Executive Issues

Two years ago, a charity called Women Arise went to the Hudson-Webber Foundation with a plea for help.

Often the last resort for those in need, the Salvation Army in some cities is experiencing a budget crunch of its own despite a sharp increase in donations.

For the past few years, Carl Anglesea gave about $400 each year to charity. But he lost his job as a software developer in August, and since then Anglesea, 54, of Chuluota, Fla., hasn't given a dime. What he has done, though, is triple his hours as a volunteer AARP tax counselor helping people fill out tax forms. "I'd like to give cash, but I can't," he says. "So I'm committing to more hours as a substitute."

Ralph G. Adamo, Founder and CEO of Integrity Wealth Management, and supporter of several charitable foundations, is conducting research to assist development professionals and executives at charities to determine how to counter the broad decline in charitable giving due to the current financial crisis. Adamo's firm helps high net worth families to help maximize the benefits of their financial assets. As a group, they represent a substantial portion of most charities' endowments, so their needs and motivations are the focus of the research.

Anyone who has visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art is familiar with the pay-what-you-want concept that has obvious appeal to those unwilling or unable to handle full price.

The windows leak at the Mattapan Community Health Center, which serves thousands of people in one of Boston's most impoverished neighborhoods. The foundation of Freedom House in Dorchester is cracked so badly that water pours in and flows down a hallway when it rains. The elevator breaks once a month at Family Service of Greater Boston in Jamaica Plain, sometimes stranding the center's clients.

At a time when CEOs of nonprofits are bracing for severe funding cuts, Anita Friedman, executive director of the Jewish Family and Children's Services, managed to collect $600,000 in private donations at an annual fundraiser last weekend.

The Harris Poll® examined the behaviors and attitudes of people who give money or time to charitable organizations or advocate for them, and how their behavior has changed as a result of the economy. Almost half (45%) of these people report that their giving and their volunteering have not changed, but many people are giving to fewer organizations (24%) or giving smaller amounts (31%). In addition, six percent are not making any donations and seven percent are volunteering less. The only positive finding is that nine percent report volunteering more of their time because of the economic downturn.

Times are tough for U.S. non-profit organizations, so tough that some employees at one are donating their own money to help stave off layoffs and keep their projects going.

Their investment portfolios may be slumping and their jobs less secure, but a majority of Americans who give to charity still plan to donate as much this year as they have in the past, according to a new survey.