While area nonprofit organizations scramble to help meet the needs of flood victims, they’re also grappling with a longer term problem: how to raise the money that is so critical to their sustainability in a community that has been devastated by the recent disaster?
So far, there is no clear-cut solution. But the fall fundraising season is when many nonprofit organizations kick off their annual campaigns and put on the events that generate their revenues for the year. Already, several local nonprofits have canceled or rescheduled their big moneymakers.
Last week, Cancer Services-Greater Baton Rouge announced it has canceled its annual Capital Chef Showcase, which was scheduled for Sept. 8. Last year, the event raised more than $200,000 for the organization, or more than 20% of its total budget. CEO Jill Roshto says the group is exploring all options and may decide to reschedule the showcase later this fall but it’s too soon to say.
The Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra is another example. The arts organization has decided to cancel its Opening Night Gala, scheduled for Sept. 23. Executive Director Cary Byrd says the symphony wants to be sensitive to the needs of the community and that its immediate priority is helping its musicians, some of whom lost their instruments in the flood. But he concedes he is more than a little worried about long-term sustainability.
“Who do you turn to when everyone has been devastated?” he says. “That’s what is keeping me up at night.”
Roshto says organizations understand that the immediate needs in the community are about helping flood victims get back on their feet. That’s why Cancer Services has set up an emergency fund. It’s a short-term solution that makes small grants available to cancer patients who were affected by the flood.
Long term, however, she’s concerned about where the money will come from and how to solicit those funds because the flood hasn’t lessened the needs of those her organization serves. It has only exacerbated them.
In the days since the flood, leaders from the Capital Area United Way have been meeting daily with nonprofit executives at the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. BRAF is coordinating efforts of the nonprofit sector to respond to the disaster. It’s also fundraising outside Louisiana, much as it did after Hurricane Katrina, when millions of dollars in aid poured into the state from national foundations and organizations.
In the meantime, local nonprofits, many of which were already struggling, are steeling themselves for more challenges in the months to come.
“It’s going to be difficult for a long time,” says Ralph Bender, CAUW past board chair. “But it’s very important that we remind people that while this tragedy is going on, we can’t forget the organizations that help us get through the entire year.”
—Stephanie Riegel
