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

In light of these critical issues facing Orange County’s nonprofit sector, 150 nonprofit executives, board members and regional funders came together for a day-long summit titled “Embracing Change, Creating Community” on January 27. The Summit, hosted by the Orange County Funders Roundtable, was the first of its kind in the county and focused on issues relevant to nonprofit leadership in the current economic climate. Keynote speaker Fred Ali, President and CEO of the Weingart Foundation, challenged attendees to face new economic realities in strategic ways. Rick Wartzman, Executive Director of the Drucker Institute, shared Peter Drucker’s principles for leading in turbulent times. The Summit was a rare opportunity for leaders in the sector to come together, share experiences and expertise, and learn from each other in a concentrated way. Given the high level of energy and enthusiastic conversation throughout the day, the objectives of the conference were surely achieved.

To view the press release about results of the Orange County Funders Roundtable’s “The Economy and Orange County Nonprofit Organizations Update: 2009 Update” report, click here.

For more information about the Orange County Funders Roundtable, visit their web site: www.ocfunders.org.

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:

• Casa Teresa for a specialized program which provides counseling, nursing care and nutrition education to pregnant women who are victims of abuse.
• Community Service Programs to continue their Sexual Assault Victim Services Program, which provides victims and their families with comprehensive support services.
• Get Safe’s Breaking Barriers program, designed to empower victims of domestic violence and reduce the rate of re-victimization.
• Girls Incorporated of Orange County to provide the STRONG program—which includes nutrition, fitness and reproductive health education—to 500 middle and high school girls.
• Human Options to support the Second Step Program, a 12-month transitional housing program for battered women.
• Latino Health Access’ Domestic Violence Program to continue its work decreasing gender-based violence in Orange County.
• Mary’s Shelter to continue providing residential care for pregnant teens and their babies.
• MOMS Orange County for the building of a new center in order to expand their comprehensive maternal-child health resources for low-income women.
• Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter’s Women’s Mental Health Program, which provides homeless women and their children with mental health services.
• Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties to provide information and access to reproductive health care for Vietnamese and Spanish speaking women.
• Share Our Selves to serve women who are uninsured or underinsured through their Free Medical Clinic Women’s Initiative.
• WISEPlace’s “Steps to Independence” program and wrap-around case management services for homeless women.
• YWCA Central Orange County to support mental health services offered at Beverly’s House for young women emancipating from the foster care system.
• YWCA North Orange County to provide early breast cancer detection for 5,000 uninsured, underserved and multi-ethnic women.

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.

The Orange County Community Foundation’s Legacy Partners program helps foster the long-term stability of local charitable organizations by working with them to broaden their base of support through the development of endowment and planned giving programs. To learn more, visit the Legacy Partnership section of our web site.

Image courtesy of AmericanTowns.com.

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.

On behalf of all of us at the Orange County Community Foundation, I wish you and yours a wonderful holiday season. OCCF awarded $21.3 million in grants and scholarships this fiscal year, making 2009 the highest granting year in OCCF history. This record-setting response to the needs of our local community was made possible by the generosity of you: our friends and partners around the county. Please click here for a special holiday greeting from OCCF.

Please join me in welcoming Anoosheh M. Oskouian to the Orange County Community Foundation’s Board of Governors. We are thrilled to add to our board such a distinguished environmental entrepreneur who has reached out to make a difference in Southern California and beyond.

Anoosheh is the president and co-founder of Ship & Shore Environmental, Inc., an engineering and manufacturing company that provides customized green energy industrial solutions. Anoosheh serves on the boards of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra and the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which works to protect the health of residents in Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

Passionate about improving the lives of children, Anoosheh is a co-founder of Children’s Hope International Literacy & Development (CHILD), established in 2004. The agency provides needy children in a variety of countries with nutritional, medical, and educational staples so that they may continue attending school, enhancing their lives now and into the future. Visit CHILD’s web site for more information.

The Orange County Community Foundation board and staff is delighted to welcome Anoosheh to OCCF. We know her environmental expertise and widespread community work will be great assets to our mission of encouraging, supporting, and facilitating philanthropy in Orange County.

To learn more about Anoosheh M. Oskouian, view the press release here.