Making a difference...changing lives!
|
|
|
Collective Impact
A weekly newsletter advocating for the needs of nonprofit organizations
|
|
 |
Issue 26, 5/21/13
General Support
Last week I had an opportunity to meet with about 20 nonprofit organizations to talk about reaching potential new donors. During the conversation, directors expressed their need for unrestricted donations. While Impact Grantmaking mainly posts proposals for programs or project support, it makes sense to encourage donations for general support which allow executive directors the flexibility to target funds to the highest needs within their organization.
Through the years, I've had several conversations with individuals who are concerned that staff of nonprofits, plus the general costs of operations, should not exceed a certain percentage of the budget. What I think worthy of stating here, is that health insurance, sick pay, and paid vacation time, which many of us enjoy in our "for profit" careers, should also be available to these tireless, dedicated staff.
It takes educated, compassionate individuals to open the door every day and provide services to those in need. Many college graduates start out their careers with nonprofit organizations in order to parlay their education into something relevant to their degree. And of course, they're carrying student loan debt into their minimum wage jobs.
We all started somewhere, hoping for a better chance to earn more money, receive some benefits, and improve our quality of life. Let's chip in and support the staff at a nonprofit of your choice. Show them you appreciate their work, because they are trying to give their clients what they too deserve.
In this issue, our Guest Columnist, Kathi Jaworski, writes about anonymous philanthropy. Don't miss it-- the column follows the proposals.
Best wishes,
Jennifer
Jennifer Durand, Founder
jdurand@impactgrantmaking.com
|
EarthShare Oregon - Outreach
Programs in the Workplace
Support for outreach programs into the workplace to engage employees in environmental events and "green teams". Goal: $300,000 Read Proposal
|
ORCO Arts - Sound Equipment Upgrades
The sound equipment currently used to support our program is outdated, large and too heavy to move easily. Upgrading our equipment so that youth can perform more frequently and with greater ease allowing them to perfect skills both as performers and technical crew. Goal: $3,900 Read Proposal
|
Cobb Children's Learning Center
Child Care Furnishings
CCLC provides childcare for low-income families and/or women going through the Crossroad's residential drug/alcohol treatment. CCLC is the only childcare provider in Douglas County offering care to families where parents are in the six-month long residential treatment program. Need funds for toddler tables, shelving, easels and mirrors. Goal: $5,200 Read Proposal
|
Rogue Opera - Enhance Marketing
Seeks funds to retain a marketing consulting firm to develop and implement social media strategies, brand awareness advertising in the programs of our cultural partners in the Valley and beyond, and specific marketing campaigns. Goal: Matching challenge grant of $10,000 Read Proposal
|
Womenspace, Inc.
Walk-In Advocacy Services
To raise funding to revive their Emergency Walk-In Advocacy Services for intimate partner violence victims. Funding will support a full-time, bilingual advocate to serve survivors.
Goal: $50,000
Read Proposal
Sponsors, Inc. Crisis FundTheir "Crisis Fund" needs funding to pay for bus passes, identification cards, emergency medical assistance, prescriptions for residential clients recently released from correctional institutions. Goal: $10,000 Read Proposal
Food for Lane County
Emergency Generator
FFLC needs an emergency generator to enhance food security and disaster preparedness in Lane County and state. Goal: $33,500 Read Proposal
|
Pearl Buck Center
Program/Operating Support
Current focus is on program's quality, efficiency, sustainability, and remaining a valuable community resource for people affected by developmental disabilities. Need general program support rather than restricted funds to allow us the flexibility to adapt quickly, and to allocate support to the areas of greatest need. Goal: $40,000 Read Proposal
ARC of Lane County
Respite Program
To add 12 Saturdays per year for their Take-A Break respite program. Gives parents a break from their child with an intellectual development disability. Goal: $25,000 Read Proposal
|
Eugene Public Library Foundation
The Homework Center & Live Homework Help
Need funding for the Homework Center programs serving students from 4J and Bethel school districts. In 2012, over 6,600 students received help. Goal: $40,000 Read Proposal
Eugene Education Foundation
BEST After School Program
Seeks community support to sustain and grow BEST After School Program which serves over 300 students and families in need at little to no cost. Of the 300 students currently being served, 50% are students of color and 81% are students who receive free and reduced lunch (indication of family living in poverty).
Goal: $65,000 per school (4 schools) to leverage the academic investment of Eugene School District funds. Read Proposal
Parenting Now! (formerly Birth to Three) Program Support
Parenting Now! is close to achieving our goal for the year for funding our Children's Program. Donations and grants of any and all sizes will help provide fun and developmentally appropriate programs for up to 400 children while their parents participate in our critical parenting programs. Revised Goal: $4,500 Read Proposal
|
|
|
|
|
PEARL BUCK CENTER, INC.
Pearl Buck Center is celebrating sixty years of enriching the lives of those affected by disabilities, through vocational, recreational, and educational programs. In recognizing this milestone, we also celebrate our community's support for people with disabilities.
Lisl Waechter believed that people with intellectual/developmental disabilities should have access to education, employment, and recreation, rather than being institutionalized or hidden at home-and our community agreed! In 1953, Lisl began Pearl Buck School for children with special needs, which grew to become Pearl Buck Center.
Long-time Eugene/Springfield residents may still think of Pearl Buck Center as the little school in South Eugene. If you have not toured our 48,000 square-foot facility in West Eugene, you may not be aware of the scope of services available to around 600 people annually:
Working for a Better Life: Adults with developmental disabilities learn vocational and social skills, earn wages, and gain independence, through jobs in our vocational training center, or in the community
Life Enhancing Activities Program (LEAP): Adults with developmental disabilities who are medically fragile or aging share recreational and community activities with friends
Pearl Buck Preschool: Specialized preschool for children whose parents have cognitive challenges, including parenting education and basic needs support. Our goals are that at-risk children reach their optimal development and enter kindergarten ready to learn, and that parents with cognitive differences provide adequate parenting in a safe, stable home.
Benefits to our participants extend to the entire community. Stable families, children thriving in standard classrooms, and working adults spending their wages locally, result in savings to special education, social services, and criminal justice systems. Annually, Pearl Buck Center contributes over $3,000,000 into our community's economy.
We invite you to visit us at 3690 W. 1st Ave., Eugene, OR, or go to www.pearlbuckcenter.com to learn more about today's Pearl Buck Center.
|
|
Sweet Home Emergency Ministries (SHEM) - Front Door Replacement
Needs funds to replace the current front door as it does not provide a weather-tight seal, and safe, secure access to enter and exit the building. The proposed replacement door will provide durable, secure protection of the premises. Comes equipped with a commercial grade lever entrance lock-set. Goal:$975.00 Read Proposal
Little Promises Children's Program - Security System
Seeking to install a comprehensive security system, to ensure that all who enter building are authorized and/or cleared to enter. Exterior cameras will assist in keeping grounds secure from unwanted visitors (as well as the occasional cougar sighted in the area). Goal: $45,237 Read Proposal
Boys & Girls Club of the Greater Santiam - Summer Adventures
The B&G Club seeks funds to provide an enhanced summer program for East Linn County children. The Summer Adventure is designed to engage elementary age children in fun, educational, well-supervised activities that they might not otherwise experience due to lack of affordable care options suitable for this age range, summer learning loss, lack of family resources to pay for "summer fun activities. Goal: $52,786 Read Proposal
|
|
Friends of Buford Park & Mt. Pisgah -
Sponsor a Plot!
Want to have a bit of IMPACT for the good of the greater Mt. Pisgah area? Look no further than the Friends' Native Seed Nursery at Buford Park. As a Seed Plot Sponsor, you'll help restore our natural heritage, provide beauty for people and food for wildlife, and create a future filled with flowers instead of weeds in our backyard wilderness! Goal: 89 plots available to sponsor!
- $250 (10' x 10' plot)
- $500 (10' x 40' plot)
- $1000 (10' x 100' plot)
Read Proposal
|
Community LendingWorks -
Fund A Farmer or Food Business
Your gift will support a seasonal loan for a farmer or seasonal market vendor through their Market Loan program. Goal: $500 per Farmer Read Proposal
NEDCO - Sprout! Kitchen Supplies
Support for local food by purchasing kitchen supplies for the entrepreneurs who will use the Sprout! Regional Food Hub. Goal: $10 to $500+ Read Proposal
|
South Willamette FFA Foundation - Increase Awareness and Expand
The South Willamette FFA Foundation seeks support for raising awareness, garnering public interest and support, building consensus among regional schools, and helping a Creswell High School teacher receive the required endorsement to teach technical assistance and establish an FFA chapter. Goal: $10,000 Read Proposal
|
WellMama 24/7 Online Support Project
To expand 24/7 Online Support Program to include bi-lingual volunteer, handle social outreach programs and written materials to increase awareness of services. Goal: $20,400 Read Proposal
|
|
The Trauma Healing Project - Services to Traumatized Individuals
Need funding for trauma sensitive body-based therapies in a safe environment for people who have experienced emotional trauma and are making efforts to heal. Goal: $20,000 Read Proposal
|
The Register Guard and United Way of Lane County are requesting volunteer of the month nominations for June and July.Your volunteers deserve the honor and praise of being recognized--here is the form to fill out! PDF of Form
|
|
|
|
|
GUEST COLUMNIST: KATHI JAWORSKI
|
Is Anonymous Philanthropy Really the Most Virtuous?
One of the underlying values shaping policy debates about ethical philanthropy is whether one believes charity is an essentially private activity or a public one. When New York Times writer Mark Oppenheimer explored Judeo-Christian belief systems for insight, he found complicated answers.
At first glance, a religious lens might favor an anonymous gift as more virtuous than a public one. "When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets," Jesus preaches in the Gospel of Matthew. Contemporary Reform rabbi and author Lawrence Kushner modernizes this message, stating, "The goal of all religion is to help you outwit your ego, shoot the sucker between the eyes, get it out of the way." Gaining prestige among peers for charitable activity, or even gaining naming rights for a building or event, surely transmutes the charitable impulse into self-aggrandizement-even if the gift results in valuable civic assets like a museum, a university, or a hospital. Or does it?
From a religious perspective, it's better for those with resources to give quietly, without expectation of recognition, so as not to lord it over those with need, right? But there's also a tradition in most religions of bearing witness publicly to one's beliefs. By that gauge, public giving takes on a different and more virtuous role than private giving. Public giving models generosity and builds a culture of caring philanthropy. For example, philosopher Patricia Illingworth points out that the "giving pledge" by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to donate half their fortunes to charity only drew similar generosity from their wealthy peers because it was publicly announced.
It can sometimes be more self-serving or downright uncharitable to choose the route of anonymous giving. Some donors may choose the veil of anonymity to protect themselves from being barraged with additional donation requests, even if lending their name would draw new donations to their selected charities. Some may be uncomfortable with having any direct relationship with the "others" who benefit from their donation. Princeton ethics professor Eric Gregory further argues that if the charitable act is "just a matter of writing checks," anonymous giving can overly sanitize what should be an authentically human connection.
From a Judeo-Christian perspective, a donor can choose either path, so long as one acts with humility. So which do you choose as an individual donor? From a nonprofit perspective, all gifts help advance our causes. How should nonprofits position themselves with respect to the ethical and policy implications of charity as a private vs. public activity? If you see charity as an individual activity, you may fall on the side of public policies that protect donor anonymity. If you see it as a cultural influence, you'd be more inclined to support voluntary and sometimes mandatory disclosure of donations. Where do you stand? -Kathi Jaworski
Write-To-Know
www.write-to-know.com
|
|
|
Donations, in any amount, are made direct to the nonprofit at their website list below, or directed through your donor advised fund. Please mention "Impact Grantmaking" with your gift.
|
Share Impact Grantmaking's Newsletter with family, friends, colleagues and clients!
|
Stay Connected
 
|
|
|
|
|
