Barbara Heisler Williams, executive director of the Fund for an OPEN Society, a non-profit that supports integration in communities, was excited about some new programs her group was planning to implement. One idea was branding the work that was being done at integrating communities; the other was awarding high school scholarships to instill the importance of integration in young people.

But, thanks to the recession, those programs have been put on hold. Donations to the Fund have declined—individual giving was down about 33 percent in the last 12-month period. The situation has forced the group to cut its budget by $100,000 for this year and make cost-cutting adjustments such as holding conference calls rather than meetings.

“We couldn’t go to our corporate or foundation funders,” says Williams, “or, frankly, to our individual funders and say, ‘We want to try this new thing but we don’t know if it’s going to work.’ So we’ve really been very clear in asking for funding that we know will make a difference in the communities."

Her organization is not the only one in South Orange that is hurting for money: Several other local non-profits are receiving fewer donations from individuals, corporations and foundations than in years past. The dire situation has forced these groups to scale back their projects and reevaluate their priorities.

Denise Gray-Felder, president and CEO of Communication for Social Change Consortium, whose mission is to advocate the use of communication to help communities in need, is also experiencing the recession’s painful impact. She says that the group’s reserve fund, which was previously set aside and earning money, has been tapped out to pay expenses. Also, individual donations have dropped about $70,000 in 2008 for her small organization, whose revenue depends on contracts with United Nations agencies and foundations.

“It hurts on a couple of levels,” she says. “You know these people who want to give and their personal portfolio doesn’t allow them to give any more. And it hurts because we need the money to continue to do our work."

[Gray-Felder contacted us later to add to her remarks: "It hurts twice," she said, "because: a) we have lost a substantial amount of money in the economic downturn—so not only is the size of our portfolio down but we also are not generating earnings that we were using to operate, and b) the people we depend on for money—individuals, foundations, the UN and other large non-profits—have less money to give.

"So it is a double whammy. The $70,000 loss in individual contributions is only a very small part of our losses."]

At JESPY House, a non-profit group that helps adults with developmental and learning disabilities, some clients have lost their jobs, which in turn affects JESPY. 

“[The clients are] impacted because they don’t have the funds to pay their bills,” says Lynn Kucher, JESPY’s director. “Consequently a lot of people are late paying their JESPY bills, so that’s impacting on our operating budget.” The organization is now helping those clients find jobs while focusing on less expensive recreational activities. 

What the non-profits are going through right now is fairly typical during an economic decline, says Sandra Miniutti, vice-president of marketing at Charity Navigator, a Mahwah-based organization that describes itself as a guide to intelligent giving.

“Many of them are seeing a decrease in revenue,” she says, “whether it’s contributions from individuals who have less to give, or corporate givers who have seen profits erode, so they naturally cut back on their philanthropic efforts. Foundation givers have also seen their endowments erode. It becomes a perfect storm for non-profits.”

Foundations have provided the financial backing for the group EIES of New Jersey, whose mission is to give visually impaired people access to the printed word through audiobooks, radio and other technology. Yet its executive director Frank Scafidi says, “I have been asked to delay [requesting] donations from some foundations too. They say they’re concerned about their finances, so they asked us to wait. One in particular asked to get in touch with us again in one month.”

EIES provides special radios to the majority of its homebound clients. They cost about $100 each and are usually funded by foundations. “If that doesn’t happen,” Scafidi says of the donations, “we might have to ask people to pay for their radios, which we would rather not do.”

Scafidi is hopeful that funding will rematerialize. “We’re probably OK for another year or so,” he says, "but if things don’t improve, we would really have to face those issues.”

Regarding her group, Fund for an OPEN Society’s Heisler Williams put it more bluntly: “Frankly if we continue to lose funding, the organization is in jeopardy.”