Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Local nonprofits face financial challenges due to inflation, impacting their operations.
- Giving Tuesday is crucial for nonprofits to secure unrestricted donations to support essential services.
- Smaller nonprofits struggle with resources for campaigns, emphasizing the need for community support.
SALT LAKE CITY — American households are not the only ones who have been hurt by inflation. Local nonprofits have taken a hit as well.
Rising prices have made it difficult to make necessary purchases. Nonprofit employees have never been the highest paid people around, so the increased food and housing costs made it impossible for some to stay. And the impact of inflation on the average family has made it difficult for them to donate financially as they would in the past.
For these reasons, this year's Giving Tuesday will play a bigger role than usual, as will any effort to increase financial donations.
"Giving Tuesday definitely can make a difference for us," said Liliana Arbon, executive director of Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "All of the money we're raising goes directly toward helping survivors, and without these dollars, the program will be impacted."
What is Giving Tuesday?
Giving Tuesday is a global day of giving that takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving in the United States. This year it is on Dec. 3.
Giving Tuesday is a day to encourage people and organizations to donate money to charitable causes. To learn more, go to givingtuesday.org.
Many nonprofits have said the same thing, that without financial donations, people who need the assistance will be hurt the most. While it is true that most organizations apply and receive grants to do their work, those funds are typically restricted, meaning they can only be used for certain things. As such, the unrestricted dollars from donations can pay for more services.
Arbon's nonprofit uses unrestricted donations to fund its 24-hour hotline, a service that has seen an increase in the number of calls from women, men and young people looking for help. Salt Lake Donated Dental Services uses donations to pay for the dental care and other needs of its 1,700 clients, a number that has increased by 200 clients in a year. Local nonprofits that focus on music would have to limit who they help and for how long without donor dollars.
This Giving Tuesday, several nonprofits have said they have put more effort into promoting the day and educating people on the greater need for financial help. Some have said they have focused on a message that makes their work more understandable to those who have never donated to them, especially agencies that are lesser known.
"We have sat down to think about what people can resonate with," said Gabriel Guerra, from Craft Lake City, a nonprofit focused on local artisans and educational programs to grow their community. "We focus on giving back 100% to the people we do the work for with scholarships, mentor programs — we are helping people here. We're sharing that in our campaign."
Traditionally, larger or well-known nonprofits receive much of the benefit from Giving Tuesday. They have the time — and staff — to create a campaign for the day and to get that message out to future donors. Smaller and lesser-known organizations do not have the resources to do this work and have to spread their message by word of mouth.
Sasha Harvey, the executive director of Salt Lake Donated Dental Services, has not had the time to create a Giving Tuesday campaign. Between ensuring that clients receive the dental care they need and informing the community that the agency is here to help folks who need dental care, she does not have the opportunity to get a push ready for Giving Tuesday.
But that does not mean her agency could not use any help.
"Donations do make a difference ... yes, donations are important," Harvey said. "The rising prices has hurt us as well. We are overlooked sometimes ... but we need the help. Our numbers since the pandemic have increased, so we need to do more."
