms Quinn said: “For a modest investment from government, philanthropic and corporate sources, we created a live, functioning knowledge infrastructure on time and on budget. This actually includes a de facto register of charities, and it benefits the sector, philanthropy and government alike.”
She added: “We are sorry to see this engine of policy intelligence disappear for the want of modest ongoing funding. We would very much like to be able to put together the resources needed to maintain it up-to-date in the future.”
The report indicates that many organisations could be more tax-efficient in the way they generate funds and show that some 50,000 people serve on the board of non-profits. In total, there are an estimated 550,000 volunteers associated with non-profits in Ireland.
NON-PROFITS IN NUMBERS
€6bn
Income of non-profits last year
12,000
Estimated number of non-profits
€2.3bn
Income from grant-aid from the State or philanthropic groups
€5.4m
Money collected from church collections
€17m
Income from charity shops
€82m
Donations from the public