Balance Sheet Insolvency and Contribution Revenue in Public Charities

Tatiana Homonoff, Thomas L. Spreen and Travis St.Clair

No 26546, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Using Form 990 data reported by public charities, we document significant bunching of nonprofits at near-zero net assets, the threshold for insolvency. Bunching occurs despite the fact that creditors cannot force insolvent nonprofits into involuntary bankruptcy. We show that the extent of bunching is greater among organizations that rely more heavily on contribution revenue, and that by inflating their net assets, bunching organizations are able to increase their contribution revenue relative to firms that report negative net assets. Charitable donors appear to use the net assets threshold as a heuristic for a charity's financial health; nonprofit managers, in turn, respond to the preferences of their donors.

JEL-codes: H31 L31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019-12
Note: PE
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published as Tatiana Homonoff & Thomas Luke Spreen & Travis St. Clair, 2020. "Balance sheet insolvency and contribution revenue in public charities," Journal of Public Economics, vol 186.

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Journal Article: Balance sheet insolvency and contribution revenue in public charities (2020)
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