What is a potential recipe for crisis in the Cedar Valley?...When desperately needed nonprofit organizations like the Northeast Iowa Food Bank, House of Hope and Operation Threshold see an increase in demand for their services, but find it difficult to obtain the necessary funding to provide those services.
The Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa provides much needed grant funding to nonprofits of all types, but in addition to financial support, strives to provide support in other ways. In 2009 the Foundation issued two community-wide surveys of nonprofits, gauging the relative organizational health of these charitable groups. A final follow-up survey was recently issued in March 2010, as a one-year follow up to the first questionnaire. The findings continue to be sobering.
Results of the Community Foundation’s March 2010 survey of the Economic Impact on Nonprofits indicate that obtaining the necessary funding to provide their services is the biggest challenge for 88% of respondent organizations. This task is always challenging for any not-for-profit, but the survey responses also indicate that this continued difficulty raising funds is directly affecting services themselves. Indeed, meeting the needs of clients is reported as one of the biggest challenges for 75% of organizations. In stark opposition to these challenges stands the following statistic: 64% of respondents report an increase in the number of clients their organization served in 2009 compared with 2008. In other words, needs continue to rise, and funding to meet the needs continues to be a concern. Additionally, 80% of respondents say that enhancing their visibility is one of their biggest hurdles. Clearly, low visibility and difficulty raising sufficient donations are related challenges.
Perhaps the most telling response to the spring 2010 survey is that respondents were evenly split in terms of 2009 revenues: one-third of respondents reported an increase in revenue in 2009; one-third reported revenue stayed the same as 2008, and one-third reported a decrease. Over 40% of those reporting a decrease saw that shortfall manifest itself most significantly in declining donations from individuals.
Find out more. Click here to download the complete survey results.