A New York University professor estimates that because of the bad economy, 100,000 of the nation’s 1.3 million nonprofit organizations will collapse this year from frozen lines of credit, late payments by government entities and lack of efficient management.

“The economy is very troublesome for the nonprofit sector, and I’m hearing nothing but concern,” Paul Light, a Paulette Goddard Professor of Public Service at NYU, said in a recent article in the Gazette of Colorado Springs.Light recommends that nonprofits “think the unthinkable” by taking a cue from the business sector and merging to improve efficiency and productivity, or pooling resources and sharing back-office functions such as accounting, personnel and marketing.

JVA Consulting president Janine Vanderburg said in an article in the April issue of 5280 magazine that some nonprofits will merge in an effort to survive.

“Some will survive this tough period and perhaps prosper; others will wither,” Light said in the Gazette article. “Many already have instituted hiring freezes and salary caps. If revenues don’t pick up and the stock market continues to plummet, some won’t be able to make payroll.”

Nonprofits dependent on government support will suffer the most as margins tighten, cash reserves drop and government funding is increasingly delayed or even withdrawn.