Human service providers not only better the lives of individuals and families, but have significant economic benefits for McLean County. That’s the finding of a new report conducted by Illinois Partners for Human Service and the Bloomington-Normal Economic Development Council.
The human services sector is the fifth largest employer in McLean County, according to the report. More than 1,600 people work full time for the 55 organizations who responded to the survey. By comparison, Unit 5—the fourth largest employer—has nearly 1,900 full-time workers.
Holly Ambuehl, community organizer and policy advocate with Illinois Partners, said it’s not just about jobs.
“We’re measuring not just the size of the aggregate employers in the human services space, but the dollars that circulate in our county’s economy as a result of their presence here. That includes the actual payroll that they (generate) collectively, but also ... how the employees spending money in our community creates the secondary impact and supports other jobs,” Ambuehl said.
The analysis found more than 600 indirect jobs were created in McLean County to support the human services sector. In total, the sector accounts for more than 2% of the county’s total employment. And human service providers generated more than $250 million to McLean County’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019.
Ambuehl said none of this would be possible without government funding.
“It's important for people to understand that, uniquely, the nonprofit human services community is supported by a lot of public investment,” Ambuehl said. “Unlike the for-profit sector, the nonprofit human services employers can't just raise their prices to cover increased costs, like a business that sells products.”
More than 60% of revenue reported flowed into the human services sectors from state, local and federal government sources. Ambuehl said that by far exceeds grants and fundraising efforts by nonprofits.
But Ambuehl stressed the return on investment is worthwhile. For every dollar received, the report found human services nonprofits return $2.23 in economic impact for McLean County.
“If these businesses disappear from our economy, the ripple effect can be (felt) across the business community,” Ambuehl said. “It would affect our economy, but also the lives of people that are served by these organizations as well.”
Despite this, she said, human services sector leaders are often left out of important conversations among decision makers, funders and planners--and overlooked in traditional market analysis.
“If you're pulling together a group of business leaders, a representative from the nonprofit human services sector should be included,” Ambuehl said.
The “Economic Impact for Human Services in McLean County” (FY2020) report is the first of its kind completed since 2011. Unlike the last survey, Ambuehl said, this report includes nonprofits that primarily do advocacy work, in addition to those that provide direct services.
