Meyer Memorial Trust Launches Oregon Unlimited

In March, Meyer Memorial Trust launched OregonUnlimited.org - an online commons where Oregonians connect, share information and resources and take collective action for public good.

To learn more about Oregon Unlimited, take a look at the Oregon Unlimited flyer HERE and then head over to www.oregonunlimited.org to get involved!

2013 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey Results

Nonprofit Finance Fund’s 2013 State of the Sector Survey Results

The Nonprofit Finance Fund is pleased to share with you the results of our 2013 State of the Nonprofit Sector Survey, generously supported by the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

Nearly 6000 respondents from all 50 states reported financial and management details showing the substantial changes that many nonprofits are making after years of economic stress. In the course of NFF’s 30 years, we have seen economic ups and downs, but current trends go beyond these cycles and point toward more lasting changes in the way social services are funded.

Nonprofits are changing the way they do business because they have to: government funding is not returning to pre-recession levels, philanthropic dollars are limited, and demand for critical services has climbed dramatically. The data show that, at the same time, 56 percent of nonprofits plan to increase the number of people served. That goal requires systemic change and innovation, both within the sector and more broadly, as a society that values justice, progress and economic opportunity.

For NFF, these were the most important stories to emerge from this year’s survey:

Nonprofits need new funding sources and models:

  • 42% of survey respondents report that they do not have the right mix of financial resources to thrive and be effective in the next 3 years.
  • 1 in 4 nonprofits has 30 days or less cash-on-hand.
  • Over the next twelve months, 39% plan to change the main ways they raise and spend money.
  • 23% will seek funding other than grants or contracts, such as loans or investments.

Nonprofits that receive government funding face particular challenges:

  • Only 14% of nonprofits receiving state and local funding are paid for the full cost of services; just 17% of federal fund recipients receive full reimbursement. Partial reimbursements require additional funding to cover the growing gap as nonprofits serve more people.
  • Government is late to pay: Among those with state or local funding, just over 60% reported overdue government payments; over 50% reported late payments from the federal government.

Under these challenging conditions, many nonprofits are unable to meet growing need in their communities:

  • For the first time in the five years of the survey, more than half (52%) of respondents were unable to meet demand over the last year; 54% say they won’t be able to meet demand this year.
  • This represents a worrying trend; in 2009, 44% of nonprofits said they were unable to meet demand.
  • Jobs (59%) and housing (51%) continue to be top concerns for those in low-income communities.
  • 90% of respondents say financial conditions are as hard or harder than last year for their clients; this is actually a slight improvement from prior years’ outlook.

Nonprofits are changing the way they do business to adapt to the new reality. In the past 12 months:

  • 49% have added or expanded programs or services; 17 percent reduced or eliminated programs or services.
  • 39% have collaborated with another organization to improve or increase services.
  • 39% have upgraded technology to improve organizational efficiency.
  • 36% engaged more closely with their board.

At the same time, too few nonprofits are comfortable enough discussing financing with their funders to enable them to have the kind of open discussion necessary to fund adaptation: 60% of organizations felt they could talk to funders about expanding programs, far outstripping other topics critical to their financial health.

But it’s not all about numbers.

It’s about the actions we can take because we have the numbers in hand. Philanthropists, nonprofits and private sector partners need to work together in new ways to support the most promising adaptations by organizations and the sector as a whole. Our goal with the survey is to generate data that can be used to support smart decision-making and sector-wide change. To that end, we’ve assembled a set of resources and updated and enhanced our web-based interactive tool - the NFF Survey Analyzer - that allows anyone to filter the anonymous data by geography, expense size, and sub-sector, sharing the results via social media or e-mail.

 

The Standard’s Employee Giving Campaign Raises $1.7 Million for Nonprofits

The Standard’s Employee Giving Campaign Raises $1.7 Million for Nonprofits
Employee participation was a record-breaking 51 percent, up ten percent from 2011

PORTLAND, Ore. — March 26, 2013 — During the 2012 Employee Giving Campaign, current and retired employees at Standard Insurance Company (“The Standard”) pledged more than $870,000 benefiting more than 1,127 nonprofit organizations. After a dollar-for-dollar match by The Standard, total nonprofit contributions from the 2012 campaign will exceed $1.7 million.

Employee participation was a record-breaking 51 percent compared with 41 percent in 2011.
These contributions, which are in addition to The Standard’s regular corporate giving, are distributed to nonprofit organizations during 2013.

Habitat for Humanity is the beneficiary of The Standard’s innovative Jeans Day program. The program encourages employees of The Standard to give $100 to Habitat for Humanity in exchange for the right to wear jeans to work on Fridays during 2013. The Standard matches these donations dollar-for-dollar, providing employees with an added incentive to give.

“The Standard’s annual employee giving campaign continues to reflect the depth of our employees’ commitment to supporting nonprofits and ultimately the well-being of their communities,” said Greg Ness, chairman, president and chief executive officer of The Standard. “More employees than ever are participating, and through their remarkable generosity they are helping hundreds of nonprofit organizations serve the communities in which we work and live,” Ness added.

More than 1,500 current and retired employees pledged support during the campaign.

The following are among the many organizations receiving support (figures cited include pledges by employees and retirees and the dollar-for-dollar match by The Standard):

  • Portland Habitat for Humanity/ Metro East $154,000
  • Oregon Food Bank $70,000
  • Work for Art $50,000
  • Mercy Corps $37,000
  • Oregon Humane Society $36,000
  • Oregon Public Broadcasting $32,000
  • Lake Oswego School District Foundation $25,000
  • University of Oregon Foundation $22,000
  • The Standard Charitable Foundation $19,000
  • Lewis & Clark College $16,000


For more information about community involvement at The Standard, visit www.standard.com/community.

About The Standard
The Standard is a leading provider of financial products and services, including group and individual disability insurance, group life and accidental death and dismemberment insurance, group dental and vision insurance, absence management services, retirement plans products and services, individual annuities and investment advice. For more information about The Standard, visit www.standard.com.

The Standard is the marketing name for StanCorp Financial Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries: Standard Insurance Company, The Standard Life Insurance Company of New York, Standard Retirement Services, Inc., StanCorp Mortgage Investors, Inc., StanCorp Investment Advisers, Inc., StanCorp Real Estate, LLC, and StanCorp Equities, Inc.

Northwest Funders Come Together to Support DACA Programs

For more than a decade, The Oregon Community Foundation has been working on Latino leadership development in Oregon through the Latino Partnership Program (LPP) and funding services for other immigrant groups.  The future economic and civic success of our state is linked to these new Oregonians and the attainments of children.  Through this work OCF has been hearing for years that nonprofits who serve Latino and other immigrant populations were worried about their ability to respond quickly to deal with immigration reform should it come about.  Typically such reform has a time-limited window for people to fill out complex application forms and pay application fees.  If nonprofit assistance is not available to help with the process immigrants are vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous and incompetent practitioners.

When Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) was announced (for more information about DACA click HERE) in June 2012, it was no surprise that several nonprofits contacted OCF for emergency support to work with eligible immigrant youth.  OCF convened several other funders supporting this type of work and determined that the legal costs associated with the DACA application process as a priority and decided to coordinate a response to meet that need.  Several funders (The Oregon Community Foundation, McKenzie River Gathering Foundation, The Collins Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, United Way of Columbia-Willamette, Vibrant Village Foundation, NW Health Foundation) pooled funds to respond together and others made direct grants.

The initial fund was intended to be a one-time emergency response to help ramp up organizational capacity around legal aid and the DACA application process of organizations like Causa, Catholic Charities, Center for Non-Profit Legal Services, Immigration Counseling Service, Lutheran Community Services and Willamette Valley Law Project/PCUN.  In addition to the funders that pooled resources for legal aid, Western States Center contributed funds for other DACA related work and a year-end grant from GCIR - this effort totaled $225,674 in DACA related funding.

** Please note - in the originally posted story, we regretfully omitted McKenzie River Gathering Foundation from the list of funders supporting DACA programs.  Our sincere apologies for this omission.

The Lazar Foundation Announces 2012 Pacific Northwest Environmental Grants List

The Lazar Foundation is pleased to share the below information about their environmental grants offered in the Pacific Northwest for 2012.  They are inspired by great organizations working tirelessly to protect the environment for this and future generations.

To read the full grant list, click HERE.

M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust - November 2012 Grants

In November 2012, the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust approved the attached list of grants in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Nation-wide for a total of $7.6MM. To read more about the approved projects click HERE

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