Demand for the services nonprofits provide is increasing in San Diego County, even as the financial health of these organizations is rapidly deteriorating, a report released by the University of San Diego on Wednesday found.
According to the data compiled by the Nonprofit Institute at USD in the 2025 State of Nonprofits and Philanthropy Report, 93% of surveyed San Diegans believe nonprofits are important to their communities and 82% of county residents have benefited from them in some way in the past 12 months.
A total of 68% of the county’s more than 13,000 nonprofits saw an increase in demand for services, but 81% reported reductions in funding from government, corporate sponsors, foundations and individual donors, according to a statement from the Nonprofit Institute.
“When communities face uncertainty, nonprofits are often where people turn, not only for services, but for connection, creativity and shared civic life,” said Laura Deitrick, executive director of The Nonprofit Institute. “Our data show that San Diegans continue to trust and rely on nonprofits across the sector even as funding conditions erode, with real implications for those doing the work and for the communities they serve.”
Only around a quarter of the county’s nonprofits have paid employees, the remainder relying on volunteers. Additionally, about 30% of the nonprofit sector’s funding comes from government sources — 25% of total funding from grants.
According to the report, the San Diego-area’s philanthropic organizations have considerably lower value of assets than other parts of the state, $2,763 per capita. Los Angeles philanthropic foundations have $7,278 per capita, while the San Francisco area’s average per capita assets are a whopping $19,093 — 6.9 times San Diego’s.
The lack of funding is apparent in the data, with 13% of San Diego nonprofits reporting their financial health as “very strong,” compared with 18% in 2024 and 30% in 2023. In 2025, the percentage of organizations reporting financial health as “very weak” or “somewhat weak” was 31%, compared with 27% in 2024 and 13% in 2023.