At their core, nonprofits are set up to help people. But in times like this, the need for help can be overwhelming. Here’s how two NeighborWorks organizations are working to meet the needs of their communities and the needs of their staffs.
Lexington, Kentucky
Staff members at Community Ventures Corporation (CVC) in Lexington, Kentucky, felt the hurt of struggling businesses and homeowners in their community. Like other NeighborWorks organizations, they work closely with residents, says Kevin Smith, CVC's president and CEO.Seeing hardships stemming from the loss of business and jobs due to the spread of COVID-19 "was causing a huge morale problem with the staff," Smith says. "As people in the nonprofit world, we want to help. We don't want to sit on the sidelines."
As they were waiting for economic stimulus packages and loan options to come through, Smith says, his team came up with another idea to help staff feel like they could provide some relief: They started a program where each staff member could nominate someone in the community each week who could use $100. "With 52 staff members, that gives us the ability to brighten the day of 416 families over the next eight weeks," Smith says. "It gives us a chance to help while we’re all trying to figure this out."
Smith says CVC works with businesses that have a hard time getting help from traditional banks. They provide technical assistance and training to businesses and to individuals working to buy homes. That means staff members often spend months working with clients and building relationships.
"A lot of times we're the ones who provide the first mortgage," Smith says. "The relationships are fairly long. When we're hit with something like this, there’s just not a lot of help you can give until the stimulus money begins to flow." Smith says funding for the new gift-card program ― $41,600 ― came from savings on utility bills as CVC’s offices remain closed and staff members work from home. Other funding came from two positions they'd planned on filling but had put on hold "until we're through all of this."
Smith says nonprofit staff members are on the front lines "and really witnessing some hurt. It was important to give the people on the front lines some way of dealing with that.” And it serves as a boost and a day brightener for those who are struggling.
Lowell Sellards, a business development specialist with CVC, posted a note on a new technical assistance Facebook page that CVC started so business owners dealing with COVID-related financial struggles could share information and answer questions. He asked the group who might need a boost, and picked one of the respondents at random. The winner that week turned out to be an artist from Berea, Kentucky, whose spring craft shows had all had been cancelled.
The recipient was grateful, he says, and said it really lifted her spirits.
Meanwhile, there's still confusion "as businesses consider the various, however limited, loan options available to them," Sellards says. "Businesses are struggling out there and at the end of the day, loans don't replace sales."
Susan Lugo, vice president for customer relations for Community Ventures' eHome America, says she told Smith she was going to be the first to nominate someone as soon as he told her about the idea.
Lugo, who works remotely from Louisville, Kentucky, arranged for the gift card to be sent to American Martial Arts Academy, a veteran-owned, family martial arts business that has been at the center of her community for more than 30 years.
"This is the first time they've had to close their doors," she says. And while they can conduct some classes online, there are many things they can no longer do. She thought they needed a boost, she says, and it gave her one as well. "Everybody's struggling with this quarantine. If we can't help someone, we want to find someone who can."
Does she know who she’s picking next? "Absolutely," she says.
Cleveland, Ohio
When the governor of Ohio gave the stay-at-home order, the staff at the Famicos Foundation knew there would be a large need for seniors in their neighborhoods. Food needs ― those were a given. But there were other needs they came across, even as they set up new ways to distribute food from the Cleveland food banks to residents.
"We have a bus we run for senior citizens, where they can take it to Walmart or to grocery stores," says Tara Mowery, marketing specialist for Famicos Foundation. "We had to stop bus service and we were very concerned they wouldn’t be able to get the items they needed ― or that they'd venture out instead of stay home and be safe."
They quickly put together a survey and asked residents what they needed. The answers came quickly: toilet paper, rubbing alcohol, adult diapers, hand soap, disinfecting wipes.
"And we thought, 'of course you need those things.'" They started making appeals to donors, and they used a $25,000 supplemental grant from NeighborWorks America.
"We were able to buy things wholesale," Mowery says. "We have an enormous team of staff and volunteers who are bagging up those items as well as the produce we are getting from the Cleveland Food Bank every week. We'll continue to do this every week while the stay-at-home order is in place."
Mowery says they are extending the service to the community at large, not just the residents in their buildings. Their senior bus has turned into a delivery service, with the driver leaving packages on doorsteps (and stepping back after knocking).
"It's a huge amount of work," Mowery says. "A couple of hours ago we got 1,500 pounds of produce from the food bank. We're going to feed 800 families."
"Some of the items ― like hand sanitizer and toilet paper ― are still hard to find in grocery stores," she says, but they’re getting them to their residents. "It’s an important service to our residents in Cleveland."
Famicos used an additional $20,000, which was part of crisis grant that went to all NeighborWorks organizations, for personal protective equipment for the maintenance and janitorial staff as necessary repairs and extra cleanings are performed in buildings.
A video the Famicos Foundation staff put together highlights more of the organization's work.
