Growing Gifts | Local corporate grants under pressure in 2009
Illustration/Kira Beaudoin
View list of local corporate giving with contact information.
The difficult economy means local corporate gifts are under pressure. And that means local nonprofit organizations looking for an edge will need to tighten up proposals and demonstrate sound financial plans to stay competitive, according to corporate giving leaders in Central Massachusetts.
“In these times, it’s extremely important to focus on groups that do a lot with a little and make good use of the funds,” said Joy Errico, director of community relations at Staples. “I think the groups that know how to do that will be the ones that will come out of this economy in the best position to succeed going forward.”
Outlook Uncertain
Despite the economic challenges, Errico remains optimistic that Staples’ Foundation for Learning can maintain a level of giving equal to its charitable donations last year.
“In this business environment, it’s a challenge,” she said, “but I don’t think it’s an insurmountable challenge.”
In 2008, the foundation invested $26,700 into Central Massachusetts community organizations. That’s 64 percent less than the $74,547 that the foundation awarded in 2007. In fact, of the corporations surveyed for this story, half reported a decline in giving from 2007 to 2008, and the outlook for 2009 is grim. For a chart detailing local corporate giving turn to page 14.
Assuming that the Staples Foundation for Learning can live up to Errico’s projections, the dollar amounts may not change, but the distribution of those funds will see a dramatic shift from last year.
Errico acknowledged that corporations are stretched thinner now than in years past, and as a result, the nonprofits willing to recognize that and tailor proposals taking the current economic times into consideration are the ones most likely to receive funding. Furthermore, Errico urges local organizations to create new partnerships.
“I really like proposals where similar groups are collaborating together to achieve similar results,” she said. “Many nonprofits have similar goals and impact similar populations, and I think there’s a lot to be achieved if they were to come together and pool their resources.”
Despite the uncertain times, not all local businesses are anticipating a drop off in giving this year.
“Our plan for 2009 is to continue with the same level of financial funding and support for our charitable giving,” said Eric Schultz, CEO of Fallon Community Health Plan (FCHP).
Given the current economic times, FCHP finds itself in a rare situation for many organizations: growing. Schultz pointed to a membership community that grew more in 2008 than in any other year over the last decade. It’s a notable factor for the organization’s unwavering amount of charitable giving, he said.
The 10 percent increase may have brought the health plan’s revenues up to $1 billion, but it also saw its net income fall to $6.7 million from $15.1 million in 2007.
Despite its growth in membership, FCHP is maintaining a tight focus on the issues it chooses to support.
“We’re remaining true to our focus of youth and families at risk,” Schultz said. “We believe those needs are only going to grow, particularly because what’s going on out there in the market. With job losses and foreclosures, we believe that focus has never been more important.”
Looking beyond this year, Schultz said he expects to see more agencies merging together to be more efficient and effective in using donated dollars.
Ann T. Lisi, executive director of the Greater Worcester Community Foundation, agrees that such a co-existence may represent the future for nonprofits. Her foundation already has a grant established with the purpose of assisting organizations that are looking to restructure and share backend services.
But unlike Errico and Schultz, she sees 2009 as a stage set for an inevitable decline in giving from 2008.
“The base upon which we’re drawing our distribution is less than it was,” she said, “so we’re going to need to be tougher in our selection process.”
She added that nonprofit strategies focused on expanding budgets to add new staff or do new things will be “scrutinized pretty stringently.”
The Greater Worcester Community Foundation funds six areas: arts, education, community development, environment, health, and human services.
“If our foundation priorities are changing at all it has to do not with the topic,” she said, “but on the priority of favoring organizations that are already up and running.”
Despite the challenging circumstances of her foundation this year, Lisi is no less optimistic about the future.
“Communities endure,” she said. “What matters is the community’s own resiliency to be able to say, ‘We’re still going to take care of our neighbor and have these vibrant programs that make you want to live here.’”
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments