Temperatures down, services up for Eastern Iowa not-for-profits

In the same season that a number of Corridor not-for-profits provide more services to help the people they serve, they also depend on more donations to keep them going.

Les Garner, president and CEO of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation — which provides grants to area not-for-profits and other organizations — said the December holiday season is an especially busy time for those groups because many are providing more services related to colder weather or the holiday season.

'Not only are they active in fundraising, but they're very active in providing support for families,' Garner said. 'They're vital and active this time of the year. This is also the time of the year when many of the needs in the community are highest — heat and utilities and needs for winter clothing.'

GIVING MORE

For the Salvation Army, the most obvious increase is in providing meals. Breakfast and lunch are made available Monday through Friday throughout the year, but the Salvation Army puts on Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

Lia Pontarelli, director of development and communications at Linn County's Salvation Army, said the organization sees more Linn County residents requesting food assistance as the weather is colder and holidays approach. That means children on break may receive fewer free or reduced lunches from school.

Households can receive a food box, including non-perishable food and frozen meat, from the Salvation Army up to six times a year.

The organization also relies on regular employees and local volunteers to coordinate the Toys for Tots program. Toys for Tots, started by the U.S. Marine Corps. Reserves, provides Christmas gifts to children up to 14.

The Salvation Army organizes toy drop-off locations, volunteers and toy pickups and registers qualified families for the program, such as a family of four in Iowa that has a total annual of income at $44,955 or under.

Phoebe Trepp, executive director of Willis Dady Emergency Shelter in downtown Cedar Rapids, said her organization provides more meals this time of year. But Willis Dady also needs extra staff and volunteers during the winter because more people stay overnight at the shelter and an at off-site winter shelter, she said.

Pami Erickson, executive director of the Red Cross of South and Eastern Iowa, said they see an increase of house fire calls due to fireplace or space heater fires. The Red Cross in Cedar Rapids provided clothing, shelter and replacement of necessities such as medicine and prescription eyewear to 198 people from November 2015 to February 2016.

However, the Red Cross, which holds a blood drive from noon to 5 p.m. every Monday at its 6300 Rockwell Dr. NE location, sees a decrease in donors this time of year, Erickson said.

'Because people get busy during the holiday season, our numbers go down for blood drives,' Erickson said. 'You just don't see the traffic.'

She said the Red Cross is compensating by hosting a large blood drive on Dec. 19 at the Collins Road Marriott.

GIVING BACK

But while these organizations are busy providing extra services, they're also counting on donations from residents who want to give back during the holiday season.

End-of-the-year giving is vital for many not-for-profits, and seasonal donation dollars make up 20 percent to 50 percent of their annual budgets, Garner of the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation said.

The foundation doesn't give out more grants this time of year because of already-scheduled grant cycles. But those who give to donor-advised funds can make recommendations as to which group should receive a grant, and donor advisers are active this time of year, Garner said.

Many not-for-profits have seasonal-donation programs.

Seasonal donations make up 48 percent of the annual budget for Cedar Rapids's Salvation Army, Pontarelli said. Its fundraising goal for this season is $805,000, and it has raised $291,018 as of Dec. 8.

More than half the Salvation Army's seasonal donations come from mail-in or online gifts, Pontarelli noted.

The Red Kettle program, for example, is one well-known seasonal-donation program. To maximize donations, Pontarelli said the Salvation Army added kettle match days in 2014. If kettle donations hit a certain number on a specific day, an area business matches the donation.

'We're not only getting money from the businesses doing the match, but it's helping people to donates to the kettles those days,' Pontarelli said. 'We see more checks in the kettles those days.

'They're trying to make sure we don't lose that money because if we have a $500 match, and we only raise $450, we lost $50.'

On Dec. 17, it will have an anonymous $10,000 match on all Red Kettles in Linn County. Als, this year Linn County residents can purchase a red kettle pin for up to $100 to signify that they donated to the program.

'If we do not hit our goal, it's programs that get cut,' Pontarelli said. 'With only nine full-time employees and two part-time, there's very little staff changes we can make that would be beneficial because it would cut out too many programs then.'

She said most years it hits its goal, but in 2013, the Salvation Army fell short and had to make changes. That year, the organization let go of a cleaning service that cleaned its facility. Staff also began washing laundry with a donated washer and dryer and using printing internal memos multiple times on the same printer paper.

But Pontarelli said it also affected their rent assistance program, cutting it down from 75 to 60 households.

Willis Dady, which depends on end-of-the-year donations for about 20 percent of the annual budget, is trying to bring donation portals to potential donors, Trepp said.

This year the shelter is emphasizing a social media campaign to raise its goal of $15,000. By sharing clients' success stories, Trepp said potential donors can relate to those who benefit from the donations, as well as have the ability to donate and share the campaign message on social media with one click.

'Whenever you talk to donors or individuals who don't know what we do, it's helpful to talk about a specific example, say, that it was a couple with three children and it was a health issue' that prompted the family to use the shelter's services, Trepp said. 'They might say, 'Maybe I knew someone like that or I was in a position, and I had friends and family that could take me in and these others might not have had a support system.''

'Every nonprofit works on a very tight budget,' Garner said. 'That means that they can continue to serve the kinds of needs that we want them to serve. We really encourage people to be alert and pay attention to charities they find meaningful.'

SOME LINN COUNTY NOT-FOR-PROFITS

American Red Cross: www.redcross.org

Catherine McAuley Center: cmc-cr.org

Ecumenical Community Center: ecc-cr.net

Foundation 2: www.foundation2.org

Four Oaks: www.fouroaks.org

Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation: www.gcrcf.org/nonprofits

Hawkeye Area Community Action Program (HACAP): www.hacap.org

Horizons, A Family Service Alliance: www.horizonsfamily.org

Matthew 25: www.hub25.org

Mission of Hope: www.missionofhopecr.org

The Salvation Army: www.tsacedarrapids.org

Tanager Place: www.tanagerplace.org

United Way of East Central Iowa: www.uweci.org

Waypoint: www.waypointservices.org

Willis Dady Emergency Shelter: willisdady.org

l Comments: (319) 368-8516; makayla.tendall@thegazette.com