Media Contact: Matthew Bragulla, matthew.bragulla.004@my.csun.edu, or Carmen Ramos Chandler, carmen.chandler@csun.edu, (818) 677-2130
As the holiday season approaches, the struggle for San Fernando Valley nonprofits to secure sufficient funding has become more pressing than ever.
A recent survey conducted by California State University, Northridge’s Valley Nonprofit Resources reveals a staggering 93% of local nonprofit organizations are facing a critical need for charitable donations and pro-bono support to sustain their services. Concerningly, one-third of these nonprofits are also bracing for potential revenue declines in the coming year.
The survey, completed by 118 nonprofit executives, covered a range of sectors, including health and social services, education and youth services, community development, elder care, and other causes.
Alejandra Acuña, a former social work professor who is now executive director of Valley Nonprofit Resources, housed in CSUN’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, said that individual donations serve a big part in covering basic expenses for nonprofits, particularly when they often must wait six or more months for government reimbursements.
Another study found that Los Angeles didn’t even make it on a list among the top 10 most charitable cities in any of the eight nonprofit sectors noted in the 2023 Fidelity Charitable “Geography of Giving” report, including arts and culture, education, environment and animals, health, human services, international affairs, religion and society benefit.
“We need to do more to encourage local residents to financially support the nonprofits in our region that do so much to improve the quality of life for all of us who live and work here,” said Marianne Haver Hill, executive director of Community Foundation of the Valleys, which funded the survey.
Acuña said she is not surprised by Los Angeles’ absence from the list.
“In my experience of working with nonprofits for the past 30 plus years, this has always been the case for the city,” Acuna said. “As a city, we don’t have a legacy of being charitable.”
She said nonprofit leaders are anticipating revenues to go down due to state funding cutbacks.
To add on to the obstacles, respondents reported facing challenges finding and hiring qualified staff to fill open positions which, in turn, limits the breadth of services the nonprofits can offer and the number clients whom they can assist. Although most of these organizations utilize volunteer help, there is only so much unpaid staff can do to provide service and care.
For more information, contact valleynonprofitresources@csun.edu or info@valleygiving.org.
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