Financial Sustainability of Non-profit Organizations in Tourist Destinations - Differences Between Coastal and Continental Destinations

Abstract

The lack of funds needed to carry out activities is often a limiting factor to the development of non-profit organizations (NPOs) and a threat to their survival. To be financially sustainable, NPOs must seek to increase the share of their own earned income while reducing the share of public funding (donations) in their income structure. By operating in developed tourist regions and undertaking activities in tourism, NPOs can take advantage of an array of opportunities to generate their own income. The aim of this paper was to determine whether there are any differences in financial sustainability between NPOs operating in the most developed coastal tourist destinations of Croatia and NPOs operating in the country’s most developed continental tourist destinations. The paper also aimed to identify which NPOs show a higher level of financial sustainability, that is, which NPOs have a higher share of own earned income relative to the share of donations and grants. To this end, an online survey was conducted of NPO Assembly members in the most developed coastal and continental tourist destinations (based on tourist traffic in the past 10 years) in Croatia. The results indicated that there are statistically significant differences between NPOs operating in coastal tourist destinations and NPOs operating in continental tourist destinations with regard to the amount of income generated by active self-funding (selling products and providing services) and the amount of income from other self-funding (income from membership fees and assets).
 Keywords: non-profit organizations, financial sustainability, tourism, self-funding