Today’s New Reality

As a nonprofit organization, you have been successful for many years. You have raised millions of dollars from an array of sources. You are well respected in the community and are doing wonderful things to help many people in need. Then, in 2008, the recession hits and the game changes. Grant funds from government and private funders begin to dwindle. Individual donors become reluctant to give because their own investment portfolios have suffered and dropped significantly. Your income drops by 50% in a one-year period. The demand for your services increases by 150% due to the recession. This is your new reality.

You are not alone; nonprofits throughout the country are faced with this new reality. It is the start of a tornado of events. First, there is panic. You start calling funders and begging for an exception to the grants process and try to convince them of the urgency of your situation. They are sympathetic but cannot change their processes just for you. You frantically search for other funding sources at the federal and state level.  There are a few options but the timing is not good and the competition fierce. It is a long shot for you. You call current and past donors to convince them of your urgent situation but their resources are limited and they are not much help, if help at all. You meet with big businesses and corporations to try and get support but they too are strapped. This is your new reality.

The fact of the matter is today’s new reality means less money for all. It also means you must operate your nonprofit with maximum efficiency by cutting costs, reducing services, using more volunteers and, if necessary, downsizing your operation. This is not good news but it is the truth. There are no quick fixes or easy solutions for today’s nonprofit leaders. One thing is clear though, business as usual is a recipe for failure. You must be creative, strategic and malleable if you want to survive today. This goes for small and large nonprofits. Better times may lie ahead but you have to get to those better times to be able to benefit from them.

Today’s new reality is not the end of the world. It is seeing the world in another way and figuring out how to utilize your skills and the tools available to you to find better ways to be successful. Anything is possible if you can find your niche and focus your efforts differently. Be willing to try new things and create new relationships. Nonprofit leaders are resilient and they are warriors. Go fight the tough battles of today’s new reality and come back a winner. After all, that is why we are in this business in the first place; to fight for the benefit of others in need, even if we have to reinvent ourselves to get there.

Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina

2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book Reveals Impact of the Recession on South Carolina's Children

Today, Annie E. Casey Foundation released the 2011 KIDS COUNT Data Book which tracks the well-being of children at the national, state and local levels using indicators in the areas of education, employment and income, health, poverty and youth risk factors.

South Carolina continues to rank 45th in the nation for child well-being based on the KIDS COUNT 10 key indicators.  Most upsetting is that approximately 260,000 children, one of every four, live in poverty. What’s more, half of all South Carolina's children (approximately 520,000) live in low-income families at twice the poverty line. (According to the 2011 Federal Poverty Guidelines, the 2011 poverty level for a family of four is $22,350 which breaks down to $1,863 a month. The income for a family of four at 200 percent of the poverty level is $44,700 or $3,725 a month.)

As a result of the Great Recession, the annual KIDS COUNT data also examined two additional indicators:  unemployment and foreclosure. Some key highlights include the following:

• 140,000 children in South Carolina are in families with one or both parents unemployed.
• 11 percent of children (113,000) in South Carolina had at least one unemployed parent during 2010. 
• South Carolina had the 2nd highest percentage in the nation (6.6%) of children with all resident parents unemployed and the 3rd highest percentage in the nation (13.6%) with at least one resident parent unemployed in 2009.
• The foreclosure numbers are also troubling, as 3 percent (53,000) of children were affected by foreclosure during 2007 through 2009, ranking South Carolina tied for 14th in the U.S.

South Carolina's worst rankings are for low birth weight (47th), infant and child deaths (47th), single parent families (47th), and child poverty (41st).  Since the release of the KIDS COUNT data books beginning 20 years ago, South Carolina has consistently ranked 45th.

"The results are startling,” according to Baron Holmes, project director for KIDS COUNT South Carolina. “Increased child poverty resulting from the Great Recession highlights long-existing curses of low education, low employment and persistent poverty. Until education and employment are improved dramatically in South Carolina, the wellbeing of children in South Carolina will remain in the bottom 6 or 8 states, as it has been over the past two decades."

A coalition of organizations supporting children and families across South Carolina, including the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, are reviewing the economic data and mitigation efforts in order to identify opportunities for improvement.


SC Kids Count is sponsored by the Office of Research and Statistics of the S.C. Budget and Control Board. For release of the 2011 Kids Count Data Book, SC Kids Count is collaborating with the Children’s Trust of South Carolina and the USC Children’s Law Center.