November 1996
VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3/ $5.00
A nonprofit newspaper for the nonprofit community
Look for us on the World Wide Web at http://philanthropy-joumal.org
Anticipation
Nonprofits
brace for
welfare
changes
State nonprofits are preparing for
the ripple effects of new welfare
legislation that caps the amount
of money North Carolina may
spend on food stamps and other
programs for the needy.
By Barbara Solow
North Carolina nonprofit leaders
are viewing changes in the welfare
system with a mixture of hope and
concern.
While many organizations are
bracing for an increase in needy
clients as welfare programs become
more restrictive, others are hoping
that new laws will lead to improved
deliveiy of social services.
tWth changes underway, govern
ment agencies are turning to non-
THE NEXT REVOLUTION
profits as providers of job training for
welfare recipients and services such
^ transportation and child care that
atfe'Omied to help move people from
welfare to work.
But nonjDrofit leaders say those
increased responsibilities have not
been accompanied by an increase in
funding from non-governmental
sources.
At a recent day-long conference
Look for REFORM, page 22
The cost of history
Grants for preservation draw fire
A state grants program for histori
cal preservation was nixed in
the budget bill passed by law
makers this year, and advocates
want it back - without political
agendas attached.
By Stephanie Greer
Raleigh
The unmistakable scent of pork
wafting from the state Department of
Cultural Resources has some histori
ans and
preservation
ists complain
ing about a
grants
program that
doesn’t
even exist
any more.
The Grant
Program for
Nonprofit Betty McCain
Historical Organizations and Local
Government Entities, which had a
PRESERVATION
short life in the 1980s and was
revived in the early 1990s, was elimi
nated from the 1996-97 budget.
Whether or not the program
exists, critics say they still have a
valid claim: They want the grants pro
gram back, but without the political
overtones that so heavily shaped
grant distribution.
Some state officials, however,
defend the program’s political orien
tation as a necessary evil in order to
have the money available at all.
The program initially was created
in the 1980s, foundered during the
administration of Gov. Jim Martin and
was revived in fiscal 1993-94 with an
appropriation of $1 million. That
grew to $2 million the next year and
$3 milhon in 1995-96.
Under the program, public and
private organizations may apply to
the state for historic preservation
Look for PRESERVATION, page 9
After Fran
storm rising over Red Cross
Some North Carolina nonprofit
leaders were not happy with the
way the American Red Cross
coordinated emergency services
during Hurricane Fran. Red
Cross officials say such com
plaints go with the territory of
being the nation’s leading disas
ter relief agency.
By Barbara Solow
The images displayed across
newspaper fronts and television
screens in the wake of Hurricane
Fran showed volunteers from local,
state and national relief agencies
working together to provide emergen
cy services.
But some North Carolina nonprof
it leaders say the role played by the
American Red Cross during the
state’s costliest natural disaster was
somewhat less than cooperative.
A Red Cross volunteer from Alabama loads supplies into a truck for
distribution to Triangle-area victims of Hurricane Fran.
Among the complaints voiced by
some food banks and crisis assis
tance agencies was a sense that Red
Cross officials seemed more interest
ed in attracting media attention than
in providing services. And some
emergency management officials
have taken the Red Cross to task for
falling to provide help in a timely
fashion.
EMERGENCY SERVICES
Red Cross leaders say such criti
cisms are common after natural dis
asters - especially disasters on the
scale of Hurricane Fran.
“There are stages of every disas
ter, no matter whether you’re in North
Carolina or California,” says Wilson
Charles “Pete” Montague, assistant
manager of the Red Cross chapter in
Raleigh and the official agency liaison
to the state’s Emergency
Management Division.
“The first is the heroic phase,
when there is hardly anybody that
can do wrong. The second phase is
the honeymoon phase, when you see
organizations bonding together for a
Look for RED CROSS, page 5
Raising the roof
Housing advocates seek affordable options
The former Reidsville High
School now serves as
apartments for the elderly.
Some nonprofit organizations are
working hard to bring housing
deficiencies into the spotlight.
Ignoring the issue is a mist^e,
they say - but state and federal
funding, as well as public inter
est, seem to be waning.
By Stephanie Greer
The nonprofit community is being
called upon to pick up the slack on an
issue that sector leaders say stays in
the background - affordable housing.
As government funding for low-
income housing heads downhill, non-
HOUSING
profits increasingly either are calling
on private financiers to boost their
resourees or are forging partnerships
with government agencies to help
make service delivery more efficient.
Linda Shaw, executive director of
the North Carolina Low Income
Housing Coalition, says the govern
ment still needs to lead the way in
terms of helping low-income people
finance housing.
“Ideally, what we would like to see
is a dedicated revenue source for the
North Carolina Housing Trust Fund
that would yield $50 million a year,”
she says. “It will also require contin
ued commitment from the private sec
tor and, frankly, I think the private
sector is stepping up to the plate very
nicely.”
One of the biggest difficulties in
getting government funding for hous
ing is that poiiticians, the media and
the general public don’t find housing
to be a “sexy” issue that deserves
attention, Shaw says. Issues like
drugs, guns, violence and crime cap
ture public attention - and public dol
lars - more readily these days.
Housing should be at the top of
everyone’s priority list, says Jerry
Pifer, an economist for the
Greensboro field office of the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban
Development. Poor housing, lack of
housing or unaffordable housing
often can be tied back to drug use,
crime, poverty, unemployment and a
host of other social ills.
To address the problem of afford
able housing, Shaw’s organization is
launching a 10-year campaign that
aims to make $12.8 billion available in
public and private sector funding for
state housing programs, financing for
low-income home buyers, and sup-
Look for HOUSING, page 5
NONPROFITS
, FOUNDATIONS
VOLUNTEERS
j CORPORATE GIVING
i FUNDRAISING
Connections 3
Grants & Gifts 16
In November 16
Job Opportunities 20
Opinion 10
People 17
Professional Services...! 8
Nonprofit postal
rates change
Changes in postal rates
for nonprofits and
regulations covering
mailings went into effect
in October.
Foundations team
with Merrill Lynch
North Carolina
community foundations
have joined in an alliance
with Merrill Lynch to boost
charitable gifts.
Program aims to
boost healthcare
A North Carolinian is
helping to create a '
national partnership
program between health
schools and communities.
Couple assists
abused women
The owners of Goldston's
Building Supply have
helped create an organi
zation to help battered
women put their lives
back together.
Fundraising firm
faces staff unrest
Raleigh consultant Capital
Consortium is dealing
with employee morale
problems
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