Economic Growth: Comparison of Non-Profits to the National GDP

How are non-profit organizations growing compared to the overall economy?

Based on data from 2002 through 2006 (the last industry specific data available) it looks like non-profits are falling behind the rest of the economy. To make this comparison, I looked at the overall GDP against the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 813 which includes religious organizations; grant making and giving and social advocacy organizations; civic, social, professional and similar organizations.

During this period the overall GDP grew by 32% while the gross output by industry for 813 grew by 28%.

However, as in any statistical analysis there is another interesting slice of the numbers. When comparing just the civic, social, and professional organizations, which would include most professional societies, these groups experienced an output growth of 35% during this timeframe compared to the 32% GDP growth.

The data that I have access to will not take the industry comparisons all the way down to NAICS 813920 for Professional Organizations level. But this is something that each of us can look at for our own organizations. How did your organization fare during this timeframe?