Dallas Nonprofit Fast Facts

For over ten years, Peña Search has worked in North Texas, becoming incredibly familiar with the area’s unique nonprofit landscape. The community has seen a great deal of change over that time, but the commitment to charitable giving, especially giving to local organizations, has only grown in recent years. Here are some nonprofit fast facts in both Dallas and the greater North Texas region.

As of 2016, there were 23,436 registered 501(c)(3) charities in North Texas out of around 92,000 registered in the state of Texas. The number of public charities had skyrocketed in five years, showing a 70.5% increase since 2011. While the services provided by organizations are varied, the breakdown of services provided by the 143 largest charities were as follows:

• Human Services: 40%
• Religion: 16.6%
• Health: 11.7%
• Arts, Culture & Humanities: 7.6%
• Community Development: 6.2%
• International: 4.8%
• Animals: 4.8%
• Education: 4.1%
• Environment: 1.4%
• Human & Civil Rights: 1.4%
• Research & Public Policy: 1.4%

In addition to providing a huge financial boost to the community (public charities generated $26.7 billion in North Texas, a 51% increase since 2011), nonprofits in North Texas were shown to perform above the national average in overall assets, contributions and revenue. Organizations also are able to make a big impact regardless of their size, with 95% of nonprofits reporting an annual operating budget of less than $1 million.

While Texas ranks low in nonprofit giving as compared to other states, charitable contributions by individuals in Dallas have skyrocketed in recent years. According to the Dallas Morning News, donors gave $99.9 million in 2018, a 30% increase from the previous year. Two-thirds of the donations went to Dallas-based nonprofits, one of the highest rates of giving to local organizations in the nation.

Peña Search is partly based in Dallas and knows our community well. We are also eager to learn about and partner with nonprofits across the nation. No matter where you are or who you serve, we’re here to help you find the best people for your organization. To learn more about who we are, click here.