Revenue growth fuels higher program expenses. (NPT 100).

With the holidays rapidly approaching it's an opportune time for the spending of greenbacks. Deciding whether or not to shell out that extra $5 dollars on Uncle Elmo is always a weighty decision. But nonprofits felt no such apprehension in opening up their wallets.

The top organizations combined to increase their program expenditures by 20.8 percent in fiscal 2000. The $6.2 billion jump accounted for 86 percent of the $7.2 million gross increase in total expenses.

For many organizations allocating more dollars was made easier by revenues coming in at a higher rate. That income simply resulted in the ability to help more people, said Barry Gardner, director of consulting for Capin & Crouse and accountant for Larry Jones International Ministries/Feed the Children in Oklahoma City Feed the Children ratcheted up their programs by $44.9 million, or 16.9 percent, last year.

Not to be outdone was fellow financial service nonprofit Gifts In Kind International. The in-kind group saw spending in the area rise a whopping 119.8 percent, resulting in $343.5 million in additional fees.

"What happens is our program expenses are directly related to our shipping and transportation expenses so you will always see a correlation there," explained Susan Corrigan, president and CEO at Gifts In Kind. "We don't want to get products and put them in a warehouse and let them sit there for a while. We want them to go back out to the charitable sector as quickly as possible. So almost what comes in every year really should go out every year."

Corrigan said that items were shipped that were left over from last year, thereby increasing transportation costs and pushing program expenses just above public support figures.

Keeping program expenditures down was a difficult task for other product distribution groups and nonprofits in general but Brunswick, Ga.-based Map International realized savings of $46.6 million against the previous year. Its 33.2 percent decline was due to the organization receiving a lower number and value of products compared to the previous period, said Dan Reed, chief financial officer at the organization.

Programs were not an endangered species for conservation groups as proven by the 20 percent increase in spending for the six collective organizations. The $138.5 million program expense boost was accomplished with bookends Trust for Public Land and the World Wildlife Fund expanding by $72.4 million and $3.8 million respectively.

For at least one executive the term "program expense" is a harbinger of good news. At World Vision in Federal Way, Wash., program expenses translated into "monies that are allocated directly for the programs that people need," said Dean Hazelton, vice president of finance for the relief/development nonprofit. World Vision saw a $74.1 million bump up in the category in fiscal 2000.

"(There was) an increase across the board to all programmatic activities, which would include our area development projects in roughly 90 countries as well as an increase in disaster relief and domestic programs," Hazelton admitted. "We also in the last couple of years have been focusing a lot on decreasing on the expense side, so our primary goal is to ensure that we have as much resource available going directly to programs. So in essence, if you look at it, virtually all of our revenue increase ends up going to programs as we're also reducing costs on the expense side."

All told, relief/development nonprofits rose 18 percent and spent approximately $308.4 million more in program areas in 2000. A $24.3 million piece of that pie belonged to Save the Children Federation, Inc. Along with a $13 million increase in emergency programs the organization received a boost in the area of grants.

"We're delighted that the program expenses grew actually by 28 percent and that's a direct match to the grant support," said Pat Long, vice president of finance at the Westport, Conn.-based federation. "And actually our management and fundraising grew only 2 percent ... so we're managing with less and giving more to programs.

Launching the spending spree to new heights were human service nonprofits. The grouping increased its expenditures in the program area by a strapping $2.5 billion.

The Rotary Foundation did its part to try and lower costs, cutting $26.4 million, or 20.8 percent, from 1999's expense list. According to spokesperson Christine Sobolak, the drop was due to the fulfillment of the Children's Opportunity Grant. The one-year, $20 million grant was an initiative by the president in 1998-1999. Rotary awards presidents a one-year only term.

While Rotary saved, Lutheran Services in America actually exceeded the figures of the entire category. The St. Paul, Minn.-housed umbrella group laid out $2.6 billion more for programs than they had the previous year. The growth was expected due to a greater population of Lutheran organizations reporting their numbers as well as an alteration in fees.

"We had a good sense that the numbers would shift especially around program fees because hospitals have a different relationship with third-party insurers and other service organizations," said Jill Schumann, president and CEO of the organization.

Keeping the outlays somewhat in check was Catholic Charities USA. By tightening its 1999 purse strings to the tune of $73.5 million savings over fiscal '98 the nonprofit was the ultimate program services penny-pincher among the top 100.

TOP 5 INCREASES IN PROGRAM EXPENSES

Organization                   Program Expenses Change

Lutheran Services in America        2,609,859,252
United Jewish Communities            400,000,000
The National Council of YMCAs        366,154,000
Gifts In-Kind International          343,533,023
America's Second Harvest             206,899,668
TOP 5 INCREASES BY % IN PROGRAM EXPENSES

Organization                    % Prog Exp Change

Vanguard Charitable Endowment
 Program                              189%
Gifts In Kind International           120%
Trust For Public Land                 102%
Lutheran Services in America           81%
Trinity Christian Broadcasting         63%