While SVdP and other nonprofits have seen recent drops in donations, seniors, women, and families face increasing need for life-stabilizing help.
All we do is thanks to you. You might have seen and heard that phrase used by us here at St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County (SVdP) lately, and there’s a good reason for that.
We’re proud of the fact that our St. Vinnie’s retail-thrift stores and recycling-based businesses earn about half of the revenue needed to support our extensive human-services programs, but we rely on community donations, business sponsorships, and foundation grants to fill in the large funding gaps that remain in our budget.
Unfortunately, nonprofits across the country saw charitable giving by individuals, corporations and foundations plummet by 10.5 percent between 2021 and 2022 when adjusted for inflation. And giving by individuals alone dropped at an even greater rate of 13.4 percent, according to “Giving USA 2023: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2022” summarized by researchers at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. (Read more about it in this article from the National Council of Nonprofits.)
We have seen the negative impact of those downward charitable trends here at SVdP, just as high inflation continues to drive up the cost of nearly everything — making it more difficult to realize our core mission of alleviating poverty and homelessness among our most vulnerable neighbors. And the scale of those problems continues to grow, as our collective post-pandemic recovery efforts proceed without the once-deep pool of federal funding available to address them.
A year-end ask, with understanding
We truly value the continued support of community members who donate surplus goods and shop at our stores, who volunteer their time, and who donate their funds. Now as the year comes to a close, we ask our supporters to help one more time, no matter how modest it might be, to bolster the good work we do in the community.
We remain wholly committed to our work as Lane County’s largest nonprofit human-services provider, providing help in the form of emergency and homeless services, affordable housing, low-barrier employment and more.
We know very well how hard it can be to ask for help, because so many people come to us seeking it — often for the first time in their lives and only as a last resort as they face new struggles with food, shelter and financial insecurities. We also know how difficult these times are for many working hard just to maintain stability, much less get ahead.
So, we don’t take it lightly when we ask for your financial support during this season of giving. As you consider the many options you have for contributing to the good of your community as another year winds down, know that SVdP is seeing increasing need for the services we provide, especially among seniors, families with young children, and individual women including those escaping from domestic violence.
We can continue to provide pathways to stability for these increasingly vulnerable neighbors through all we do, thanks to you.
How to donate to SVdP now
To support SVdP with a one-time or recurring financial contribution, please use our secure online donation form (or click the button above), or mail donations to St. Vincent de Paul Society of Lane County, Inc., P.O. Box 24608, Eugene, OR 97402.
If you have questions or need more information, please email fundraising@svdp.us or call 541-335-1950.