SEATTLE (AP) — As the first signs of an economic recovery make the news, many of the nation's nonprofit organizations are digging in for another three to four years of financial distress, according to researchers who keep an eye on the charitable world.

Some larger nonprofits are seeing donations start to rise again, but most report their income is holding steady at lower, post-recession levels or is still going down, according to a new study from the Nonprofit Research Collaborative.

The collaborative found 59 percent of nonprofits report their donation income is flat or lower than in 2010, which was another down year for most charities. Among those that receive some government dollars — long considered a safety net for charitable organizations — more than half are reporting a decline in income for the year.