Non-profits' 'quiet crisis'

[babylonsister]

http://www.swamppolitics.com/news/politics/blog/2009/03/nonprofits_quiet_crisis.html

Non-profits' 'quiet crisis'
Posted March 3, 2009 2:27 PM
The Swamp

by Frank James


Despite the partisan gulf in the nation's capital, there are efforts to bridge the divide.

An important one features Bruce Reed who was President Bill Clinton's director of domestic policy and John Bridgeland, who held the same job in President George W. Bush's White House.

Reed, president of the Democratic Leadership Council, and Bridgeland, president of Civic Enterprises, have jointly issued a new report called "Quiet Crisis" about the difficulties facing non-profit providers of community services and some possible solutions.

The report paints a truly frightening picture of the situation in which non-profits find themselves.

An excerpt:

Our research uncovered disturbing evidence of the nonprofit sector's growing troubles:



* * Churches, many of which deliver social services to the poor and needy, were expected to raise $3 billion to $5 billion less than anticipated in the last quarter of 2008;

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* * United Way saw a 68 percent increase during the past year in the number of calls for basic needs such as securing food, shelter, and warm clothing, and is receiving 10,000 to 15,000 more calls every month compared to 2007;

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* * Chicago's Meals on Wheels is trimming its budget by 35 percent;

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* * The State of Arizona reports an increase of more than 100 percent in the number of people who sought social services from 2007 to 2008, and Goodwill of Central Arizona reported nearly twice the number of visits to its centers on December 23, 2008, compared to the same day in 2007; and

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* * Over the last year, more than 70 percent of Michigan nonprofits have seen increasing demand for their services, while 50 percent say their financial support has dropped.


The two make four main proposals:

* · Pass the Serve America Act. In his address to Congress last week, President Obama called on legislators to send him the Serve America Act, authored by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), which will triple to 250,000 the opportunities for Americans to perform national and community service to meet compelling needs (such as increasing high school graduation rates), establish a tax incentive for employers who allow employees to take paid leave for full-time service, create "Encore Fellowships" to help retirees serve long-term, establish a "Volunteer Generation Fund" to help nonprofits organize more volunteers to meet demand, and provide support to social entrepreneurs - the innovative designers of the nonprofits that solve our nation's toughest challenges;

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* · Adopt tax incentives to expand private giving and volunteering. Making the tax code nonprofit-friendly would help to keep up contributions from ordinary Americans. Some of the targeted incentives highlighted in the paper include: extending the IRA rollover so that those over 70 years of age can make tax-free withdrawals to contribute to charity; creating a broad-based nonprofit investment tax credit; and allowing taxpayers who do not itemize to claim a deduction for charitable contributions;

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* · Create a "Social Innovation and Compassion Capital Fund." A fund established to give capital to social entrepreneurs, invest in new ideas and approaches, and improve existing systems could give innovation in the nonprofit community a much-needed boost; and

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* · Utilize nonprofit housing and financial institutions in solving the nation's massive mortgage and foreclosure problems. The federal government should make full use of community development financial institutions and nonprofit housing organizations that already oversee billions of dollars in mortgages and loans to low-income communities and individuals, but are driven by results - not bonuses. In fact, at many of these institutions, the entire payroll is smaller than the executive bonuses at the major financial firms on Wall Street.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. and utilize the non-profits who are providing health care

Check out what we do in terms of preventive medicine.

I like the idea of seniors having the opportunity to volunteer and to donate--two things I have done most of my life (starting at age 16) and continue to do in my golden years.