Holidays key to fund raising
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Non-profit organizations and charities across Santa Monica are reporting some of the lowest donation levels in years, with some saying they will likely have to cut services if trends go unchanged.
As many organizations prepare for their year-end, fund raising drives, they say the economy and high donation levels after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have drained many of their regular donors’ ability to give.
“If we don’t have a strong year-end appeal, we will have to strongly consider cutting back programs next year,” said John Maceri, executive director of the Ocean Park Community Center, a social service agency that operates many anti-poverty programs.
359,“We can’t continue providing services at our current level if our expenditures far outweigh our resources,” he added.
Compounding the problem is that as the economy slides, more and more people have come to depend on food pantries and charities to get by.
Earlier this year, OPCC reported they have seen more than a 25 percent increase in demand for their services. And food banks say the demand for food is hovering at near-record levels.
Without those services, officials believe many working poor families would end up homeless.
“Most of our food, 80 percent, goes to low-income individuals and families in affordable housing,” said Bruce Rankin, executive director of the Westside Food Bank. “It becomes for them a good defense against the threat of homelessness. If they can put their money toward rent instead of buying food, they can remain housed.”
The Santa Monica Salvation Army Corps said Sept. 11 causes took a great toll on the amount of money they were able to raise last year, and a poorly performing stock market has left many too worried about their own finances to donate.
Capt. Iva West, of the Santa Monica Salvation Army Corps, said she has noticed donations are slightly on the rise, and the organization hopes to raise levels this year that will surpass last season’s poor performance.
“It seems to be easing up for us a little, so this year we are hoping and praying it will be better,” she said. “We have found the people in our community are very generous and we are just hoping and praying this will be a better year for us.”
This past weekend, the Westside Food Bank held its annual walk-a-thon, which is the group’s largest fund-raiser, Rankin said.
The organization depends on 30 percent of its operating budget to come from private donations, but already sign-ups for the event are low and Rankin said he’s afraid the food bank may not reach what it needs by the year’s end.
5A5,“We are nervous about being able to maintain our funding at a level we have been accustomed to in the past few years,” he said. “It looks like we will be distributing less food when the need is still hovering at record levels.”
Meanwhile, OPCC officials fear they may not reach the $100,000 it needs from its year-end Holiday Appeal, which is done mostly by mail.
“I’m hoping it’s going to get close,” Maceri said. “The problem is that anything that isn’t tied to grant funding has to be paid for by private donations.”
While officials at the Santa Monica Salvation Army Corps report they too depend almost completely on private donations, they will expand some of their charity operations this year to respond to the greater need in the community.
Besides having Santa Claus chime a bell outside retail stores collecting change for the needy, this holiday season the Salvation Army will also set up an angel tree in Santa Monica Place Mall. Residents can take an angel ornament off the tree, thereby “adopting” a needy child for the holidays and buy that child a present.
“We’re hoping people will come out and adopt a child because they all come from our community,” Capt. West said.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 28, 2002. Read the original PDF.