We all know nonprofits for their passion and dedication to delivering vital services in our community. A lesser-known factor behind the success of Orange County’s best nonprofits during these difficult economic times is the strength, skill and sophistication of their business-minded approach to doing good.
Gone are the days when best intentions and a vision to make the world a better place were sufficient to lead a nonprofit. Today, nonprofits must be managed—like their for-profit counterparts—by skilled executives who craft solid business plans, including contingency plans for economies like the one we now face.
This is certainly true throughout OC where, as a result of the economic downturn, nonprofits have been faced with significant declines in contributions at the same time that demand for their services has skyrocketed.
In the face of these unprecedented challenges, local nonprofits not only have survived but have found innovative ways to strengthen and even improve their services to the community. Without question, this is a testament to their business acumen and experienced approach to leadership.
Three cases illustrate this approach to the management of OC’s nonprofits during these challenging times.
• WisePlace: This Santa Ana-based group is an exemplary nonprofit that offers housing and supportive services for homeless women on the road to self-sufficiency. The women who live at the shelter work during the day, leaving the large facility virtually unused.
WisePlace’s answer to a challenging economy and an empty facility? Open an adult daycare center to meet the needs of local seniors. Santa Ana has no other social-model adult daycare centers and there are at least 15,000 residents age 70 or older within a 5-mile radius of the shelter in need of specialized services.
The business is being launched for an initial investment of less than $20,000 and will pay for itself with only 13 clients. Thereafter, earned income will be used to support WisePlace’s core program services for homeless women.
• Us Too Center: This nonprofit in Lake Forest provides a warm, progressive environment for children with autism and developmental delays and disabilities. Despite the proven benefits, about 40% of participating families recently found that they no longer could afford the already modest fees. In prior days, such a revenue loss would likely have meant a program’s demise.
But, in this case, failure was not an option for Executive Director Vicky Simpson and the group’s board of directors. To compensate, Us Too Center rented space to other child development professionals. The result was a win for child development professionals who now have access to a terrific facility, a win for additional families with children in need, and a win for the center, which is now benefitting from a new revenue source.
• Families Forward: Since 1984 this Irvine-based group has been providing housing and essential support services to families in crisis—literally thousands of people each year. While Families Forward provides numerous services directly, it also depends on other community groups to help families in need get on solid footing.
In an effort to connect vital services with the people who most need them, Chairman Bob King and Families Forward held a Community Resource Fair last May. In doing so the group helped itself, other nonprofits and needy families through a cost-effective event that connected more than 50 nonprofits with thousands of people in one convenient location.
These are just three among many examples of the strength and leadership being demonstrated throughout OC’s nonprofits. I am tremendously proud to be part of this community and, more importantly, it should make all of the groups and individuals who generously support OC’s nonprofits more confident than ever that their contributions are being well-managed today and for the future.
Hoss is president of the Orange County Community Foundation, which works with donors to coordinate giving to nonprofits.
