Last week, the Boston Foundation released a report that included some dire-sounding news for Massachusetts nonprofits.  I’m pretty sure these figures are not so very different in other communities, but here are some sobering factoids:

• 42 percent of Massachusetts nonprofits have reduced staff or salaries.
• 42 percent have frozen hires and current salaries.
• 23 percent have reduced benefits.
• 7 percent have met with another organization to reduce administrative costs.

This looks like conclusive proof that nonprofit organizations squeezed by the economic crisis are long done with cutting fat – if they ever had any – and are now cutting meat and bone.  Freezing pay and hiring is bad, but cutting salaries and benefits and having layoffs is far worse.  Even in this job market, some organizations will lose quality people who can’t afford to work for even less than the usual nonprofit pay scale, and some of those organizations might not make it back.

Donors who fret about high administrative overhead when donating to nonprofit organizations should take heed. While nobody wants to donate money that will be wasted, this news reminds us that competitive staff salaries and basic adminstrative tools like office space, supplies and equipment are what makes it possible for NPOs to deliver their outcomes.

For organizations feeling the pinch or the squeeze, now is the time to be blunt and honest with supporters about the need for unrestricted funds to support the organization’s mission and its survival.

Do you have a tale of cutbacks or difficult belt-tightening? Or maybe a success story raising money for the not-so-exciting necessities of NPO life?  We’re all ears.