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.
A large majority of Indiana residents trust nonprofit organizations and charities in their communities to do what is right most or just about all the time, according to a new Indiana University survey.
Among nonprofit organizations in the Washington and New York metropolitan areas, staff members who run programs are most likely to be laid off this year, while fund raisers at those charities are most likely to see their ranks increase, according to a pair of new surveys on nonprofit salaries.
People are less likely to cut back on giving to charity in the coming year than on eating out, clothes or weekly food shopping, according to the latest survey from think tank nfpSynergy.
The number of charity donors cancelling the direct debit payments they make to worthy causes has increased during the recession, research shows.
Foundations can play several key roles in helping re-stabilize cities, said Rip Rapson, president of the Troy-based Kresge Foundation.
