The Revenue Structure of Japanese Environmental Non-Profit Organizations and the Relationship with Human Resources

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between revenue structure and human resources of environmental non-profit organizations (NPOs) in Japan through a secondary analysis of government survey data. The analysis revealed that environmental NPOs have significantly lower average revenues compared to NPOs overall. A characteristic of their revenue structure is that few organizations rely on self-generated income as their primary income source, while many depend on commissioned projects from public institutions, as well as subsidies and grants. Regarding human resources, revenue from commissioned public projects showed a positive correlation with the number of full-time staff. Subsidies and grants were positively associated with the number of volunteers. Based on these findings, this study discusses the financial instability of Japanese environmental NPOs.