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In speaking with several nonprofit executives over the past few months, it is evident that nonprofit organizations, as are others, are still struggling. Money is really tight and fund raising is down. As we hit the halfway point for the year, many organizations are facing the reality that this is not going to be a successful year and certain changes are going to be necessary. Some of these changes may include staff layoffs, downsizing of office space, reducing or eradicating projects that involve printing and mailing costs and eliminating travel, conferences, training and other opportunities that would enhance the organization. I will share what I believe are important elements for surviving these difficult economic times.
• Go back to your core annual donors (both present and lapsed) and ask them to support you again. If the ask was made through an annual donor letter campaign in the past, you may want to make a personal phone call this time. Who knows, a $100 gift might turn into a larger gift if you have an opportunity to explain your circumstances.
• You should already have personal contact with your major gift donors, but I would use the same approach. If they gave $5000 last year or in previous years, have a frank conversation with them about your situation. It may help shore up the same amount of the previous gift or even secure a larger gift. But you need to walk away with something from these core supporters.
• Explore partnerships that may involve government dollars. There are a lot of funds are out there through the federal government and they are from a variety of sources. There is stimulus money, faith-based funds and other sources through various governmental agencies. Learn about these opportunities and see if there is a good fit for your organization. Do your homework and find a partner if that is what it takes.
• Build relationships with foundations whose mission coincides with your mission. Let them hear from you and learn about you. Communicate throughout the year and not only when you are seeking funding. A foundation feels much more comfortable providing funds to an organization it knows and trusts.
• Push your board and other internal stakeholders to give and to help obtain funds. They are as close as anybody to your mission. Fund raising should never be a complete staff function, but staff can facilitate ways for others to find donors. I would start with your board.
The economic climate is troublesome and there are many external factors that are affecting success, but make sure you are doing everything you can with your organization’s internal decisions and strategies. The year is only half over and there is still time to have some successes in the second half of the year. Good luck with your efforts.Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.
The fifth and last core value of the Sisters of Charity Health System and the Foundation is compassion. I saved it for last, because compassion is at the very essence of every single thing we do as a ministry. It is an awareness and understanding of the human pain and suffering of others and the desire to do something about it.
I believe that each of us has a sense of compassion. The extent of a person’s compassion varies from individual to individual. In the Bible, God demonstrates his compassion and graciousness in scripture. For example, in Psalm 145:8 and Isaiah 54:8 reference is given to God’s everlasting kindness for each one of us. One of God’s greatest messages to us is that he is compassionate and he expects us to be compassionate as well.
Compassion is a human quality that is divinely inspired. When we see someone that is in distress and we feel their pain as if it were our own and strive to eliminate or lessen it, then this is compassion. Compassion also comes out of having a true understanding of one’s self. We can really see the needs of others more clearly when we truly understand ourselves and can apply that understanding in a compassionate and unselfish way.
I see compassion for the sick and suffering in our hospitals. I see it through our outreach ministries to help low-income fathers and uninsured children. I see it through the work in our Foundation as we reach out to help the poor and underserved of all ages and in every community.
In the New Testament, there is the parable of the Good Samaritan. He happened by a man who had been beaten by robbers. The man was hurt and was avoided by two religious men who walked on the other side of the street. Along came a common man who cared for him and tended to his wounds.
We see those suffering every day in our own lives. Seeing suffering and acting on it are two different things. I feel like we all have the capacity to be compassionate in both big ways and small ways and, to me, it really does not matter which way you choose. What matters, is recognizing the need that someone else has and acting upon that need with whatever means you have.
The best thing of all is that compassion for others is free of charge. It does not cost one single penny to act compassionately towards someone or in some situation. I have been blessed to work with compassionate Sisters and fellow servant leaders. Compassion is one of our core values and it is at the root of all of our work every day.Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
Collaboration is another core value of the Sisters of Charity and the Foundation. The definition for collaboration is pretty basic. It is to work with others to achieve a common goal.
When I was in Boy Scouts we had a “tug of war” contest. There were eight guys on one side, eight on the other and a huge mud pit in the middle. When the contest began, the pulling began. I was on the front of the team and I became acutely aware of the muddy pit only a few feet in front of me. I yelled back to my team members to pull harder. One guy on our team was bigger and stronger than the rest of us. He gave a big heave and that was all it took. The guys on the other side lurched forward and half of them plunged into the mud pit, much to our delight.
It was my first known experience where collaboration was pretty clear to me. I could not have done this task alone but with seven other guys helping me pull in one direction, the mission was easier and it was more achievable. This same concept can be applied to so many other things. For example, I have witnessed hundreds of volunteers clean an entire town in one day by working together picking up trash.
When foundations and other organizations collaborate, several things occur. It gives you added human capacity, it gives additional financial resources and it also gives focus to a bigger goal that will better the community. This has also been accomplished through partnerships with business and government.
Collaboration is a great concept but it is not always easy to implement. It requires flexibility, group thinking, a willingness to give up control and a belief that the “greater good” will benefit from multiple partners. Collaboration really works when we become less about territory and more about opportunity.
I have seen more and more nonprofit organizations willing to collaborate during these difficult economic times. It makes sense financially, organizationally and some times it can be the only way they will sustain themselves and survive over the long run. With philanthropic dollars as scarce as we have ever seen, collaboration is a “must” in today’s nonprofit world.
We must be willing to put our own self interests aside and find common ground that will benefit more people and communities. It is not only the way to survive this economic storm, but it is the right thing to do and the right time to do it.
Collaboration is an important core value of the Foundation and the Sisters of Charity Health System as a whole. It is basically working together to maximize your potential to meet your mission and goals. Here is hoping we can find new ways to all work together collaboratively both now and in the future.
Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
Today marks a little known or celebrated 100th anniversary. In 1909, a woman named Sonora Dodd in Spokane, Wash., was listening to her preacher’s sermon about the importance of honoring Mother's Day. Although she agreed it was an important day, she felt it unfair that no recognition was given to fathers. After Sonora's mother died, it was her father who made the big sacrifices in her life. He was the one who made sure she had food on the table, warm clothes to wear and that she said her nightly prayers. Why then, she wondered, were fathers not being honored in the same fashion?
Sonora began her life's mission to see that fathers received the same recognition as mothers for making the necessary sacrifices for their children. She began having a father’s day celebration during June, her birth month, every year thereafter in Spokane. But, it was not until 1972 (63 years later) that a permanent national observance of Father's Day on the third Sunday of June was established.
Today, we need to ask a similar question as the one posed by Sonora 100 years ago. Why is it that the importance of having an engaged and active father remains largely devalued and unrecognized? While Sonora’s father was loving and attentive, many fathers today are not so involved. Father absence has dramatically increased since the 1960’s. More children are living today in father absent households than during the height of World War II. Research clearly reveals that father absence has significant negative consequences for children, including child poverty. Society and taxpayers pay a tremendous price as well. Because many disregard a father’s worth and fewer people reach out to them, support for fathers is spotty and underfunded throughout our nation.
However, progress is being made in South Carolina. The Sisters of Charity Foundation has invested more than $16.5 million to support advocacy and fatherhood programs in South Carolina over the past ten years. The South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families, an outgrowth of this initiative, supports six fatherhood programs in 12 locations across the state and serves more than 1,500 low-income fathers who want to become great dads. Fathers receive guidance, support, information and resources. They earn respect and are respected.
Support for these programs is worthwhile. They save taxpayers money and change lives. Not just for this generation but for our future generations. We can not afford to wait 50 or 100 more years to prioritize this issue that impacts us all. Yes all of us. Join Sonora’s legacy, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina, the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families and countless other partners who are working to recognize and reach out to fathers. Let your voice be heard. For more information about the Fatherhood Initiative, visit the South Carolina Center for Fathers and Families or the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina Web site.Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
Another core value of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina is justice. Justice is so important and it is certainly subject to different interpretations and meanings. To me, every issue we encounter deals with ethics and comes under the notion of justice. Justice is a set of principles which guide others in determining what is right and what is wrong no matter what culture we live in. It is to elevate the dignity of each and every human person.
At the Foundation, we work with the underserved population. Many are homeless, most have no health insurance, thousands are in need of food and an unimaginable number attend dilapidated schools that are inadequate for learning. We find ourselves living in a world where there is a huge disparity between those who have life’s necessities to live and succeed and those who do not. The core question around justice is, “Do I have a responsibility to others who have less than me and cannot take care of themselves or their families?” My answer is, “Yes.”
Social justice provides the very foundation for a healthy community. It grows out of a sense that each individual person in our society has value. Only as we realize the value and dignity of each individual person can we build a healthy community. This can be a slow process of learning and growing. To help the process along we develop attitudes of respect for one another regardless of where they rest on the socio-economic scale.
Isn’t justice about helping every person realize their full human potential? Shouldn’t we reward people in our society for being loving and caring, ethical, kind and generous? We have systems in place that are suppose to address justice issues but frankly, they just “scratch the surface” towards solving problems around justice and fairness.
Each one of us can make a difference, even if it is in a small way. I believe that social justice imposes on each individual a personal responsibility to help one another. In the end, we are not going to be judged by how many houses, cars and clothes we own or how much money is in our bank accounts. Our individual legacy will be measured by what we have done to make a difference in the lives of others and, in particular, those who cannot make it on their own.
When I think about justice as a core value, I believe it is one of the most difficult to affect and it is one of the most important values. Look around; make yourself aware of the injustices that occur in our society everyday. Then ask yourself, “What can I do to help?” Isn’t that really what matters in the long run?
Tom Keith is is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
Another core value of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina is Courage. It is an important value because, to me, it is about always standing behind your mission, purpose and beliefs.
I remember watching the movie “12 Angry Men” with Henry Fonda. It is an old movie but it has a great message. It tells the story of one juror who had the courage to stand up against all of the other jurors who wanted to convict a man. The reasons they wanted to convict varied and their reasons appeared self-serving. Some of the jurors were missing work, some were late for an appointment and some thought the room was too hot because of no air conditioning. Others had perceived biases that tainted their objectivity. For example, the young man on trial was Hispanic and one juror had had a bad experience with a Hispanic person in the past and was, therefore, prejudice. Henry Fonda’s character not only showed the courage to stand alone with his vote of not guilty, but he was able to point out the weaknesses in the arguments of the other jurors. He stood by his convictions, beliefs and principles and had the courage to go against the majority. In the end, justice was served and the man was found not guilty, in large part due to Fonda’s character’s courage.
We all face difficulties in our lives and what sets people with courage apart from others is fortitude. Often courage requires risk because the outcome could be harmful. God gives us all many gifts and he allows us to use those gifts when ever possible.
So what does courage mean? Courage is doing the right thing when the wrong thing seems to produce better results. Courage is looking past yourself and dedicating your energy to the betterment of mankind. Courage is the ability to set aside all your disappointments and still be able to open your heart and mind to others and give them your all. Courage is the ability to say I was wrong and I am sorry. Courage is doing something difficult, and even dangerous, selflessly. Courage is grace under pressure and humility out of honor. Courage is knowing what not to fear.
Lastly, courage is standing for your principles and beliefs regardless of the obstacles and barriers that are put before you. Courage is an important core value and something that lies within every single one of us. Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina.
One of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina’s core values is respect. I would like to share with you what respect means to me as one who works in Foundation Ministry.
Respect is a culture here at the Foundation. It is something that every single person expresses to every other person in this office. It starts here each day with our staff and board members. It is a mutual respect and understanding about fulfilling the mission of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine and addressing generational poverty. It is reflected in our relationship with nonprofit and faith-based organizations. We want them to know that each of them has value of purpose and that each one, regardless of the size of the organization, location or funding amount awarded, will be treated fairly and equally. We also respect each individual regardless of race, religion, age, gender, etc.
We respect each grantee after they are funded and work diligently to build confidence and trust. We are also respectful of the beneficiaries of the services provided by our grantees. These are the individuals that are living in poor neighborhoods or communities that are dealing with a wide array of issues on a daily basis. Our intent is to always keep the children and families in our thoughts and prayers daily and to never lose sight of the goal. We also realize that many of these individuals feel hopeless or compromised and deserve the respect of each of us individually and of the Foundation organizationally.
We are in the business of helping others less fortunate and the first step in helping is giving others the respect they deserve. The Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina is far from perfect and we learn new things every day. God has blessed us with an opportunity to make a difference and we do not take that responsibility lightly.
The core value of respect is one of the most important values we have because it exemplifies who we are and how we operate. Through respect we engage, teach, listen, learn, support and adapt. Respect matters and it matters not just once in awhile; it matters always and it matters in every single situation. We fulfill our mission as a Foundation in a multitude of ways and at the forefront of that work is our unwavering respect for every single person we meet. It sounds simple, but it may be the most important thing we can do for others. Tom Keith is the president of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of South Carolina
In speaking with several nonprofit executives over the past few months, it is evident that nonprofit organizations, as are others, are still struggling. Money is really tight and fund raising is down. As we hit the halfway point for the year, many organizations are facing the reality that this is not going to be a successful year and certain changes are going to be necessary. Some of these changes may include staff layoffs, downsizing of office space, reducing or eradicating projects that involve printing and mailing costs and eliminating travel, conferences, training and other opportunities that would enhance the organization. I will share what I believe are important elements for surviving these difficult economic times. 
