Charitable Giving Declines on Island

Vineyard Institutions Worry the Squeeze Will Eliminate Services in
Competitive Market for Needed Contributions

By JULIA WELLS
Gazette Senior Writer

It's known as the giving season, but as holiday lights glow
along darkened main streets and the clock winds down on 2002, an array
of vital Vineyard institutions report a troubling trend: Charitable
contributions are down this year.

"Usually we are in good shape and ahead by this time of the
year, but it's been slow and we are behind," said Augustus
Ben David 3rd, executive director of the Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary
in Edgartown.

"The next two or three weeks are going to be crucial; it is
the time when we make it or don't make it for the year,"
said Dick Johnson, executive director of the Sheriff's Meadow
Foundation.

"We are certainly down from last year," said Emily
Bramhall, a member of the board for Hospice of Martha's Vineyard.

"It is certainly safe to say we are also feeling the
pinch," said Brendan O'Neill, executive director of Vineyard
Conservation Society.

"A climate of uncertainty? I'd say that's probably
an understatement," said Ned Robinson-Lynch, executive director of
Martha's Vineyard Community Services.

The trend is not universal: The Martha's Vineyard Hospital
reports annual donations are up this year and The Trustees of
Reservations also report annual donations and memberships are up
slightly.

But it appears that many Island nonprofit organizations -
especially the smaller ones - are beginning to feel the effects of
what some say is a combination of factors, including the downturn in the
national economy and also an increasing competition for charitable
contributions as the number of nonprofits on the Vineyard multiplies.
Sometimes there is also competition within the organization itself. If a
capital project is launched, donors may give to the capital campaign but
not to the annual fund, and the nonprofit group is left scrambling to
cover its routine programs for the year.

This has been the story at both Felix Neck and Hospice. At Felix
Neck a capital campaign was launched last summer to raise money to buy a
key piece of property adjacent to the sanctuary. The campaign was a
complete success. But Mr. Ben David said this week that the sanctuary
relies on about $40,000 in annual contributions; the money is added to
income from a modest endowment to meet the annual operating budget.

Annual contributions at Felix Neck are down a whopping 50 per cent.
Mr. Ben David said only about $20,000 has come in. "This is the
one we absolutely count on. We have an endowment but it is not anywhere
near big enough to run Felix Neck. If we can't balance our budget,
then we have no choice but to cut staff and we are running on a skeleton
staff right now," he said.

At Hospice there is concern that donations may have slowed after a
generous gift last year from the estate of the late Katharine Graham
helped to create a protective endowment. The Vineyard Hospice program
does not charge for its services and it has an extremely lean
administrative staff. All of the money raised at Hospice goes directly
into care.

And the demand for Hospice services has increased exponentially in
recent years.

"We have more cases and we're glad because the message
is out there, but people who say, ‘Oh Hospice, they got a big
gift; they don't need anything,' we want to disabuse people
of that, because without our annual fundraising we could not offer the
same level of service," Ms. Bramhall said.

Hospice just started its annual "nonevent" appeal for
money, a cleverly designed invitation to a fictional gala event. Ms.
Bramhall said she will not know the results of the appeal for a few more
weeks, but she said right now she is projecting a 10 or 11 per cent drop
in annual donations this year.

Mr. O'Neill and Mr. Johnson both said donations are down about
20 per cent; both Sheriff's Meadow and VCS have annual operating
budgets of about $200,000.

"Ours is a group that relies almost exclusively on membership
donations to exist; we are a small operation and we don't have a
larger organization to fall back on," said Mr. O'Neill.
"We have to continually hone our case and make it clear that
we're not done when it comes to land conservation," he
added.

"I think everybody knows a big part of it has to be the
economy. People just don't have the extra money," Mr.
Johnson said. He said ironically the drop in annual giving comes at a
time when Sheriff's Meadow is in the middle of one of the most
active periods for land conservation in its history, with acquisition
projects under way from Chilmark to Chappaquiddick. "It's
just ironic that things would be lagging at the time when we need the
annual support to keep up with these projects," he said.

"It's a solid 20 per cent off, and I hope that's
as low as it goes," said Norma Costain, director of development
for Sheriff's Meadow. She said foundation board members plan to
make personal phone calls this year to annual contributors who have not
yet sent in a donation.

"Giving is down all across the board, whether it's local
or international, and it's down for nearly all charities,"
said Tom Chase, director of field conservation for The Nature
Conservancy. Mr. Chase said the conservancy deliberately avoids
competing with the smaller local charities by not doing local membership
drives, and focusing instead on individual donors. But he echoed the
same theme as others, noting that contributions for large land
acquisitions are still healthy, but annual giving is off. The Nature
Conservancy needs to raise about $150,000 a year for its annual
operating needs. "It's much harder to attract contributions
for the mundane things," Mr. Chase said.

"We have more people giving, but they are giving less,"
said Mr. Robinson-Lynch. Community Services relies on raising about
$700,000 a year to meet its operating budget; the money comes from a
handful of events, including the successful Possible Dreams summer
auction, the fall Windsurfing Challenge and an annual appeal. Mr.
Robinson-Lynch said the annual appeal is about even with last year, but
the dire predictions about drastic state budget cuts in the coming year
are expected deliver a blow to Community Services, which relies heavily
on state grant money for its five health and human service programs.

"It's been said that the state is heading into one of
the worst depressions since the Great Depression - they are making
$99 million in cuts as we speak. So if our annual appeal holds, we are
probably going to be about where we were last year, but we need to do
better than last year," Mr. Robinson-Lynch said.

Development director Michael Dutton said annual gifts now total $1.1
million at the Island's only hospital, well ahead of the $950,000
budgeted for the year. Much of the gift money will be used to offset a
large operating deficit projected for this year.

Ms. Bramhall and Mr. O'Neill both said the downturn in annual
giving will hit the smaller, bare-bones Island institutions the hardest.

"We are in another tier and there's more vulnerability.
We don't have a huge endowment to fall back on and we don't
sell tote bags and coffee mugs. It's more important than ever that
supporters sustain their giving in these down times. The work of these
groups is critical - whether it is in the area of human services,
housing, historic preservation or land conservation,' Mr.
O'Neill said.

"The quality of life that's here on the Vineyard -
the way that happens is by those of us who can supporting it. If we want
to keep up the quality of life in our home here, we need to think about
our giving more carefully," Ms. Bramhall said.

Mr. O'Neill said there has long been a perception that the
Vineyard has unlimited wealth when it comes to charitable causes, but he
said recently a truer picture has begun to take shape. "The myth
of the Vineyard capacity is something that a lot of people talk about.
You've got wealthy people there; you must be able to sustain all
these things. But I think the evidence is otherwise," he said.

But Ms. Bramhall also said giving comes in different forms. She
described the annual Handmade from the Heart holiday bazaar sponsored by
Hospice. It is an event that raises a modest amount of money (this year
about $4,000), but at its core are countless Vineyard residents who
contribute handmade things to the sale, from heirloom quality smocked
baby dresses to gourmet foods.

"So many people want to make things and give them; it is such
an outpouring of support and love that people have made things with
their two hands. It's so gratifying. And all donated," Ms.
Bramhall said.