Economic crisis: Getting help to those in need
Posted February 18, 2009 // 2 Comments // add yours
By Grant Oliphant
At a meeting I was privileged to attend in Washington, D.C. recently to discuss the effects on our community of the economic crisis, a senior White House staffer aptly described our troubling climate as a “perfect storm” for the philanthropic sector. The phrase may be trite at this point, but it was not an understatement.
He was referring to the upsurge in demand from families and individuals facing real hardship, many of whom are seeking charitable support for the first time, combined with a drastic shortfall in government funding and the shrinking grantmaking capacities of charitable organizations, like The Pittsburgh Foundation.At the center of this forbidding whirlwind are the nonprofit organizations which form the bedrock of our nation’s social services infrastructure and on which we depend for the delivery of essential human services to those in need. The grim reality is that without urgently needed supplemental funding, more and more nonprofits will fail, representing irreplaceable loss to our community, creating a loss of jobs and further weakening our social services safety net during the greatest surge in need in a generation.
We can draw some hope and optimism from the government’s stimulus package, parts of which seek to address increasing human need in our communities. I was greatly encouraged by the new Administration’s depth of understanding of the critical issues within our communities and its steadfast commitment to address those issues, its recognition of the invaluable roles played by nonprofit organizations and the foundation sector and the importance to our communities of public-private partnerships.
But, with the stimulus package completing its passage, the dilemma we all face – civic and community leaders and government at federal, state and local levels – is how we ensure that relief funding targeting grass roots community-based organizations across the U.S. reaches those who need it most as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, the standard mechanism for the flow of federal funding through state offices can be slow and arduous. Undue delay will exacerbate the pain and suffering for those in desperate need of help and threaten the very survival of many nonprofit organizations.
Our hope is that we can find ways to compress the timeline for the disbursement of resources to front line providers. Those with whom we met in Washington, D.C., requested recommendations from us on how the procedures for funding distribution might be expedited and we have begun the process to engage our local partners to develop some proposals on ways to address this concern.
In the meantime, funding has begun to flow locally to nonprofits from Neighbor-Aid, an emergency fund created by The Pittsburgh Foundation in December as a collaborative initiative with civic leader Elsie Hillman, the United Way of Allegheny County and other local foundations working in liaison with Allegheny County Department of Human Services.
Neighbor-Aid is designed to help strengthen our region’s safety net with financial support for nonprofits that are struggling to meet a surge in demand for essential human services. The fund currently has almost $900,000 and we are urging individuals, organizations and businesses to contribute. Every penny from this fund goes directly to safety net organizations working on the front lines of community need.
Donations may be made on-line via credit card by clicking here, or by check payable to The Pittsburgh Foundation – Neighbor-Aid and sent to the Foundation’s offices at Five PPG Place, Pittsburgh PA 15222. Please click here to access more information about Neighbor-Aid at its web site at Neighbor-Aid.org.
Communities in Crisis
The Pittsburgh Foundation led a delegation of community foundations from Pennsylvania and Ohio in meetings with members of Congress and President Barack Obama’s Administration in Washington D.C. recently to press for stimulus package support for nonprofit organizations that are struggling to meet a surge in demand as the result of the economic crisis.
Ten separate meetings took place with chiefs of staff or legislative assistants of Members of Congress and the Senate serving Pennsylvania and a meeting was also held with Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).
The visit followed the completion of a detailed report documenting the severe impact of the economic crisis on communities in Pennsylvania and Ohio which determined that the two states will need an additional $3.3 billion in supplemental funding over the next two years to safeguard their social services safety nets.
Five community foundations – in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo, collaborated on the report, The Recession’s Impact on the Safety Net in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Please click here for the full report.
For the news release ‘Communities in Crisis’ prepare report for Obama Administration, please click here.
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This new blog is a great encouragement. Only by connecting throughout the region (government, business, non-profits–foundations and agencies together!) can we pull together enough to meet the challenge of the current downturn. Thanks for starting this forum to help build those vital connections.
Comment by David Brewton // February 25, 2009
Thanks for your timely creation of this forum. As one of those non-profits caught in the “perfect storm” of the economic crisis, East End Cooperative Ministry is grateful for the strides taken by The Pittsburgh Foundation to address the needs of the community. Over the last six months, we’ve seen a 20% increase in families coming to our Food Pantry and we expect those numbers to continue to rise. Public awareness and discussion of these issues is an important first step to combating them.
Comment by Kate Snyder // February 26, 2009