By DAVID HAMLIN

As business and corporate leaders focus on the impact of the economic mess we’re in, they must not overlook one critical concern. The non-profit sector is already feeling the negative results of the downturn and that fact is going to have serious and lasting consequences for every commercial enterprise.

The viability of the non-profit sector is utterly vital to the conduct of commerce. There is a direct correlation between the services that non-profits provide and the ability of small, medium and large businesses to survive and succeed.

Lots of employees who arrive at work on time and remain on the job do so because they have access to non-profit day care centers. Others are reliable employees because their parents are secure in adult day centers. Employees who do not receive health care benefits rely on hospitals and clinics for the care that keeps them healthy enough to work. Vital business research is conducted by independent organizations, colleges, universities and think tanks Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., USC and UCLA, the Rand Corp. non-profits one and all. Countless lower-wage employees depend on affordable housing, a significant portion of which is developed and maintained by non-profit organizations. After-school programs, English as a second language campaigns, small-business incubators, adult education systems, economic development agencies and clinics helping people cope with everything from addiction to stress every last one a non-profit all serve employees from CEOs to administrative assistants.

Helping out

Any thoughtful executive can point to a dozen nonprofit organizations that make doing business easier. Employees whose children participate in community athletic programs AYSO, Kids in Sports in L.A. are happier; happier is more productive. Employees that love cultural activities from museums like LACMA to theater at the Taper are well-rounded, maybe even more creative. Workers who spend a weekend hiking with their local wilderness group or volunteering at a food bank or joining green advocates in tree plantings all come to work more content. Non-profits make all that happen.

There are more than 30,000 registered non-profit organizations in Southern California alone and most of those have employees. Some have a single staff person, others maintain staffs that rival large businesses. While it’s true that most non-profit employees don’t earn what their corporate counterparts do, they do get paid. When they get paid, they spend.

That non-profits are essential to commercial enterprise is beyond dispute. That they are facing difficulties as great or greater than the business community is already a demonstrated fact. The nation’s non-profit sector is experiencing, or planning for, severe losses leading directly to dramatically reduced services. Indeed, non-profits face a perfect storm as contributions decline while demand for services rises. In Los Angeles, food banks are already reporting dramatic increases in demand while foreclosures have put downtown shelters and homeless agencies under greater stress. As our fractured economy takes its full toll, more and more people will seek assistance. They will seek it from agencies hard-pressed to meet exploding demand, never mind hold their own.

There is only one solution: Businesses must support non-profits. Those who have never given before should give now how about dedicating at least 1.5 percent of net profits to a good agency? Those who always give should give a little more, even if it hurts increase the donation by 5 percent or more today. Employers who don’t participate in shared charitable giving campaigns (United Way and the like) should get organized to participate right now; call the staff together and ask for a volunteer to coordinate a giving campaign and then give that volunteer the time to do it well. Everyone should consider volunteering to help a local non-profit meet demand, raise funds or effectively govern its affairs; employers can and should encourage such beneficial work with suitable incentives.

The foundation world from the California Community Foundation to the California Endowment to the myriad family foundations throughout our city should give more than they normally do even as their portfolios are suffering losses. The only way to meet the rising demand non-profits face is to provide them with greater support. Given the dire need, donations may have to rise by at least 10 percent, probably more. The failure to expand support will harm foundation portfolios far more tomorrow than giving more generously today.

The cold fact is that the business world cannot and will not grow its way out of the current economic circumstances without the non-profit sector. Giving now isn’t just about doing good. It guarantees that our economy can survive.

Charity always feeds the soul, but in these times it’s also sound, smart business.

David Hamlin is a partner at WHPR, a Los Angeles agency that has provided public relations and advocacy counsel to several dozen non-profits. He is the author of “Mastering the Media: Purpose Passion & Publicity for Nonprofit & Advocacy Organizations.”