A Best of CCP Episode! Shaun Sears, Arborists and Co-Owner of Canopy Cat Rescue
December 22, 2018
A Best of CCP Episode! Kim Freeman, Professional Missing Cat Finder
December 29, 2018
Over the last month the stock market has been dropping substantially, and it’s quite possible that this will be the first year that the S+P 500 could show a decline. Everyone is very worried that we are going to enter into a recession. We have a lot of economic uncertainties coming our way in 2019 and we may indeed have a recession (and in reality, the market needs one).
But what does this mean for your nonprofit and for cats in the community? Here are some of my thoughts from the experiences of 2008-2009 on how you might be able to prepare for this inevitable event.
The Good News
1. Your volunteer options will increase tremendously. If people are laid off or positions scaled back, people will reach out to nonprofits and offer to help. In good economic times, recruiting volunteers can be very challenging. During a recession, you may find better access to engaged supporters who can help out with daily activities and strategic initiatives. You may even find it easier to add members and new skills to your board of directors.
2. Local service businesses will be more willing to donate their time to nonprofits as a way of building community awareness. So for auction fundraisers, for instance, service-oriented businesses will be quicker to respond to requests for support.
3. Relationships count! This is the time to really encourage relationship with your donors, volunteers and the businesses that you partner with. Even in tough times, donors will continue to support an organization when they have a personal relationship with it and feel like they have a vested interest in its success.
4. If you are thinking about starting a savings program or creating an endowment, this would be a good time to think about how you would invest that money. I am not a financial adviser, but investing in the future of your organization does make sense, and if you are thinking about starting a program like this, this would be a good time to set up the systems.
The Bad News
1. Your services will be needed in the community SO much more, especially access to low-cost spay/neuter. Residents will continue to assist cats and kittens needing homes, but they won’t be able to afford the life-saving services (spay/neuter). You may see an uptick in surrenders. It is so important to get ahead of the game and reach out to the community to ensure that all unsterilized cats are getting access to affordable spay/neuter. Winter is a great time for a spay/neuter campaign.
2. Donations of items and products for events may dry up. If businesses are feeling financially strained, they are going to limit the number of donations and items they give. So if you hold an auction, you will need to be really on the top of the donation listing (see above about relationships).
3. Donors and foundations may lower their giving. Foundations need to give out 5% of their assets every year to comply with IRS regulations — but if the market goes down by 30%, then foundations could reduce their giving by 30%. That is a huge number. So excellent applications are so important. Your donors are also going to prioritize their giving. You may want to elevate the benefits that your donors receive at certain levels. For instance, maybe you already have board members writing personal thank-you notes to anyone who gives $250. In a recession, you may want to lower the amount to $100. Or you may want to add in some other volunteers to engage in writing thank-you letters as well. Think about ways to make your organization stand out in order to make sure you don’t end up at the bottom of the giving list.
Going through a recession is certainly very tough, but by being prepared and taking advantage of possible opportunities, you’ll be better positioned to come through it with minimal damage.
