Charities Change Focus As Economy Fluctuates

STAMFORD (AP) — Seeking to drum up donations during the crucial holiday season, charities have adjusted to a changing economic climate by relying less on corporate donations and focusing increasingly on individual donors.

The United Way of Norwalk and Wilton has had to adjust its fund raising focus in recent years to make up for the loss of reliable contributors such as Bank of America’s commercial finance division and the buyouts and relocations of other businesses.

“Norwalk and Wilton have seen a tremendous amount of restructuring, retooling, and relocating of companies in the last couple of years,” said David Kennedy, president and CEO of the United Way branch. “Because of the changes, what we have tried to do is focus on new givers to the United Way.”

Stuart Adelberg, president and CEO of the United Way chapters in Stamford and Greenwich, said the charities have also been forced to react to business changes as well as recent volatility in the stock markets.

“Companies are coming and going and it takes a long time to get to the sort of relationship we had with those that have left,” Mr Adelberg said.

Champion Paper had been a major contributor to the Stamford United Way and the new ownership at International Paper have not yet established how much of a presence the company will have in the community, Mr Adelberg said.

In the last year, the United Way of Greenwich has also had to compensate for the loss of major contributors like Tenneco and Fortune Brands, which moved their headquarters elsewhere.

Mr Adelberg said the local United Way has been working to become less dependent on corporate money for years, pointing to the departure of UPS’ headquarters in Greenwich in the early 1990s. At one point, UPS accounted for 10 percent of the local charity’s fundraising, and Mr Adelberg said its departure was a warning sign.

“It’s been a challenge, but I think we’re fortunate,” Mr Adelberg said. “We’ve worked very hard to connect to local people so we’re not as subject to the ebbs and flows of the business climate.”

The local United Way started its campaign last year with the loss of $250,000 in corporate donations, but managed to come out ahead more than $100,000.

Nationwide, charitable giving has increased over the past 10 years with the 1990s seeing the two largest increases in history, bringing total giving to more than $190 billion, according to the Urban Institute’s National Center for Charitable Statistics.

The Washington, DC-based think tank estimates that about 70 percent of American households contribute to charities with an average gift of about $1,000, or 2 percent of their annual income. In Connecticut, the average charitable contribution is almost $3,000. However, Connecticut ranks 45th out of the 50 states in terms of charitable giving in relation to income, according to a recent Urban Institute study.