First Posted: 3/19/2015
LIMA — At Samaritan House in Lima, times have been tough since the recession, and donations haven’t returned to pre-recession amounts.
“It wasn’t so hard before to stay open year to year,” said Brandi Schroeder, executive director of Samaritan House. “We’ve had to cut staffing down year to year to stay open.”
During economic downturns, charities suffer too, and the recent economic recession was no different. As businesses suffered financially, so did their ability to donate.
“That was one of those costs you could control and didn’t have to spend if it wasn’t absolutely necessary,” said Ken Hall, project manager for renovations of Safety City with the Lima Noon Optimists.
Donations to Safety City decreased as well during the recession and stalled the building project, which has since gotten back on track.
Corporate charitable contributions to the Samaritan House haven’t rebounded in the same way. Though Schroeder can point to a couple specific companies donating after being quiet for years, the contributions come in much smaller because “they have to build back up again,” she said. For example, a company’s pre-recession donation may have been $5,000, but it’s $500 today.
Not only have corporate donations decreased, but corporations themselves have dwindled in numbers in the Lima area since the recession, Schroeder said, and it “can’t always be the same business” giving.
Though Schroeder doesn’t know when donations will truly pick up again, she said local company representatives she’s talked to lately are “very excited to start giving back again.”
“It’s very important in our type of organizations to know you’re supported and that people believe in what you’re doing,” Schroeder said. The Samaritan House is thankful for any donations, though, as even a few dollars can show support, she said.
STALLING OUT
Still, the recession did hit some charities hard. At one point in time, the project to build the Safety City that Lima residents see today was stalled, and the money to support it wasn’t there.
It was about seven or eight years ago, and the recession had hit, not only affecting businesses earnings but also what they gave local charities and service organizations.
“(One member) had a vision of what he wanted to do, and then he didn’t get the support from the community he needed to get it done,” Hall said. “I think it was basically due to the recession … (Businesses) were not giving.”
About four or five years ago, donations and sponsorships to Safety City from businesses picked up, eventually coming back to pre-recession numbers and allowing construction to commence on the Safety City residents see today, Hall said.
CONTINUED SUPPORT
Some businesses have been able to show their support with more than a few dollars, even during the recession.
At Superior Federal Credit Union, giving during the recession was the same, or even better, than before it, said Kurt Neeper, vice president of business development at Superior.
“We were actually really fortunate because even during the recession, our capital remained strong, and we were still able to give back to the community,” he said.
The success was due to the company’s biggest product — mortgages.
“In late 2008 and early 2009, mortgage rates dropped to historically low levels,” Neeper said. “Everyone was trying to refinance their home.”
The credit union was able to donate a lot during that time, and still does today.
To Kesha Drake, executive director at the Bradfield Center, the economy doesn’t matter as much as the organization and what it’s doing.
“People are more willing to donate to something when people are making an impact,” she said. Drake has been the executive director since November and couldn’t comment on recession donations, but she said people are willing to donate.
A NEW APPROACH
Some businesses have picked their giving back up to a pre-recession amount but tailored the way they give.
PotashCorp in Lima matches employee donations to charities and focused its corporate donations more on categories that are “core to our business,” said Todd Sutton, general manager.
Those categories include food security, education and training, he said.
Philip Hayne, president and CEO of the United Way of Greater Lima, has noticed this “narrowing” of corporate giving’s focus in the past two or three years. He said it started with larger national corporations.
“Some companies are being more specific or clear about what it is they’re interested in supporting,” said “It has to fit within what they believe their corporate giving philosophy is.”
The Union Bank Company has developed a “giving strategy,” similar to what Hayne is referring to. The company focuses its giving on financial literacy, economic development and improving the quality of life in the communities it serves, said Bart Mills, marketing officer at the Union Bank Company.
The company gives to “organizations that are improving our community in ways we feel it needs to be improved,” Mills said.
Union Bank’s contributions went down “some,” just like its entire budget did during the recession, Mills said. Since the recession, its donations have picked up, he said.
Donations have picked up for PotashCorp in the past four or five years, as well, Sutton said.
“As a company, it’s one of our key organization goals … to help improve the well-being of the community,” Sutton said.
Donations and sponsorships not only help the community and non-profits but can also help companies and get their name out.
“I think they realize they couldn’t be successful without the people in their own community and that the community is supporting them,” Drake said.
Helping the community become healthy can help businesses stay healthy too.
“When we’ve played an active role in the community, we’ve thrived because of it,” Mills said.
