Most nonprofits are used to coping with tight budgets, and faith-based nonprofits live even closer to the edge. But the current recession is testing the capabilities of nonprofit managers and the commitment of donors to an extraordinary degree. Many fear that disappointing results during the upcoming holiday giving season could be devastating.

Historically, research shows that recessions have little effect on faith-based giving, at least initially. But the depth of the current recession and the spike in requests for services pose a double-barreled challenge for nonprofits.

One of the few bright spots has been a rise in volunteering — though even that good news is tempered by the reality that rising unemployment and fewer job prospects for college graduates are contributing causes. An official for Catholic Charities noted that in many cases volunteers are becoming clients. And consider that for the first time in memory, the Salvation Army had its trademark red buckets out on the street corners in July. Add to that the lingering effects of the stock market drop on big donors, as well as stock-related scandals like the Bernard Madoff swindle that devastated many Jewish charities, and the concerns become clear.

How will religious nonprofits fare in the upcoming holiday season? What steps are they taking to keep donations from falling? If they do fall, how will they fill the gap? This edition of ReligionLink provides resources to cover this developing story.

Background

Read a May 2009 cover story in Christianity Today, “The Not-for-Profit Surge: Even in tough times, your favorite charities are doing better than anyone expected.”

Read a July 2009 Religion News Service story (posted by the Adventist Review) about the closing of Michigan-based Christian relief group International Aid due to financial woes, and job cuts at World Vision, one of the largest evangelical relief agencies.

Read a July 9, 2009, story in The Christian Post about a survey showing that Christian nonprofits are increasingly relying on volunteers. The study, conducted by J. David Schmidt & Associates for the Christian Leadership Alliance, showed that one out of five Christian nonprofits is relying on volunteers to offset labor and income losses due to the recession.

The (New York) Jewish Week newspaper has extensively covered both the recession’s and the Madoff scandal’s impact on Jewish charities. It maintains a special section on charitable giving.

Read a Sept. 29, 2009, Associated Press story (posted by the National Conference on Citizenship) about the recession’s effect on social service charities, some of them religion-based.

Think tanks and watchdog organizations

• The Center for Effective Philanthropy conducts research and gathers data on nonprofit groups to help philanthropists make effective donations. In October 2009, the center hosted an event in San Francisco titled “Foundation Effectiveness in a New Reality.” Contact director of communications Kacie Sherman, 617-492-0800 ext. 230.
• The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University includes the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, which prepared a 2008 report titled “Religious Giving in Uncertain Times.” The report shows that recession has historically had little effect on religious giving and has a list of recommendations for faith-based nonprofits. Earlier this year, the center held a conference on the same subject. Contact via press contact Adriene Davis, 317-278-8972, adridavi@iupui.edu.
• The Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy at the University of Southern California conducts research on philanthropy and nonprofits. The center maintains a list of experts on philanthropy, both national and local.
• The Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston College, a Jesuit school, examines the relationship between spirituality, wealth and giving. Paul Schervish is director. Contact 617-552-4070, paul.schervish@bc.edu.
• Charity Navigator is a watchdog group that keeps an eye on nonprofits and charitable organizations. It has a database searchable by religion.
• The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University contains the Program on Religion and Public Life, which examines the role between faith-based groups, including nonprofits, and American civic society and policy. It is currently involved in a program examining the Catholic Church’s civic assets as a window onto the growing religion-based nonprofit sector.
• The Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal encourages donations that support small, local, often faith-based grassroots associations. Contact press contact James Bologna, 202-974-6456, jbologna@hudson.org.
• New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising provides professional development training for nonprofit executives, employees and volunteers. Naomi Levine is executive director. Contact via press contact Ken Brown, 212-998-9119, ken.brown@nyu.edu.

National sources

• Mary Jo Bane is a professor of public policy and management at Harvard University, where she is co-coordinator of the Program on Religion and Public Life. Contact 617-496-9703, mary_jo_bane@harvard.edu.
• Stanley Carlson-Thies is founder and president of the Institutional Religious Freedom Alliance, a Washington, D.C.-area nonpartisan think tank that works to protect the religious identity, standards and services of faith-based service organizations. He contributed a foreword to Start and Grow Your Faith-Based Non-Profit: Answering Your Call in the Service of Others. Contact 443-822-7599, stanley@irfAlliance.org.
• David Gresham is executive director of development at the Navigators, listed by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of the nation’s 400 largest nonprofits. In 2008, he said the Christian outreach ministry expected lower donations as people’s stock portfolios were gutted by the recession. Contact at the nonprofit’s Colorado Springs, Colo., office, 719-598-1212.
• J. Bryan Hehir is a professor of the practice of religion and public life at Harvard University, where he is co-coordinator of the Program on Religion and Public Life. Contact Bryan_Hehir@ksg.harvard.edu.
• Maj. George Hood is the Salvation Army’s national community relations secretary. The Salvation Army is the second-largest nonprofit, according to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, which reported that the charity’s 2007 donations were up 23 percent over 2006. Contact 703-647-4799.
• Naomi Levine is executive director of New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising and is an expert on Jewish philanthropy and nonprofits. Contact via press contact Ken Brown, 212-998-9119, ken.brown@nyu.edu.
• Frank Lofaro is president and CEO of the Christian Leadership Alliance in San Clemente, Calif., which works with some 4,500 church and parachurch organizations worldwide. The CLA sponsored a study (see in background section) in April on the effects of the recession on Christian nonprofits. Contact 949-487-0900 ext. 111.
• Stephen V. Monsma is the author of When Sacred & Secular Mix: Religious Nonprofit Organizations & Public Money and a research fellow at the Paul Henry Institute at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. He can discuss the relationship between religious beliefs and practices and giving to religious and secular nonprofits. Contact 616-526-6993, sm24@calvin.edu.
• Mary Oates is a lecturer in economics at Regis College in Weston, Mass. She is an expert on Catholic philanthropy in America. Contact 781-768-7420, mary.oates@regiscollege.edu.
• William Enright is director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at Indiana University. He can discuss the center’s report on religious giving and the recession. Contact press contact Adriene Davis, 317-278-8972, adridavi@iupui.edu.
• Gary Rosenblatt is editor and publisher of The (New York) Jewish Week. He and other reporters at the paper have written extensively about the effects of the recession and the Madoff scandal on Jewish philanthropies. Contact gary@jewishweek.org.
• The Rev. Larry Snyder is president of Catholic Charities USA, a nonprofit that benefits the poor. In September 2009, he told The New York Times that increasing numbers of the charity’s volunteers are becoming clients. Contact via press contact Roger Conner, 703-236-6218.
• Martin VanDerWerf is head of communications for The Chronicle of Philanthropy, a newspaper that covers the nonprofit sector. He can help reporters set up a complimentary yearlong subscription to the newspaper and its database on nonprofits. Contact 202-466-1082, press@philanthropy.com.

Regional sources

IN THE NORTHEAST

• Pat James is the press officer of the Salvation Army’s Northern New England Division, which covers Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. Contact 207-774-6304, Pat_James@use.salvationarmy.org.
• The Maine Philanthropy Center is an association of grant makers in Maine. The association offers a resource titled “Philanthropy in a Changing Environment” and recently held an event with breakout sessions outlining how nonprofits could work together and on how they can benefit from merging. Janet Henry is president. Contact 207-780-5039.
• Bryan Stone is a professor of theology at Boston University, where he teaches a course on faith-based nonprofit organizational development. He can discuss the history and importance of religious nonprofits. Contact 617-353-2456, bpstone@bu.edu.

IN THE EAST

• The Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at the City University of New York has done research into philanthropy among some religious and ethnic groups in the New York area. Contact press representative Amal Muhammad, 212-817-2014.
• Paul Kane is senior vice president for financial resource development at UJA-Federation of New York. He has talked about the impact the downturn on Wall Street has had on the organization’s budget. Contact via press contact Jane Rubinstein, 212-843-8287 (office), 516-993-0708 (cell), jrubinstein@rubenstein.com.
• Max Kleinman is executive vice president of the United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey. He wrote a story for the Stanford Social Innovation Review about how the Jewish philanthropies gutted by the Madoff scandal are coping. Contact via Mark Cohen, 973-929-3084, media@ujcnj.org.

IN THE SOUTHEAST

• Pam Erickson is vice president of procurement and corporate relations of Operation Blessing International, listed by The Chronicle of Philanthropy as one of the 400 largest nonprofits. It is based in Virginia Beach, Va. Contact via Deborah Bensen in communications, 757-226-3440, deborah.bensen@ob.org.
• Margaret Linnane is executive director of the Rollins Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Center at Rollins College in Winter Park, Fla. Contact mlinnane@rollins.edu.
• Carolyn Tripp is a marketing professor at Southeastern University, a Christian school in Lakeland, Fla., where she focuses on marketing for Christian nonprofits. Contact cltripp@seuniversity.edu.
• Bob Wineburg is a professor of social work at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and the author of A Limited Partnership: The Politics of Religion, Welfare and Social Service. Contact 336-334-5228, bob-wineburg@uncg.edu.

IN THE SOUTH

• Cindy Fuller is the press officer for the Salvation Army’s Arkansas operations. Contact 405-254-1156 (office), 405-830-6549 (cell), Cindy_Fuller@uss.salvationarmy.org.
• Score International sends Christians on short-term ministries. It has a four-star rating from Charity Navigator and is based in Chattanooga, Tenn. Contact 423-894-7111.
• Danny Wuerffel is the founder of Desire Street Ministries, a Christian ministry devoted to rebuilding impoverished New Orleans neighborhoods in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Contact 678-681-3979.

IN THE MIDWEST

• Rich Draeger is the press officer for the Salvation Army’s Heartland Division, which covers central Illinois. Contact 309-655-1348 (office), 309-253-9909 (cell), Rich_Draeger@usc.salvationarmy.org.
• Margaret Jamal is co-founder of the R.A.T.E.S. Foundation, an organization that helps develop nonprofits. It is based in Aurora, Ill. She is also the author of Faith Legacies: Program Development Guide for Faith-Based Nonprofits (2009). Contact 800-986-4483.
• The Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University publishes The Foundation Review. Kathy Agard is executive director and can discuss the general health of nonprofits, including religion-based ones, in the Grand Rapids, Mich., area. Contact agardk@gvsu.edu.
• Amanda Waters is the press officer for the Salvation Army’s Kansas and Western Missouri Division. Contact 816-756-1455 (office), 816-803-0935 (cell), Amanda_Waters@usc.salvationarmy.org.

IN THE SOUTHWEST

• Baylor University’s Center for Nonprofit Leadership & Service emphasizes faith-based nonprofits in its study and research. Contac via Cynthia Jackson, press contact, 254-710-3495, Cynthia_Jackson@baylor.edu.
• Bob Blincoe is the president of Frontiers, a Christian nonprofit that sends missionaries to the Muslim world. It is based in Phoenix. Contact 480-834-1500.
• The Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation at Arizona State University works to develop nonprofit leadership. Robert Ashcraft is executive director. Contact ashcraft@asu.edu.

IN THE WEST/NORTHWEST

• Catholic Charities of California is an umbrella organization of the 12 Catholic Charities organizations in the state. Greg Kepferle is director. Contact 916-313-4005.
• Jill Esau is the founder of We Care Northwest, a nonprofit in Redmond, Wash., that focuses on building and advocating for faith-based organizations. She is the author of Start and Grow Your Faith-Based NonProfit: Answering Your Call in the Service of Others. Contact 425-681-8532.
• The Jewish Community Foundation of Oakland, Calif., seeks to connect Jewish philanthropies and donors. Lisa Tabak is executive director. Contact 510-318-6420, lisa@jfedorg.
• Deborah Snow is project director for the Corporation for National & Community Service, a nonprofit that works to improve the effectiveness of other nonprofits, including faith-based organizations. It is located in Scotts Valley, Calif. Contact 831-438-4060, dsnow@etr.org.

Photo credit: korafotomorgana, Flickr