Korean regional inequality in subnational grant distribution toward nonprofits

Over the years, Korean subnational government grants’ size toward nonprofits has grown almost similar to central government grants. Indeed, the primary financial resource of nonprofits in Korea is government grants. In this context, Korean nonprofit literature has examined relationships between overall government grants and nonprofit sustainability. However, scarce research exists in understanding grant distribution at the sub-national level and the correlation between unequal regional distribution of grants and nonprofit regional density. Subnational disparities in grants toward nonprofit distribution will affect the chances of nonprofits surviving unequally across regions. The descriptive analysis presented here illustrates that nonprofits tend to locate where the government grants are generous rather than where their services are needed. We cannot overlook the consequential effects of this inequality on citizens as nonprofits have become service providers. Based on the analysis, this chapter suggests that disparities in subnational grants distribution to nonprofits can worsen inequality in public service provisions across regions.