Giving in Challenging Times

The hard choices began last September and really hit home in October as the stock market crashed. The choices involved organizational sustainability and personal leadership through a period of intense uncertainty. I am the director of a small community foundation growing philanthropy to serve the Adirondacks. We work with individuals and families who are deeply committed to the health and vitality of Adirondack communities and nonprofit organizations. Donors to our foundation, the Adirondack Community Trust (ACT), support hundreds of nonprofit organizations that provide services to our neighbors and preserve our special way of life.

Throughout the end of 2008 and into 2009, I began to talk with donors and nonprofits about how they were “weathering the storm” and evaluate gift and grant trends as ACT planned for an uncertain future. What a relief it was when the numbers revealed that donors are indeed continuing to give. Donors through ACT enhanced their commitments to the causes they care most about. We were blown away. Indeed, in the face of deep economic challenges, Adirondack residents are living up to their reputation for generosity.

It was a different story for many nonprofits that face daunting challenges; they are asked to do much more with much less. Many I spoke with were fighting the urge to focus on negative scenarios and simply hunker down; some were contemplating closing down. It will be interesting to see how well NCPR does with its spring membership drive; they are off to a great start.

2010 will not be easy for anyone. Like every nonprofit organization, ACT will have fewer resources available to cover its operating budget and to serve its communities. However, this situation presents us with an opportunity to envision ACT stronger and healthier and to implement strategies to achieve this vision. We are moving ahead by assessing our performance during this downturn—and by developing new ways to achieve our mission given the new ‘economic reality’ and its unique challenges and opportunities.

In future posts, I will talk about some key benchmarks and strategies ACT is considering to “weather the storm” in 2009.