When there are nonprofits worldwide, what makes organizations headquartered in little Lancaster, PA, worth your charitable investment? The Lancaster community’s nonprofits lead in more ways than you might think.
Lancaster County, PA, is America’s refugee capital.
Our town takes 20 times more refugees per capita than the rest of the US. We have neighbors in our town displaced from Somalia, Burma, Bhutan, Congo, Iraq, Cuba, Syria, Ukraine, and more. Offering selfless hospitality is a reflection of God’s love. The Bible is full of reminders to care for foreigners and sojourners, as well as stories of God’s people both extending and receiving this care.
Lancaster County, PA, has a massive number of nonprofit organizations for our size.
With 539 nonprofits registered in our metro area (and many, many more in the surrounding area), Lancaster has 9.9 nonprofits per ten thousand inhabitants. Nearby Reading, PA, for example, has 8.6, Chicago, IL, has 8.5, Dallas has 5.7, and Phoenix, AZ, only 4.5.
Lancaster County, PA, leads the nation in volunteerism.
According to Barna, the Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York area leads the entire nation with a volunteerism rate of 30%. This is a measure of adults who volunteer for a nonprofit organization on a weekly basis. Our local area leads the way, with the next rank from Pennsylvania representing Pittsburgh at 29th, with 18%.
Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers for by doing that some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
—Hebrews 13:1-2
Sources: BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-38776233Governing analysis of data published by National Center for Charitable Statistics, 2018 IRS Business Master Files. https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-nonprofits.html
Barna https://www.barna.com/research/top-10-volunteering-cities/
