Giving less this season?

By Susan Gibbs, Record Reporter
Published: November 20, 2008

Unemployment is up, and so is the demand for services.
Dividends are down, and so are donations.
“Fewer people are giving, and those that are, are giving less,“ says Suzanne Coffman, director of communications for GuideStar, a Williamsburg firm that gathers information from all over the country, and around the world, about nonprofit organizations.
Thirty-five percent of the nonprofits surveyed last month said contributions were down, Coffman added. And Virginia is showing the same general trend.
The pinch is being felt at all levels in Greene County.
Dallas Anderson is the owner of a small business: Creative Press in Ruckersville.
“We have organizations asking for help with special events, but we can’t give as much as we have in the past,“ says Anderson. “We have already gone over the amount we budgeted for donations this year and the funds are just not there … everywhere I go, everyone I talk to says, ‘We just can’t give the way we used to.’“
Rhonda Oliver is the director of the Greene Alliance of Church and Community Services (GRACE).
She reports no drop in church donations, and that “a couple of really large donations” have come in. But, she says, “Businesses are giving less than they have been giving, and we’re not getting as many donations from individuals.“
As a result, some programs are hurting, especially the heat assistance program, which, says Oliver, offers help until the Department of Social Services releases funds for its Warm Hearts for Warm Homes program in January.
“Most families can make it except for the high cost of heating their homes in the winter time,“ Oliver says. “You’re talking (bills of) $500, $600, $700 … that (requires) a straight-out money donation. Last year we had money coming in by this time; so far this year we have had none … and some families need assistance now.“
GRACE also sponsors a Thanksgiving Box program: people pick up boxes at Great Valu in Stanardsville, fill it with the makings of a traditional Thanksgiving meal, and leave it at the front counter. 
Oliver says that the number of people requesting the boxes is up: “Last year we had roughly 140 people making requests; this year we have close to 200.“
At press time, Oliver said there were still about 20 families in need of boxes.
And Christmas is right around the corner.
GRACE’s Angel Tree program gives donors the opportunity to help those less fortunate by adopting children aged 17 and under within an individual family - just long enough to provide them with anonymous Christmas gifts.
“Last year at this time we were running out of angels,“ says Oliver. “This year we have between 20 and 30 angels left. We are finding that sponsors are not taking as many families as they usually take.“
And that, according to Coffman, is the trend.
While there are some entities that make large donations to various charities, “in this country individuals comprise about three-quarters of all giving,“ Coffman says. “People shouldn’t feel bad if they can’t give as much as they have in the past, because anything they can give is appreciated.