By Shelley Hoss
” what will be a tough time for charities in the next year or two is likely to be the philanthropic buying opportunity of a lifetime, because if donors keep giving, they will find the potential to bring about huge improvements in the quality of grant-making and the efficiency of the nonprofit world.”
, Matthew Bishop, Chronicle of Philanthropy, October 2008
If you’ve thought about giving to your community, there’s never been a better time. A dollar invested in a local nonprofit organization has never yielded a better return.
Thousands of people in Orange County have fallen into hardship as a result of the ailing economy. Families that have always been able to make ends meet now find themselves in need of emergency support,groceries, clothing, a place to sleep. Today’s reality is that local nonprofits are being asked to meet increased demand for vital services with dramatically reduced funding.
A recent survey conducted by the Orange County Funders’ Roundtable examined the impact of the economic downturn on local nonprofits. Startling responses from more than 100 agencies showed that, without increased funding, half will lose the ability to provide essential services to vulnerable children and families. About 45% expect that essential grants and private funding will disappear in 2009. And nearly all are seeing dramatic increases in demand for services.
This is our rainy day,the time when the support of volunteers, philanthropists and business leaders is needed more than ever to ensure that those who are down and out receive a hand up, rather than a hand out.
With an infusion of support, we can catch our neighbors before they fall and help them return to productive and stable lives rather than becoming trapped in a cycle of poverty.
The concept of leverage is just as important in the philanthropic sector as it is in corporate America. At the Orange County Community Foundation, we have seen the powerful impact that philanthropic leverage can have on meeting our community’s needs.
In response to the economic crisis, the Community Foundation launched its first-ever emergency relief campaign: “See the Need, Seed the Change.” We seeded the effort with $250,000 from our endowment. Within six days, a handful of donors matched the effort with their own commitments totaling $250,000, resulting in a pool of $500,000 that was then extended as a challenge to the broader community.
All were invited to contribute to the drive from Feb. 20 until March 20, when every $1 donated was matched with $2 (up to $250,000).
The effort resulted in $832,500 in grants to 32 local nonprofits providing food, shelter and critical aid to OC neighbors whose lives have been thrown into turmoil by the economic crisis. This more than tripled our resources and added vital support to organizations serving people in greatest need in our community.
Today more than ever, charitably-minded businesspeople are thinking about how to maximize the value of what they can contribute.
Writing a check is always important. But your professional skill or knowledge could be even more impactful to your favorite charity.
Whether you’re a chief executive, accountant, lawyer, technology professional, marketing executive or something else entirely, you can put your skills to work for the benefit of a local nonprofit.
The Volunteer Center Orange County is starting an effort to match highly-skilled professionals with organizations in need of their specific skills and experiences. To learn more, contact Dan McQuaid at (714) 953-5757 or dmcquaid@volunteercenter.org.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Please join the Orange County Community Foundation and the thousands of generous individuals in our community who are reaching out and meeting the needs that are growing in our county each day. The work is ours to do, and the moment is clearly at hand.
Hoss is president of the Orange County Community Foundation. She may be reached at shoss@oc-cf.org or (949) 553-4202 ext. 25.
