Don’t Ignore Small Charities

To the Editor:

I am writing in response to your article “Charities Brace for Lean Fund-Raising Season in Tragedy’s Wake” (October 4), and specifically to a statement you included by Jeane Vogel, a fund-raising consultant in St. Louis. Ms. Vogel said, “Some of this is very Darwinian, it’s survival of the fittest. The organizations whose boards have slacked off are going to fail.”

While there is no doubt that an organization’s board and fund-raising plan must be strong, certainly there are other factors to consider. Nonprofits are not all huge corporate structures. Many of us work with small nonprofit organizations that struggle every day, strong board or not.

Without the local arts, education, medical, and literacy organizations across the country that take risks and help people who fall through the cracks of larger organizations, where would we be? I suggest that we would be a country less united by the joys of art, music, and reading. We would be robbed of seeing a child or adult read for the first time or of watching the healing power of dance, music, and drama — most definitely a country less rich.

So while The Chronicle of Philanthropy is geared toward larger organizations, to quote someone who writes off the closure of an organization as “Darwinian” is scary. Let’s not forget, especially in these tough times, that caring for and helping others is the spirit that binds us. Please remember the small community nonprofits.

Gretchen Bryant
Senior Editor
Speak Up Press
Denver