2023 State of the Mid-South Nonprofit Sector

In January 2023, Momentum Nonprofit Partners and the University of Memphis Institute for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership distributed an online survey to nonprofit executives in Memphis and the Mid-South. This survey gathered information about the overall health and capacity of the nonprofit sector, and examined what changes, if any, had occurred since the 2020 iteration.This year's report mirrors the 2020 report by providing a general overview of the sector, and highlights distinct characteristics of, and challenges among, the Mid-South nonprofit sector. This report provides in-depth information for three focus areas including organizational leadership, organizational capacity, and public policy and advocacy.The findings from the 2023 report reveal:* Continued racial leadership gaps, particularly at the executive organizational level.* A reported increase in program and service demand, with many respondents indicating that their organizations struggled to meet those demands.* Funding limitations and staffing challenges which have direct impact on organizational capacity.* A widely held indication that public policy has minimal to no effect on their organizations and operations.Overall, responding organizations are experiencing challenges and opportunities that are similar to those of their peers across the country. Still, we must continue to address shortcomings, both build on current successes, and ensure the continued stability and capacity of the sector

Comparison of methods for evaluating horizontal-plane sound localization

This study compared three methods for evaluating sound localization abilities in normal hearing listeners and listeners with unilateral hearing loss. Rear-facing localization performance with the Direct Connect (DC) Binaural Test System was compared to front- and rear-facing soundfield localization. Behavioral chance performance in rear-facing DC and soundfield testing was established, as well as test-retest reliability for all three localization test setups

Growing a local organic movement: The Mexican Network of Organic Markets

Over the past several years, in response to the rapid growth in global demand for organic goods, the amount of organic production in Mexico has increased dramatically. Indeed, while Mexican agriculture as a whole has suffered severe crises, the organic sector has boomed, and today more than 83 000 producers farm organically on over 300 000 hectares of land. Of these producers, 98 percent are small scale, farming an average of three hectares, and over 50 percent are indigenous people. Unfortunately, as is the case in many developing countries, the vast majority of organic production remains focused on export crops – particularly coffee, but also cocoa, coconut, and other fruit and vegetables – with 85 percent of organic goods being sent to foreign markets. From an environmental point of view, exportoriented production is extremely damaging because of the amounts of fossil fuels required for transportation. In addition, packaging for export consumes precious resources and creates mountains of waste. Moreover, an export-oriented focus constrains the degree to which domestic markets are developed, and it leaves Mexican producers highly vulnerable to international market fluctuations

The role of participatory Guarantee Systems for Food security

The primary tool for assuring quality of organic products and preventing fraud, and also for promoting commerce, is third party organic certification, which aims to regulate and facilitate the sale of organic products to consumers. Certification plays a role along the entire supply chain and is used by organic producers to identify products that are approved for use in certified production (Fabiansson, 2014), while also serving as product assurance for consumers (Sethuraman and Naidu, 2008). Although third party certification systems play an important role in organic production and trade, they are not always suitable for small-scale operators and local market channels. Third party certification can act as a barrier to entry for smallholder producers looking to access organic markets because of the high costs involved (Lundberg and Moberg, 2009), the paperwork and bureaucracy required (IFAD, 2003) and complex norms (Nelson, 2015). To address these challenges, some farmers have sought alternative certification systems that are better adapted to specific local contexts. One such alternative for conformity assessment is to use participatory guarantee systems (PGS), which rely on the participation of multiple stakeholders to guarantee the organic integrity of products

Growing... but slowing? : an overview of New England's economic performance in 2006

New England’s economic performance was somewhat mixed during 2006. On one hand, all six states added jobs over the course of the year, and the region’s unemployment rate remained steady. The region as a whole picked up jobs in nearly all major industries. Export values and income and wages also increased. One the other hand, much of the economic growth experienced by the region was slower than that seen in the nation as a whole. Although the unemployment rate did not go up for the region, the nation saw joblessness decrease. Moreover, real estate markets, though weak nationwide, were even weaker in the region.Economic conditions - New England ; Economic conditions - Connecticut ; Economic conditions - Maine ; Economic conditions - Massachusetts ; Economic conditions - New Hampshire ; Economic conditions - Rhode Island ; Economic conditions - Vermont