Overview: Nonprofit Community

The nonprofit sector in Bermuda includes all registered charities, faith-based organisations, schools and other community organisations. However, we cannot get data on these organisations unless they are registered charities and file financial statements with the Registrar General.

One of our roles at the Centre is to gather data on the sector and in 2005 we conducted much research. Here are a few insights on the landscape of the registered charities in Bermuda.

• There are 400 registered charities in Bermuda! That is a lot on a per capita basis!
• These charities feel the top issues facing Bermuda are housing, drugs and crime, which is in line with donor and volunteer views
• Many charities in Bermuda focus on public and societal benefit and human services this includes housing, youth development, civil rights and social science projects.
• 50% of charities have revenues of $25,000 or less
• The main revenue sources for charities are individual contributions, fee for service income and corporate donations
• Excluding the hospital, charity revenue comprised $84M
• Only 22% of charities were satisfied they were meeting their performance requirements
• Charities want more help in key areas such as marketing, fundraising, strategic planning. The Centre has workshops, tools and reading materials on many key areas to help advance the skills, knowledge and performance of the charities.

Below are some graphs from our Urban Institute and Maio & Co research study conducted in 2005 which illustrate some of the above points.