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Candidates for county executive are paying more attention to the needs of Prince George's nonprofits, which means advocacy efforts are paying off, say leaders of those groups.

At a meeting of the Greater Prince George's Business Roundtable in Bowie last week, Del. Gerron S. Levi (D-Dist. 23A) emphasized the importance of building capacity among nonprofits, as well as small businesses, calling nonprofits a valuable ally for securing state and federal dollars.

Candidate Henry C. Turner Jr., a retired Army colonel, pushed for creating a grant-writing agency to support nonprofits and help them funnel money to the community.

"I'm so delighted to hear nonprofits mentioned in all these remarks," said Desiree Griffin-Moore, executive director of the Community Foundation for Prince George's County, which supports and advocates for local nonprofits. "I feel that part of our job has been done."

Griffin-Moore said nonprofits are very much involved with helping communities address their most threatening issues, such as poverty, hunger and crime.

"It seems to me there's a broader understanding that nonprofits are not just coming with their hand out, but that they're important to leveraging new money into the community," she said. "It's a new day, so to speak."

Jerry Adams, CEO of the Human Services Coalition of Prince George's, said he also has noticed more efforts in the county government to connect nonprofits with civic leaders, especially after nonprofit leaders fought against proposed reductions in their county funding.

County Executive Jack Johnson (D) had proposed cutting about $4 million from the county's funding for nonprofits but a concerted effort by those groups helped restored the amount.

The latest data on nonprofits, from 2008, show they employ more than 14,640 people in the county with $569 million payroll, making up 4 percent of the county's total employment. Eighty percent of these groups have budgets of less than $25,000.

Adams' organization also has tripled in membership to 130 nonprofits in 2010.

"Part of it is that we are delivering, not only advocacy, but through our grants and our incubator program," he said.

The Human Services Coalition and other regional partners are planning to host their own candidate forums this year.

"Our message is that we are a way this county can come back from the recession. We need them to support us," Adams said.

Five candidates — all Democrats — are running to succeed Johnson, a two-time executive, who is term limited and cannot seek re-election.