It’s been a long year. 2023 has brought immense joy and even more challenges. From Barbenheimer to The Eras and Renaissance tours, to Twitter becoming X, to the horrifyingly countless school shootings, and the recent and terrible events in the Middle East, we’ve experienced some whiplash.
For those wondering how they can spread love this holiday season, local nonprofits especially can use donations.
According to the council of nonprofits, “Charitable giving comprises only about a seventh (14%) of resources upon which the charitable sector relies, yet rises and declines in giving can greatly affect whether individual organizations can expand to meet increased demand, maintain current programming, or reduce or shut down operations.” Charitable giving has already dropped “by an astonishing rate of 13.4% after factoring in inflation.” This is a troubling statistic. Already, “responses to the 2023 survey show that many nonprofits are seeing declines or the same rates of donations, which over time will make their ability to operate at full capacity more difficult.” Seventy percent of nonprofits are expecting charitable donations to decrease or stay flat.
We can see the massive impact on nonprofits in our own community! The Nyack Center provides about 50 children with breakfast and mentoring before school, 90 kids with an after school snack and homework help, and countless other programs with amazing opportunities for Nyack’s youth. The Rockland Pride Center puts on free community events, support groups, and supplies referrals, individual advocacy, navigation around medical care, mental health, housing, legal, and social services. They built the beautiful Jacobs Family Pride Wellness Center, and continue to emotionally and medically support Rockland County and its LGBTQ+ community. The Rockland County YMCA is a nonprofit, and teaches swimming lessons, sports, and has dozens of teams and programs (including Youth And Government as well as Youth And Teens In Action).
What will the decrease in charitable giving mean for the countless nonprofits that we rely on?
We do not want to find out.
We urge you to donate what you can: money, time, food, shoes. There is nothing you can give that is too big or too small.
Organizations such as People To People and Soup Angels are accepting donations of food and money both in person and online.
The Center For Safety and Change and Nyack Homeless Project accept contributions through their website, as well as donations of hats, scarves and coats.
On a more national level, you can support the ASPCA, UNICEF, The American Cancer Society, Feeding America, The Trevor Project, Center For Reproductive Rights, and so many more. Every dollar counts, and we encourage you to donate to what matters to you.
For those who want to help those suffering in the Israel-Hamas conflict, Palestine Children's Relief Fund and Magen David Adom need your support.
Anything you can do to give back this season will make a world of difference. Happy Holidays, RedHawks!