Dig deep to help others in time of need

• Published November 20, 2008

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It's the perfect storm for nonprofit organizations. During tough economic times when nonprofit organizations are most desperate for money to fund increased demands for services, strapped government entities cut back on their contributions to nonprofits.

And because they feel the financial pinch, too, many individuals cut back on their charitable contributions.

That combination can spell disaster for a community struggling to provide services to those in need.

Thus today's plea to South Sound residents. Yes, these are challenging times. Yes, jobs are being eliminated and salary and hiring freezes are in place. But as difficult as it is, we owe it to our friends and neighbors to be there for them during this time of need. We are called by our very humanity to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, ensure that our children are growing up happy and healthy and that our senior citizens live out their remaining days in dignity and comfort.

We are our brother's keeper, and now is the time we must step up to meet that challenge.

Survey results

United Way of Thurston County in collaboration with the Community Foundation of South Puget Sound recently surveyed 24 social service nonprofit organizations in this community about their financial health and their ability to provide services.

The results are discouraging, but not surprising:

• 23 of the 24 nonprofit directors said demand for services is up from a year ago -- from slight increases of 5 percent to 10 percent to some organizations struggling to meet a 100 percent increase in demand for services.

• 58 percent of the nonprofit directors said their funding has been cut. Housing programs were hardest hit, increasing the likelihood that more people -- especially men -- will be homeless.

• Nonprofit directors have responded by reducing financial assistance to clients, cutting their operating budgets, terminating employees, cutting hours of service, scaling back fundraising efforts and eliminating some services.