Nonprofits face continual financial pressures around revenue streams, with 57% of financial managers saying they need somewhat or much more stable cash flow, and nearly 7 in 10 sharing that they need more revenue streams today than they did two years ago.

That need for additional revenue streams comes at a time when 56% of nonprofit financial managers say their organization have at least six funding sources, and 28% have at least 10.

Those numbers are from the 2024 research study from Community Brands Nonprofit Solutions, titled “The State of Nonprofit Fundraising, Technology, and Operations: Impact on Mission Sustainability.” Community Brands partnered with third-party research firm Pacific Consulting Group (PCG) to field a survey which was conducted online during the fourth quarter of 2023.

When it came to revenue streams, the list started with “donations” at 73% and dropping down to 23% of use for “text-to-give.” The remaining revenue streams cited were:

* Grants 59%
* Events 54%
* Corporate Giving 46%
* Recurring Giving 45%
* Memberships 36%
* Peer-to-Peer giving 33%
* Stock Donations 33%
* Silent Auctions 30%

The survey included 1,000 nonprofit professionals, with 84% from general nonprofits, 6% from federal, state, or local government, and 10% from education. All respondents were senior nonprofit leaders with titles including director/manager, vice president, senior vice president, chief operating officer, chief technology officer, chief financial officer and president/owner/CEO.

Despite increasing revenue streams at respondents, nonprofit sustainability remains a top concern of leaders, with 73% of respondents having long-term concerns about ongoing viability sustainability. These concerns were top of mind for environmental organizations, nonprofits with at least $51 million in operating budget, nonprofits with more than 5,000 employees, and organizations with budgets between $11 to $51 million, according to the survey data.

During 2023, seven or more data tools were used daily at 43% of responding nonprofits, limiting employee efficiency. There are hazards to coordinating systems. Nonprofit employees spend, on average, 30% of their day managing data between systems.

The combination of manual data manipulation (9.8 hours), manual processes (9.3 hours), training others on systems (8.2 hours) and using redundant systems (8 hours) cost an organization an estimated $2,071 per week. On average, employees reportedly spend one-third of their day managing data between systems.