In what I can only think of as a sobering ending, many of the substance abuse agencies in Illinois will be going out of business over the next few months.
According to the Chicago Tribune, It appears that these nonprofits had a business model which had 80% or more of their income from state contracts. The State is out of money and must be even more selective about how it spends its money. One item not in the budget: substance abuse treatment.
Of course there are significant consequences (to the public) no matter what the State chooses to stop funding. But what is equally clear is that nonprofits that choose a business model with 30%-50% or more of its funds coming from a single source will face challenges such as those evidenced in Illinois today. And yes, some types of nonprofits (human service in particular) definitely do not have as broad of a potential donor base as other types of nonprofits.
But taking the long view and strategizing over the possibilities is what any business owner must do including nonprofit boards. While the state is no saint in this matter, I believe that these nonprofit boards must share in what happens next. At a very minimum -- time to look at mergers to try and save some of the services to the public.