This project is a collaboration between the Arlington Tomorrow Foundation, the United Way of Tarrant County, the City of Arlington, and The University of Texas at Arlington. This project explores the nonprofit sector in Arlington, Texas to gain an understanding of the internal and external capacity needs of the nonprofit organizations in a comprehensive manner.
Phase 1: February 2023 – May 2023: (4 months)
GOAL: Gather data and deeper perspectives on the Arlington nonprofit sector.
DELIVERABLE: A list of all known nonprofits with a 501(c)(3) designation in Arlington.
UTA researchers will produce a list of all known nonprofits with a 501(c)(3) designation in Arlington.
This report contains preliminary data on these nonprofits’ core assets, growth areas, and impacts related to capacity building for the Arlington nonprofit sector. More specifically, the findings from this information gathering will inform the below three capacity measures.
- Nonprofits’ core assets
- Nonprofits growth areas
- Nonprofits’ capacity to serve Arlington
This information will help frame the development of evidence-based strategies to support the success of local nonprofits.UTA researchers compiled this database in the summer of 2023. The database consists of 3549 nonprofits.
However, 1208 (34%) nonprofits had a publicly available email address. Surveys were distributed via email using the survey software QuestionPro. Thus far, 203 responses to the survey have been received, but only 117 were usable for this study. Researchers do not include incomplete responses in the first phase of this preliminary analysis.
Phase 2: June 2023 – September 2023 (4 months)
GOAL: Collect insights from Arlington nonprofit leaders and local partners.
DELIVERABLE: To send out a survey to all Arlington nonprofit leaders via email and direct mail that focuses on:
- Human capital (workforce)
- Financial capital
- Physical capital (facilities)
- Social capital (relationships)
- Human resources tasks
- Internal organizational systems
- Open systems (outreach activities)
- Programming
- Board of Directors status
Additionally, UTA researchers and students will interview a sample of community leaders to contextualize and validate important trends in the capacity assessment findings.
These nonprofits primarily consist of 501(c)(3) organizations, per the Internal Revenue Service(IRS) (85%). Churches (12%) and other nonprofit organizations (3%) without a 501(c)(3) designation also took part in the survey. In sum, these nonprofits represent diverse sectors and serve as few as five clients to up to 8000 clients.
Their clients are local Arlington residents and often include Arlington community members in multiple local neighborhoods. Preliminary survey findings demonstrate a deep concern for the following six critical organizational concerns that challenge Arlington nonprofits’ operations:
- Finances and Fundraising.
- Staffing and Volunteer Recruitment.
- Community Outreach.
- Facilities and Space Improvements.
- Management of Members, Clients, and Collaborators.
- Board of Director’s Management and Recruitment.
Phase 3: October 2023-January 2024(4 months)
GOAL: Share evidence of the local nonprofit sector’s capacity with stakeholders.
DELIVERABLE: Develop a novel interactive dashboard to :
- Automate and graphically depict results.
- Disseminate study findings.
- Extend pre-existing data on nonprofits.
Phase 4: February 2024-July 2024 (6 months)
GOAL: Develop a profile of the Arlington nonprofit sector.
DELIVERABLE: Provide a final report that includes :
- Detail research process.
- Reviewed study findings.
- Practical conclusions and recommendations about the Arlington nonprofit sector’s capacity.
Moving forward, the UTA research team will conduct outreach to nonprofits using their publicly available phone numbers to personally call and inform them about the study and request they take the survey by email or over the phone with researchers.
Additionally, UTA researchers, faculty, and students will interview a sample of community leaders to contextualize and validate essential trends in the capacity assessment findings. Nonprofit leaders and representatives who completed the survey will be among the first Arlington nonprofits invited to the June 2024workshop at UTA.