New Hampshire nonprofits ‘essential’

February 18, 2009

Nonprofits in New Hampshire make up a critical sector, contributing significantly to the state's revenue, job market and quality of life, a new study says.

The state's 7,800 nonprofits contribute $8.3 billion to the state's economy annually, representing 14.5 percent of gross state product, says the report by the New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits.

One in eight workers in the state are employed by a nonprofit, the report says, and eight in 10 residents have donated money to a nonprofit.

In 2007, 334,000 people in the state volunteered a combined 40.4 million hours with a nonprofit, averaging 120 hours a year for each volunteer.

"Simply put, nonprofits touch the lives of every resident in New Hampshire in some way and factor deeply into our quality of life," Mary Ellen Jackson, executive director of the center, says in a statement. "With a struggling economy, nonprofits are needed now more than ever."

The report was funded by Bank of America.

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