Bad times for L.A. nonprofits that help people in need

That includes organizations providing emergency shelter, food, hospice care, and support for foster children, at-risk youth and the elderly. Many of them are struggling because of cuts in government funding, delays in reimbursement, decreases in private giving - and a corresponding increase in demand, according to a study by UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs. "This report shines a light on the new face of poverty," said lead author Zeke Hasenfeld, From press release:

"This survey confirms many of the things we have been hearing anecdotally," said Bill Parent, acting director of the center. "It is distressing news on two levels. First, there is a decline in assistance for the poorest and most vulnerable. Second, there is a deep and persistent weakening of the nonprofit sector, which in terms of employment numbers, is almost as large as the entertainment industry in Los Angeles County." In September 2011, the latest date for which data is available, there were 31,600 registered 501(c)(3) public charities in Los Angeles County, generating more than $35 billion in economic activity and employing over 230,000 people. About 6,300 nonprofits classify themselves as human-services nonprofits. Highlights from the report's findings include:

* 15 percent of the human-services nonprofits surveyed in 2002 no longer exist.
* 81 percent reported significant staff turnover in the past three years.
* 41 percent had cut programs.
* 10-20 percent of the surviving nonprofits surveyed in 2002 were so understaffed and stressed that they had trouble finding the time and the data needed to complete the current survey.

Sadly, this story has been unfolding for several years. Here's a piece I wrote in Los Angeles magazine a couple of years ago about L.A.'s have- and have-not nonprofits.