Issue Brief: Southwest Florida Nonprofit Organizations

August 27, 2026 / RERI Research Team

The third sector refers to non-governmental and non-profit organizations that are independent of the public and private sectors. Third sector organizations fill a gap in the goods and services available to local communities that are often neglected or unprofitable for governments and private firms. Understanding these organizations and their role is important as communities grow and develop, affecting the scale and scope of their needs.

This issue brief is a first step into documenting the current scenario of non-profit organizations in Southwest Florida, by understanding the trends in the number of organization and their focus in the region. Data for this issue brief comes from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Exempt Organizations Business Master File (EO BMF). This dataset provides information on all tax-exempt organizations recognized under the Internal Revenue Code, helping verify an organization’s tax-exempt status, eligibility for deductible contributions, and records of filings and revocations.

Our results show that Southwest Florida’s nonprofit sector is growing in absolute terms but remains under-sourced relative to the region’s population growth. While we saw growth in the number of organizations (up 14.8 percent) and total revenue ($6.4 billion), the region ranked fourth lowest among Florida’s 22 workforce region in nonprofits per 100,000 residents and 12th in nonprofit revenue per capita.

While descriptive the results of this issue brief allow us to paint a picture of the current scene of the third sector in the region and how it has been developing, identifying local strengths and potential bottlenecks. For instance, the region shows above-average concentration of organizations in Philanthropy, Environment, Recreation & Sports, Animal Related, and Housing & Shelter categories, which reflects the amenity-driven appeal of the region and its unique pressures from growth and hazards.

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Issue Brief: Southwest Florida Nonprofit Organizations

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