It’s been a remarkable summer. In early July this paper ran an article about the impact of the recession on Vineyard charitable organizations. It featured the results of a survey we, the Martha’s Vineyard Donors Collaborative, conducted that showed 56 per cent of Vineyard nonprofits experienced a decrease in contributions during the winter and 20 per cent saw them decrease greatly. For Island health and human services agencies, which saw big increases in demand for services, the story was worse; 64 per cent saw a decrease in contributions, 43 per cent saw them decrease greatly and 50 per cent expected to operate at a deficit this year, depleting reserves that weren’t very large to begin with. The study found that most nonprofits expected things to get much worse and that the summer fund-raising event season could make or break them.

Summer is now drawing to a close and the event season winding down. Although there won’t be hard data until we conduct a formal survey in September, the anecdotal evidence is that some were down, some were flat, a few were up and many health and human service agencies continue to run a deficit and deplete reserves. Overall, however, it wasn’t as bad as many feared. That is a tribute to the Vineyard community and it shows how much you care about the Island. We thank all of you who made the commitment to buy the tickets, bid at the auctions, contribute and support these organizations despite the bite the recession may have taken out of you personally.

We are fortunate to have many loyal donors whose love and passion for the Vineyard has led them to a deeper level of commitment. They understand how important these institutions are to maintaining the character of the Island. They become ongoing supporters of those organizations that preserve and maintain what they love most about the Vineyard. They do more than buy tickets or bid at summer events. They contribute to their favorite Island causes year round, include them in their wills, serve on their boards and committees and make major gifts when extra help is needed. They are investing in the Vineyard so they can enjoy it again next summer.

Unfortunately, we need more donors to invest in the Vineyard and its people because even before the recession there was a widening gap between the contributions our nonprofits receive and the cost of the services they provide. Ticket sales and auction proceeds don’t pay all the bills. Summer fundraising events no longer provide enough money to fund the annual budget and now there are reserves that need to be replenished too.

What do you love most about the Vineyard? The arts? The historic charm? The open spaces and scenic vistas? Fishing or clamming? Recreational opportunities? The great programs and things for kids to do? The people, the sense of community and the small town feel? There are nonprofits that provide, protect or maintain all these and many more things that make the Vineyard special. There are also nonprofits that provide for the health and well being of the year-round population, the people who keep the Vineyard running. What would we do without them? They caretake the Island as well as our homes.

These nonprofits need help and it is demand for services from all of us that creates the need. Rest assured they all are working hard to scrub budgets and fine-tune programs so that your donations create real value and benefit.

Why not make a deeper commitment to those organizations that support what you love most about the Vineyard? To make a donation you can find a directory of Vineyard nonprofits, organized by area of interest on our Web site, mvdonors.org.

We mulch and fertilize our gardens to winter them over. We store our boats to protect them through the winter. We repair, repaint and reshingle our houses, to ready them for the next summer. Make sure the Vineyard is ready for many summers to come. Invest in it because you love what it returns.

Peter Temple is executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Donors Collaborative. He lives in Aquinnah.