Sunday, March 21, 2010

Across the nation the faltering economy has taken a severe toll on charities and the people they serve. Donors are delaying, lessening or eliminating gifts. The availability of private or public grants has decreased while the demand for charitable services has increased.

During these times of shrinking resources and increased need for services, some nonprofit charitable organizations are considering merging or collaborating in an effort to attempt to maintain services while reducing costs.

Here in Monroe County, two national nonprofits that rely almost entirely on local funding, Easter Seals Florida Inc.'s Keys Region and the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Keys at Bayview Park, are joining forces to cut costs and maximize their fundraising power. They plan to realize cost-savings from combining offices, services and fundraising efforts. Each group will maintain its own identify while working together to expand the effectiveness of their collective outreach and services.

These two organizations have a common clientele: Both serve low-income children with physical disabilities. Easter Seals provides physical therapy for children with special needs; the Boys & Girls Clubs provides day care, and after-school and summer programs for low-income children, including those with physical handicaps.

Undoubtedly Easter Seals and the Boys & Girls Clubs will face challenges interlacing these organizations' culture, services and fundraising resources -- while striving to maintain their individual identity.

We commend them for engaging in this collaborative approach and wish them success in their venture. Their real-life experience will serve as an example and learning curve for other nonprofit organizations contemplating potential merger or collaboration strategies in these economic times.

It is estimated that nearly 350 charitable nonprofit organizations of various sizes providing a broad range of services operate in the Florida Keys.

Board members and executive directors of these charitable nonprofits play a vital role in ensuring the survival of their organizations and programs. These tough economic times require boards to analyze their operations and take the appropriate steps to reduce costs. Eliminating service overlap and discovering ways to collaborate with other organizations to share resources such as staff, office space and equipment can lead to improved efficiencies. We encourage charitable nonprofits to explore these and other ways to improve operational efficiency.

There are no easy solutions, no silver bullets to this economic downturn and the negative impact it has on charities.

We commend all individuals and charitable organizations for their out-of-the-box thinking and efforts to maintain -- and even improve -- charitable client services during these difficult times of shrinking resources.

-- The Citizen