Bond Debt Adds to Nonprofit Groups’ Financial Woes

The New York Times reports on the wide range of nonprofit organizations struggling with debt, largely from issuing tax-exempt bonds during fatter times.

More than twice as many charities issued such bonds in 2006 as in 1993, mostly to finance property and construction projects. Debt linked to those bonds rose from $98-billion to $311-billion during that period, adjusted for inflation, weighing down organizations ranging from major universities and arts institutions to tiny social-service providers.

The Nonprofit Finance Fund’s chief, Clara Miller, called the debt “the fourth horseman of the nonprofit apocalypse.”

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