Montgomery leads state in number of nonprofits per capita

Montgomery tops the list of Alabama cities with the most nonprofits per capita, according to a recent study. 

That might not be surprising, as researchers at the Washington D.C.-based Governing magazine also found that nonprofits tend to cluster around older, more established communities. 

According to the study released this month, Montgomery had 377 nonprofits, which is about 10.1 nonprofits per 10,000 residents. 

Birmingham has 902 nonprofits, which is the most in the state, but that comes to just 7.8 nonprofits per capita. 

Alabama’s port city Mobile came in second behind Montgomery in the per capita category, with 390 nonprofits, or 9.4 per 10,000 residents. 

Nonprofits in Alabama generate more than $13.5 billion in annual revenue and employ 80,000 people, which is more than 5 percent of the state’s workforce, according to the Alabama Nonprofit Association. 

Also, perhaps unsurprisingly, the report noted another recent study published in the journal Urban Affairs Review that found that in areas hit hard by financial crises, such as Detroit after the city’s bankruptcy and Flint following its water crisis, nonprofits stepped in to provide what local governments failed to. 

Nationwide, the area with the most nonprofits per capita of all metro areas with populations  over 300,000 is Trenton, NJ. 

Governing magazine researchers used Internal Revenue Service data in this study, which did not count nonprofits with very narrow interests. 

A note by Governing magazine on data used in the report:

Data reflects nonprofits aimed at serving communities and local areas. Nonprofits serving primarily support functions to other organizations were excluded from our analysis as well as those classified with the following IRS activity codes: Animal-related, nursing facilities and nursing-related, health associations and medical disciplines, medical research, homeowners and tenants associations, student services, amateur sports and pro athletic leagues, international/foreign affairs/national security, science and technology, social science, military, fire prevention, consumer protection, religion-related, private and corporate foundations, named trusts, mutual and membership benefit. Organizations not filing with the IRS the past two years and those reporting less than $25,000 in gross receipts are also excluded.