Mixed results seen in Southwest Georgia nonprofit giving during 2016

ALBANY — Despite reports indicating that nonprofit giving has been on the rise nationally in recent years, response during 2016 at the Southwest Georgia level was mixed.

Lily Pad Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Center was working heavily last week with the help of its volunteers to get end-of-year donations in following a 2016 that was weaker than the organization was hoping for.

“Making sure we are prepared 24 hours a day and 365 days a year to provide free medical exams and forensic interviews to sexual assault and child abuse victims is an enormous financial undertaking,” Mary Martinez, executive director and forensic interviewer at the Lily Pad, said Thursday. “Although our community has always been generous to us, we are not quite where we need to be for this year.”

In the last days of the year, United Way of Southwest Georgia was 30-40 percent toward the $1 million goal for its current fundraising campaign. Officials with the agency said they are several months away from knowing what the final result of the campaign will be, but the momentum established in 2016 looked encouraging.

Some of its largest contributors, including Procter & Gamble and MillerCoors, had not reported results by late last week. While those campaigns have been ongoing, United Way officials have been at industry sites in the wee hours of the morning over the last few months meeting with shift workers to promote the cause and encourage them to open their pocketbooks.

“We have had great campaign events,” said United Way President and CEO LaKisha Bryant Bruce. “All of our businesses have told us they have had great numbers, but we don’t have (that data).

“We’ve had face time with businesses we haven’t (had a connection with), and we revitalized some old relationships. (Based on momentum) I think we will have a great year.”

Family Literacy Connection Executive Director Sandy Bamford said donations have been on the rise slightly from 2015, which she attributed to an uptick of awareness on what Literacy Connection does.

Bamford said that increased awareness was likely a result of a recent strategic plan implemented by the organization that included increased promotion.

“We are so busy with the work, that we don’t do enough (promotion of the work),” Bamford said.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany recently changed its language about what type of support the organization is seeking. Officials with the organization said the focus now is on bringing in investors and displaying results that are quantifiable.

The amount of giving since that shift implies the new approach is working.

“Funding with most organizations has been a challenge,” said CEO Marvin Laster. “Our focus has been on returns. We have seen funding increased because they (investors) see results.”

In the meantime, there is priority given toward making the most out of resources by forming community partnerships.

“We maximize our resources and look for partnerships where it makes sense so we can make the biggest difference for the community,” Laster said.

Boys & Girls Clubs was among the organizations in the Albany area to participate in Giving Tuesday in November, for which the organization encouraged its supporters to use social media to urge people to give. One alumnus of the agency reached out to his contacts and raised $2,500.

“Actually our donors have been incredibly generous this year,” said LaDonna Urick, executive director of Mission Change. “We have been so blessed by families and individuals, as well as businesses, who believe in what we do in the community and were very generous in their giving to Mission Change.

“It means so much to us, and we invite all of our donors to come and see where their money is going as they give to MC. It’s a win-win for our participants because when they do make their donation to us, they can come and check out where their donation is going and how it is being used and be a part of that as well.”

Bridgette Russell, communications specialist for Goodwill Industries of the Southern Rivers said the organization saw a giving spike in Albany during 2016 compared to the previous year. Figures were not immediately available Friday, but the trend showed a 2 percent increase over 2015 donations.

“The community is becoming more aware of our mission of connecting job seekers to work through our career center,” Russell explained. “We’re doing more to get the word out that donations and purchases support people looking for work right here in Albany.”

She also noted recent renovations done at the North Slappey Boulevard location as a possible reason for the change.

“Our Albany location underwent an extensive remodel earlier this year, which brought the donor door from the back of the store to the front,” Russell said. “We’ve seen a surge in donations since the remodel because the drive-up/drop-off is more visible and convenient for donors on the go.”

The Goodwill spokeswoman went on to say that the Round Up program, which debuted in late 2015 and allows customers to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar, has also had an impact.

“We are pleased to announce that the funds raised through Round Up will support GED scholarships in Albany,” she said. “Again, we don’t have final numbers on how much was raised, but we are excited about the program and we appreciate Albany’s support of people who want to further their education. We will release more information about the GED Connect program after the first of the year.”

On a final note, Russell said “We are so grateful for the community’s generosity and support of the Goodwill mission. It’s also a great time to shop, as we have some wonderful items that are now on the sales floor.”

Charity Navigator, a website citing figures from Giving USA 2016, reports that charitable giving continued its upward trend in 2015 as an estimated $373 billion was given to charitable causes. Activity increased in every category of givers, with 71 percent coming from individuals. Numbers for 2016 have not yet been released.

Religious groups have typically received the largest share of charitable donations, which in 2015 saw an increase of 2.7 percent and accounted for 33 percent of all donations last year, Charity Navigator reported.