National Council of Nonprofit Associations

from Philanthropy News Digest | January 22, 2009

A growing number of grantmakers have made exceptional commitments to address the causes and impact of the current economic downturn, reports Steven Lawrence, senior director of research at the Foundation Center.

In a new research advisory (4 pages, PDF), Lawrence examined giving by some fifty institutional donors that have announced grants and program-related investments totaling more than $100 million to address the crisis, including reducing the number of foreclosures, shoring up foodbanks and services for the homeless, and providing financial counseling. Lawrence found that the support provided by these funders demonstrates a strong — though not exclusive — focus on local needs, with community foundations playing a critical role in directing resources to the needy in their communities. More

from Business First of Louisville | March 17, 2009

Three Southern Indiana nonprofit organizations have joined to create the Community Relief Fund to provide funding to other nonprofit organizations that have seen the need for services increase in the midst of the economic downturn.

The Paul W. Ogle Foundation Inc., the Horseshoe Foundation of Floyd County and the Community Foundation of Southern Indiana have contributed a total of $400,000 to the fund, the Community Foundation said in a news release. More

from Fort Myers Florida Weekly | March 11, 2009

BY ANNE DOUGLAS Director of Programs, Southwest Florida Community Foundation

Collaboration was one of the big buzzwords in the nonprofit and philanthropic world even before the economic crisis hit, as there has been concern for a number of years about the rapid growth in the number of nonprofits across the country and the limited number of resources to support them. Even in better economic times it is best practice to collaborate. Now, for many organizations, it will be essential to their survival. A number of studies have demonstrated that collaboration has a beneficial impact on organizations, resulting in less duplication and overlap of services in addition to more efficient and effective services and better outcomes (Nonprofit Sector Research Fund of the Aspen Institute). Funders like to see collaboration among their grantees because it increases the likelihood that their dollars will be spent on higher impact efforts. More

from Toledo Blade | February 11, 2009

Two Toledo organizations are looking to provide an extra safety net for low-income families in the region.

The nonprofit Toledo Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Toledo announced yesterday that they have created the Safety Net Fund to aid groups that provide food, clothing, and shelter to those in need. The organizations will match donations up to $2,000 with 50 cents for each dollar contributed to the fund.

Keith Burwell, Toledo Community Foundation president, said the groups are responding to the economic turmoil that has left thousands in the region without jobs and has caused more people to turn to social service agencies. More

The Phoenix-based Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust announced it will increase its giving with the creation of a $1 million Community Relief Grants program.  Importantly, the Piper Trust’s strong leadership did not end there. In addition, it launched a community awareness campaign to let others know about the community’s critical needs. Moreover, the Piper Trust created an innovative “Community Giving Website” http://pipertrust.org  that links to nonprofits and urges visitors: “Support our nonprofit partners. Piper Trust is pleased to share with you the valued nonprofit organizations we work with day in and day out to improve the quality of life for residents of Maricopa County. Find links to their websites where you can discover how to donate in these hard economic times. Give generously!”

PHOENIX (October 27, 2008)—Recognizing the growing financial distress in Maricopa County, Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust announced a $1 million commitment to a new Community Relief Grants program for nonprofits providing direct assistance to the community.  …

“The economic downturn affects everyone, but none more than our most vulnerable residents and the agencies serving them,” said Judy Jolley Mohraz, Ph.D., president and CEO of Piper Trust. “The Piper board of trustees made a $1 million commitment to provide relief grants to organizations strained to the breaking point as costs have mounted steeply and donations have dropped sharply,” Mohraz added. …

Piper Trust will also focus on helping nonprofits do more with less, looking for new efficiencies, ways of earning revenue and decreasing costs.

In these hard times, we also encourage individuals to give more at a time when the first impulse is to give less,” said Mohraz. “The needs are critical, and every dollar matters.”

from Christian Science Monitor | February 8, 2009

As debate continues in Congress on how best to give a genuine boost to the troubled economy, some of the nation’s foundations have responded quickly to the crisis in their local communities and nationally.

Despite being hit hard themselves by the stock market’s decline, close to 50 foundations have committed more than $100 million so far toward efforts to reduce foreclosures, provide financial counseling, and shore up services to the rising numbers of jobless and homeless.

A variety of foundations, from community to family to corporate, have taken the initiative. More

Milwaukee, Wisconsin…Just as the coldest weather of the season hits metropolitan Milwaukee, the Greater Milwaukee Foundation is making grants of $180,000 to 13 homeless shelters whose resources have already been stretched thin by the weather and the economy.

The Foundation is providing an additional $25,000 to help shelters meet the need of the homeless when current space is exhausted and $20,000 to Community Advocates for a program that helps families avoid homelessness by providing funds for assistance with paying rent and utility bills. This brings the total the Foundation is immediately allocating to help the homeless to $225,000.

“Homeless shelters in metropolitan Milwaukee are at a critical point in providing services,” said Jim Marks, vice president of programs for the Foundation. “These dollars will be used right away by the agencies to strengthen their programs and to provide care for more individuals.” More

from Telluride Watch | January 21, 2009

Despite a recession that is too easily compared to the Great Depression, the Telluride Foundation distributed $900,400 in community grants to nonprofits last month, bringing the Foundation’s 2008 grant award total to a record $1.8 million, distributed as community grants, throughout western Colorado.

Funds were distributed to an impressive 78 of the 81 groups that applied – a significant increase made all the more significant within its context of a current, nationwide financial decline that is hitting the nonprofit sector especially hard.

In the face of a “sharp increase in need for services,” observed Sharon Knight of the Colorado Nonprofit Association, in Denver, alongside “a huge decrease in earned income and contributions,” and the fact that many “funding foundations have lost anywhere from 20 to 50 percent in investment income,” the Telluride Foundation’s accomplishment is all the more remarkable." More

The Wyoming Community Foundation and donors meet the basic needs of our state's families and individuals during this economic crisis. Food pantries throughout Wyoming are seeing increased demands and, at the same time, flat or declining contributions. Gov. Dave Freudenthal expressed his support for much-needed hunger relief across the state, saying, "It's a difficult time for many working families in Wyoming, even with food stamps and energy assistance from the government.

Even as many foundations are reeling from the double-digit declines in the value of their endowments, some are attempting to boost their grant support to help nonprofits faced with lower fourth-quarter donations. According to Wendy Wehr, vice president of communications and information services at the Minnesota Council on Foundations, about a third of the grantmakers in the state are making adjustments in their grantmaking so as to fund community needs in 2009, while many corporate donors are doing more to provide employee volunteers and technical assistance to nonprofits. More

The San Diego Foundation's Nonprofit Economic Recovery Initiative is a result of months of research, including surveys of local nonprofit organizations and roundtable discussions. Developed in concert with The Foundation’s Organizational Success Program, the multi-phased project includes workshops, assessments and customized implementation plans to provide nonprofits with the necessary capacity to meet mission demands. More

Dec 18, 2008- Napa Valley Community Foundation (NVCF) today announced an emergency "safety net" grant program that will distribute nearly $300,000 to 16 local charities that meet basic needs for Napa County residents most at risk from the current economic downturn. "No one in our community should have to go hungry, or choose between heat and prescription medication," said NVCF President Terence Mulligan. "We've mobilized our Board and engaged our donor base to try and make sure that those most likely to be challenged by the recession will not be forgotten." More

It's no secret:  like the rest of the country, the Washington metropolitan region has been hit hard by our nation's economic crisis in very real ways.  The lines at our region's food banks are getting longer.  People are losing their homes.  

In this time of crisis, The Community Foundation is leading the response....The Community Foundation's Neighbors in Need Fund is a grantmaking fund supporting effective nonprofit organizations in the Greater Washington, DC region that provide "safety net" services such as food, clothing and shelter. More

The heart of our work has always been the steady commitment to our long-term vision. We believe that this farsighted approach is critical, especially in difficult times. While the foundation's endowment portfolio has been affected by volatility in the financial markets, our first priority is to ensure that our grantees have the resources necessary to continue the fight for social justice.

In keeping with that commitment, I want you to know about the actions we are taking to manage through this downturn as effectively as possible:

• In 2009 and 2010, we plan to increase the percentage of our endowment that is paid out in grants, our "payout rate".
• The foundation instituted a series of aggressive internal cost controls early in 2008 to ensure that more funds would be available for grant making during this downturn. We know that every dollar saved is a dollar that can be devoted to grant making on behalf of the poor and marginalized.
• Entering the economic downturn, our portfolio was highly liquid, ensuring that we have the capacity to continue making grants without disruption.
• These actions will allow us to continue to honor all outstanding grants and, going forward, safeguard our core grant making budget.

More

from San Jose Business Journal | December 16, 2008

The Silicon Valley Community Foundation announced Tuesday it will make $3 million in emergency “safety net” grants to 47 nonprofit organizations in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.

Grants ranging from just over $10,000 to $300,000 are designed to assist groups trying to cope with an avalanche of requests for help during the economic downturn. More

from Nogales International | December 16, 2008

National surveys report that about 100,000 non-profit agencies may fail in 2009.

We in Santa Cruz County and around the nation face an unprecedented economic crisis, the results of which are rapidly reducing the funds available to the local agencies that meet the educational, social service and health-care needs of the most vulnerable segments of our population.

The Santa Cruz Community Foundation stands ready to work with the Nogales City Council, county government, the business community, individual donors and the leadership of the non-profit agencies of the Nogales area to mount a rapid and positive response to this crisis. More

From the Foundation's website:

The Recession Response Fund has been created to provide funding for the critical network of nonprofits that support communities across our 18-county region. Our goal is to raise at least $1 million for organizations focused on providing basic human needs, including (but not limited to) food, shelter, medical services and heating subsidies. More

from Philanthropy News Digest | December 15, 2008

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced grants totaling $1.4 million to three emergency food relief agencies in the Pacific Northwest for both immediate aid and to support long-term improvement of the region's food-assistance infrastructure.

Awarded through the foundation's Pacific Northwest initiative, the grants will be used to increase the amount of emergency food distributed in the region by more than 23 million pounds, providing more than 18 million meals to individuals in need, over the next several years. Foodbanks across the Pacific Northwest are reporting increased demand as thousands of at-risk families seek assistance to address an immediate crisis or preserve enough of their monthly budget to pay for other basics such as rent, utilities, and medical bills. More

from The Virginian-Pilot | December 12, 2008

The Norfolk Foundation awarded more than $1.1 million in operating funds to 22 local nonprofit organizations that provide food, shelter, clothing or medical care.

The grants are part of a two-year relief program designed to help organizations struggling with increasing demands for basic needs while facing rising operating costs and shrinking donations because of the sagging economy. More

from Philanthropy News Digest | December 12, 2008

Five leading philanthropic organizations in central Indiana have announced a new partnership that will provide $3.2 million to agencies serving those hardest hit by the recession.

Created by the Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment, the Central Indiana Community Foundation, the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, and United Way of Central Indiana, with additional support from the Efroymson Family Fund, the Indianapolis Retirement Home Fund, and individuals, the Community Economic Relief Fund will award emergency grants to "first responders" such as community centers, foodbanks, and faith-based organizations. More