There are now 160,000 people in Orange County who are jobless, bumping the unemployment rate to a record 10.1% in our county, according to an updated report released last week by the Employment Development Department of California. This comes after 110,200 jobs were cut in Orange County in 2009, nearly double the 64,792 that were projected to be lost. These staggering numbers grow even larger when you add those who want to work but have given up on their search for employment.

For the individuals represented by these statistics, the loss of jobs has devastated their ability to provide basic necessities such as food and shelter for their families. In many cases, it has also eliminated access to healthcare for themselves and their children. And it has, of course, brought overwhelming stress to daily life. Meanwhile, the nonprofits providing critical aid and job training have been hit just as severely by the ailing economy.

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Over a year and a half after the country’s economic downturn hit, thousands of our friends and neighbors here in Orange County continue to struggle. Amid this sustained economic crisis, the safety net of local nonprofits is being stretched farther than it ever has before.

The Orange County Community Foundation invites you to join with us in our 2010 community-wide response: ReachOut OC: Our Continuing Commitment to Neighbors in Need. The goal of this community-wide initiative is to provide aid to the most vulnerable individuals in our county through grants to local nonprofits providing food, shelter, back-to-work assistance, and access to health care and mental health services.

OCCF will match every $1 contributed to ReachOut OC between March 5 and April 30, 2010 up to $250,000. Our goal is to infuse at least $500,000 into our community to meet its most pressing needs. OCCF is underwriting all expenses for the program so that 100 percent of your contribution will be put to work directly to support nonprofits that are effectively responding to these needs.

For more information about the response effort, visit the ReachOut OC page on OCCF’s web site. You can make an online contribution or send a check by mail (payable to OCCF) to:

Orange County Community Foundation
30 Corporate Park, Suite 410
Irvine, CA 92606

We look forward to partnering together with you to reach out to our neighbors in need.

A recent economic impact survey conducted by the Orange County Funders Roundtable asked local nonprofit leaders about their experiences to date and expectations for the coming year in relation to their organizations’ budgets, operations, fundraising, and service delivery. Survey findings revealed:

- 66.7% of nonprofits experienced a greater demand for services in 2009 than in 2008
- Over 50% of nonprofits lost anticipated funding in 2009
- Over 50% took budget declines of 20% or more
- 47% of nonprofits reduced staff during 2009

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Friends,

I wanted to share with you a recent article I wrote for the Public Law Center’s Nonprofit Matters newsletter about the Orange County Community Foundation’s role as a local resource for nonprofit fundraising. The article covers the basics of OCCF’s function in our community and discusses its offerings in the areas of endowment and planned giving, as well as its Nonprofit Sustainability and Legacy Partners Programs. The newsletter can be accessed on the Public Law Center’s web site here. I encourage you to share this information with your colleagues and fellow leaders in the local nonprofit sector.

The Margaret E. Oser Fund for Women at the Orange County Community Foundation was established to support programs that provide health, education and social welfare services to women and children throughout Orange County. OCCF recently awarded $200,000 through this annual competitive grant program. Congratulations to the following agencies, which received awards for medical, maternal and domestic violence and sexual assault prevention programs:

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Congratulations to the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach for achieving a milestone in the growth of their endowment fund, which has reached $500,000—an exciting step on the path to their ultimate goal of raising $6 million. Gifts to the endowment of the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach help ensure that the organization’s award-winning art programs support the art and creativity of Laguna Beach youth for years to come. The Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach was one of OCCF’s 2009 Legacy Partners, and in addition to providing training and support in endowment development to the organization, the Foundation also gifted the Club with a grant in order to employ a specialist to build the endowment. To read the AmericanTowns.com article about the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach reaching this endowment milestone, click here.

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I am moved by the outpouring of compassion demonstrated by the donors of the Orange County Community Foundation in the wake of the devastating magnitude 7.0 earthquake that took place in Haiti on Tuesday, January 12 and the magnitude 6.1 aftershock that followed one week later. I am overjoyed to announce that OCCF donors have responded phenomenally in this time of great need by directing a total of $123,700 to date to organizations providing immediate aid to victims of the disaster. Thank you to our partners in philanthropy for your heartfelt generosity to the thousands who have been left injured and homeless after the worst earthquake to hit Haiti in 200 years.

If you are interested in learning more about recommended agencies doing work on the ground, please visit the Orange County Community Foundation's homepage, www.oc-cf.org, for a list of excellent nonprofit organizations providing relief to those affected by this tragic natural disaster.

Image courtesy of UNICEF.

You have been directed to the Shelley Shares blog while the Orange County Community Foundation’s web site, www.oc-cf.org, is temporarily down for scheduled maintenance this afternoon. The site will be down for approximately two hours. We appreciate your patience as we work to ensure that our web site is as efficient as possible in serving your philanthropic goals.

Please feel free to browse the blog postings as well as the Orange County Community Foundation’s Facebook Fan Page and Twitter Profile for the latest OCCF news, events, and resources.

Happy New Year from the Orange County Community Foundation! We hope 2010 finds you and your family happy and healthy. What better way to start off a new decade than with news of the thoughtful and generous granting by the Foundation’s 2009 Next Generation Philanthropy Group?

Comprised of emerging leaders in their 20s to 40s with an interest in philanthropy, the Orange County Community Foundation’s Next Generation Philanthropy Group focused their yearlong program on seeing the work of local nonprofits first-hand. The group took quarterly site visits to local nonprofits to learn about our community’s most pressing needs. As their exploration came to an end in December, the group decided to award $6,000 in grants to four local nonprofits providing critical support for vulnerable families impacted by the economic crisis, older adults, education and domestic violence. Grants of $1,500 were extended to each of the following agencies: Share Our Selves, Age Well Senior Services, Human Options and El Sol Science and Arts Academy.

I thank the Class of 2009 for sharing their knowledge and participating in productive discussions, and I congratulate them for making exciting philanthropic strides!

For more information on OCCF’s 2010 Next Generation Philanthropy class, please contact Jeff Swanson, vice president of development and gift planning, at 949.553.4202, ext. 39 or via email at jswanson@oc-cf.org.