Area Nonprofits Successful in Year-End Appeals
 |
Susan Wissler, executive director at The Mount in Lenox, said the generosity of the community is a direct result of good programming.
"We had a great season and that is definitely reflected in giving patterns for this year," she said. "It's a stamp of approval of how people feel about our programming. We got our appeal out right around Thanksgiving. The response rate is great."
Great might be an understatement. According to Wissler, this year's appeal (which began in mid-November) has already netted $307,000, more than double that of last year's $113,000. And that's not all. Revenue generated by new memberships and membership renewals is in the $30,000 range, a far cry from last year's total of $2,000. Good news for the financially struggling museum, which is due to make a $1,000,000 principal repayment to its lenders this May.
"Every trend is in the right direction," Wissler said. "Clearly we are programming to our support base and being very attentive to that. Our visibility was definitely heightened this season."
Edith Wharton's estate is not the only nonprofit basking in the glow of fiscal success. The Railroad Street Youth Project has also enjoyed an overwhelming response to its annual appeal. Executive Director Lannie Moore said the key to this year's bounty was timing.
"We sent out our annual appeal letter a little earlier this year than in past years; and the fall culinary dinner was a little bit later this year," she said. "They were both better received. It's about getting our message out there and making it short and sweet; bullet points and little snippets about what we've accomplished over the past year."
In addition to timing, Moore said efforts to "rebrand" RSYP have also paid off.
"As an organization we've really focused on messaging this year," she said. "So that when people hear about us they know sort of who we are and what we do. We listen to the community and we respond to what their needs are."
Like The Mount, RSYP has already excelled beyond its conservative financial budgeting for the season, exceeding its goal for individual donations by nearly 20 percent.
Overall, nonprofits across the nation are reporting increased contributions. A survey this fall of more than 2,000 charities and nonprofits by Guidestar, a national database on nonprofits, found 14 percent reporting decreased giving; down from the 51 percent that had seen donations drop last fall. More than a third reported increased giving, up 13 percent pver last year, and nearly half of them expect to increase their budgets in the coming year.
"These figures may herald the beginning of an economic recovery in the nonprofit sector, although only time will tell if the trend will continue. For the first time in two years, however, there's cause for cautious optimism about the sector and the economy," reports Guidestar.
And there is more good news for nonprofits this year. Just a week ago President Obama signed into law the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (HR 4853), which contains provisions for extending the IRA Charitable Rollover through 2011. It permits individuals age 70 1/2 and older to make tax-free distributions from their IRAs of up to $100,000 per taxpayer per year to public charities. The deadline for IRA donations has been extended through January 2011 and will be applicable to fiscal 2010. This is good news according to Jennifer Dowley, president of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation.
"These times are very difficult for nonprofits across all sectors: health, arts and culture, human services, environment, education," Dowley said in an e-mail. "And now donors who care about the well-being of their communities can support causes or individual nonprofits in a way that is easy. Retirement plans are an ideal charitable vehicle and this new law has made them all the more charity friendly."
Whether it's the season or the rollover that is encouraging this generous outpouring, Moore said donor confidence has been crucial to this year's appeal.
"People are still facing tough times," she said. "But individually people are feeling stronger this year and that's clear in these donations."
