During the ongoing economic downturn that has touched the entire country, many nonprofit organizations have found their services – such as food pantries, temporary shelters and medical clinics – to be increasingly important to their communities. Complicating their ability to serve the public, a June 2009 study by the Giving USA Foundation shows that two-thirds of charities saw drops in donation levels in 2008, with expectations for a similar decline in 2009.
In response to these challenges, The Humana Foundation, philanthropic arm of health-benefits company Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), launched an Economic Response Grant Program in August. Nonprofits were encouraged to submit project proposals between $10,000 and $50,000 focusing on safety-net services, including the provision of food, shelter and assistance to at-risk children and senior citizens. The Foundation received 161 applications from 24 states and selected eight nonprofits to receive Economic Response Grants totaling $300,000.
“In today’s economic climate, we understand that nonprofits are facing tough times,” said Virginia K. Judd, executive director of The Humana Foundation. “While resources are constrained, demand for services is on the rise. As the need becomes greater every day, we hope these Economic Response Grants will provide assistance for nonprofits to find innovative solutions to current challenges.”
The eight recipients of the Economic Response Grants include Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee in Nashville, Tenn.; The Centre for Women in Tampa, Fla.; Covenant House Florida in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; Dare to Care in Louisville, Ky.; Desert Mission in Phoenix.; HAVEN Inc. in Pontiac, Mich.; National Safe Place with locations in Chicago, Dallas, Miami, Louisville, Ky., and Ft. Myers, Fla.; and St. Vincent’s House in Galveston, Texas.
The Humana Foundation Economic Response Grant Recipients
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee (BBBSMT), based in Nashville, Tenn., helps children reach their potential through one-to-one mentoring relationships. As a recipient of the Economic Response Grant, BBBSMT will supplement their recently launched Operation Mentor program, uniting more at-risk children with mentors in East Nashville. For more information, visit www.mentorakid.org.
The Centre for Women, based in Tampa, Fla., serves 3,000 members each year and provides substance-abuse treatment, employment services, family counseling, and programs for seniors and girls. To streamline operations and better serve its members, The Centre for Women will use the Economic Response Grant to update and consolidate software and databases. For more information, visit www.centreforwomen.org.
Covenant House Florida, based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., provides residential care and services to disadvantaged, medically underserved homeless youth and their children. The More Opportunities for Mom Project, implemented through the Economic Response Grant, will help provide safety-net services to pregnant and parenting homeless teen mothers and their children. The goal is to help parents become more self-sufficient. For more information, visit www.covenanthousefl.org.
Dare to Care, based in Louisville, Ky., reaches more than 150,000 people in the Kentuckiana region through a network of 320 food pantries, emergency kitchens and shelters. In tough economic times, many nonprofits do not have the resources to operate a regular food pantry in their communities. Dare to Care will use the Economic Response Grant to help fund its 2010 Mobile Pantry program, which partners with community organizations to provide perishable and non-perishable food for immediate distribution. For more information, visit www.daretocare.org.