Nonprofits’ Mission: Do More With Less In ‘09

With unemployment rates rising, the number of home foreclosures growing, and general morale plummeting, the services offered by local nonprofit organizations are in greater demand than ever before. Unfortunately, with that demand comes a decrease in the funding necessary to support many of those community programs.

Many local nonprofit organizations project that 2009 will be a down year in terms of corporate giving, and although those program directors are unsure of what the future may hold, they are nonetheless committed to providing the same services they always have. Whether or not they can reach those goals, however, is the real question.

Shrinking Budgets

“When foundations and other similar groups analyze their investment reports from last year, I think it will not be a surprise to see that they have less money to donate than they may have had in the past,” said Marilyn Travinski, executive director and CEO of Tri-Valley Inc. of Dudley. “But I think their intent will still be to do the best that they can with what they have. They know that in this economy there are more needs for the services provided by nonprofits.”

Unlike some nonprofits, Tri-Valley Inc., an organization focused on providing support to more than 4,000 elderly residents in Central Massachusetts, receives the majority of its funding from the state. But a $250,000 cut in November forced the organization to adapt in ways similar to those now facing many corporate-funded agencies.

“Nonprofits have to do the same planning and response that the for-profit sector has to do in this kind of environment,” Travinski said.

While funding may be down, Travinski says the difficult economy has meant more volunteers.

“If they’ve been laid off, people are taking an opportunity to volunteer,” she said. “They’re spending time giving back in the community.”

It’s an observation shared by Tim Garvin, CEO of the United Way of Central Massachusetts.

“It gets accelerated, especially with the economic downturn, because right now, a person’s contribution can be maximized with their time as opposed to their dollars,” Garvin said of the United Way’s volunteer program.

Garvin also acknowledged that the corporate and foundation philosophy has changed. While funding dollars are down—a bi-product of the struggling economy—there is a greater demand for a clear explanation of where those funding dollars are going.

“The idea that we’re going to give money, disperse it into the community, and hope it does good — that’s an old-fashioned notion,” he said.

He also noted that many nonprofits are trying to get by “on shoestring budgets” and the proposition of operating on even less would likely require a “prioritizing of services,” an idea that he describes as “emotional triage.”

While the present situation is decidedly grim, Garvin remains optimistic for the future, only without any answers or solutions.

“I would love to think that we can all learn to think and do in new ways,” he said.

“I don’t yet know what those new ways are. Everybody says, ‘Think outside the box,’ but a friend of mine recently said, ‘There isn’t a box anymore.’ Nobody’s ever experienced what we’re going through right now to know what those new best practices will be.”