For nonprofits in COVID, cash relief and paying back is a lifeline

Aug. 20—Throughout the pandemic, Cape Ann and North Shore nonprofit service organizations have come to the aid of households struggling to keep the lights on, or stay safe and fed week to week.

But who backs up the organizations when they fall on hard times?

Often, their leaders say, former clients stand up to fill gaps in times of need.

And there's perhaps never been a greater time for that then now, as crises pile up: The world is entering the third year of COVID-19, cash from state and federal relief programs is drying up, and other global crises have driven inflation and energy costs well past the breaking point for many people.

"We've been busier than we've ever been before," Robyn Burns, executive director of The Salem Pantry, said recently. "Our team, our volunteers, the amount of food we're giving out is unlike what we've ever seen. ... It feels a lot different than it did two years ago, when the pandemic was starting."

Sue Gabriel, executive director of Beverly Bootstraps which serves residents of Beverly, Manchester, Essex, Hamilton and Wenham, concurs.

"Needless to say, this has been a time like no other," she said. "I've been at the organization for 14 years now, and the last couple years have been just totally different than any other time."

Gloucester-based Wellspring House's mission is "to inspire families and adults on the North Shore to achieve employment and financial security through stable housing, education, job training and career readiness."

Melissa Dimond, the nonprofit's president and executive director, said Wellspring has had to be flexible with its funding sources.

"We lost quite a bit of private foundation grant money," she said. The reason was many foundations had changed their funding guidelines due to the pandemic, focusing on emergency relief grants.

"Many foundations did not do their funding the way they normally would," Dimond said. Foundations were also negatively impacted by the downturn in the stock market.

Dimond said Wellspring was OK, crediting its "good fundraising team." A Paycheck Protection Program or PPP loan in 2020 "was hugely important for us," and Wellspring did not have to layoff or furlough staff. However, it's taken two years for the organization to replace those grant dollars through new contracts and partnerships, including a partnership with North Shore Community College.

"It's never been more important for individual donors to stick with us," Dimond said. "The funding picture is shifting before our very eyes."

Doing more with less

That's something it seems every nonprofit organization is saying, according to Joyce Vyriotes, executive director of the Cummings Foundation, which supports local nonprofits.

"Particularly during the pandemic, a lot of organizations are asked to do more with less," Vyriotes said. "Fundraising was certainly a challenge early on, particularly during COVID when lots of events were canceled and basic needs, food insecurity, housing ... there was just so much need out there."

That happens even more often for organizations whose work takes place far outside the public eye — nonprofits like HAWC, which serves victims of domestic abuse.

"There are so many stories... so many parts of stories that I think are meaningful," said Sara Stanley, HAWC's executive director. "It ranges from the very, very small... having a HAWC advocate by your side in court can mean the difference between someone getting an abuse prevention order or being too overwhelmed by the paperwork and walking right out the door..."

Or, Stanley said, to being able to stay in a hotel for a week, something that may seem like a simple arrangement to many people, sitting comfortably at home. But to a woman escaping abuse at home, Stanley said, getting even just a week out of the house to sort through affairs can forever change a life. That is achieved through hotel stays the organization provides on an emergency basis to those in need.

"We always talk about making someone's world bigger, not smaller. Abuse makes someone's world smaller, and you feel like you have less options. Suddenly, you feel like you have no support, no options," Stanley said. "HAWC, with appropriate funding... we're able to make someone's world incrementally bigger so they can have hope and see a different life for themselves — and often their children."

There has been a lot of that happening during the pandemic, Stanley said. But now, it's happening less as funding streams freeze up and even typically reliable philanthropy slows down. After all, a week-long stay in a hotel is not cheap — especially with inflation, and even more so during a bustling tourism season.

"From the beginning of the pandemic, the spring of 2020, and through I'd say maybe the end of this fiscal year, there was a significant amount of COVID-related relief funds," Stanley said. "Those things are largely concluding, and we're seeing the crunch, and individuals (who donated during the pandemic) were generous in this time as well."

On top of that, retaining the staff to meet the demand is its own challenge.

At Wellspring, Dimond said many staff lost family members, not just to the coronavirus, but many lost older family members who suffered a rapid decline from being isolated. They also had family members who were ill, and some wanted to stop working or work less. Some staff had to take a break due to symptoms from long COVID.

It's been harder than in the past to hire. The challenge is getting through the interview process before someone accepts a position elsewhere. This has meant they are posting jobs in a lot more places and trying to get through the process more quickly before the applicant is hired away

"Where we're seeing the crunch presently is that it's really challenging to recruit and retain staff, because nonprofit salaries have been held relatively low for several reasons," Stanley said. "One is a general undervaluing of human service work, particularly work led by women, which traditionally has been undervalued. Also, recruiting and retaining staff is really tough in a time when there's increasing inflation, and it's a very, very competitive job market."

Many organizations rely on former clients to help when they can — some years you need, and others you give.

"I talked to somebody recently who's in (human) services, and he said, 'A few years ago, we were your donor.' At this point, that person now needs some help," Gabriel said. "It's a big circle, and we're all in it. Sometimes we're the ones that can give, and sometimes, we need. That's exactly what community is."

Annual opportunity expands

While some funding sources slow to a trickle, others are multiplying. That includes the Cummings Foundation's annual grant program, which recently opened up the 2023 application window and expanded the total amount of funding to $30 million.

The foundation has twice increased its available grant funds, which were $20 million just a few years ago, according to Vyriotes. There are 150 grants are to be awarded for the current cycle, with 125 three-year grants paying out between $10,000 and $100,000 each year, and 25 grants that span up to 10 years.

The foundation's grants are covered by revenue from tenant leases at Cummings Properties, Vyriotes said, in a bid to put dollars back into the communities where tenant employees come from and spend their lives.

"The vast majority of our grantees are not leasing clients and have their locations in other areas that are doing remarkable work that's so important to the communities," Vyriotes said. "The healthier communities can be where their buildings are located, the better for everyone."

Ethan Forman contributed to this story by Dustin Luca, who may be contacted at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@northofboston.com.

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com.

Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.