After an election, charitable organizations still open their doors for families in need of help, which depends on more than generous donors or dedicated staff. That help is also driven by the policy decisions made by elected officials.
Public funding, access to services and eligibility for assistance programs are determined by the officeholders elected to serve the public. Their decisions can either help families remain stable or leave nonprofits picking up the slack to meet increased demand when critical resources fall short.
Even impactful philanthropy can be undermined by policies that worsen hardship or cut vital support systems.
A community can give generously to a food pantry while changes in public assistance increase the number of households needing groceries. Donors can support emergency rent assistance while demand exceeds funding. A nonprofit can build an effective program, only to face a funding change that threatens its survival.
An election changes who holds office. It does not, by itself, resolve the issues brought by people in need to charitable organizations.
When government assistance becomes unavailable, families turn elsewhere, often to a nonprofit, church or community group they trust. A public funding decision can trigger a local fundraising appeal, which adds another responsibility for an overstretched staff, or it can create a waiting list for families who cannot afford delays.
“Nonprofits and the communities they serve depend on stable federal partnerships to provide essential services,” said Diane Yentel, president and CEO of the National Council of Nonprofits, in a July statement addressing proposed changes to federal grantmaking. Those services include childcare, eldercare, disaster relief and workforce training.
For Black-led grassroots organizations, community trust can make that pressure personal. Individuals engage because they know the founder, recognize the organization’s work or believe its staff will understand their circumstances.
But trust does not give an organization unlimited capacity. It cannot simply add staff or replace lost funding because the need is urgent. It may have to reduce assistance, turn people away or compete for charitable dollars that other organizations are also pursuing.
Still, we examine and celebrate the determination that keeps these organizations going. But the public policy decisions that make their work more challenging also deserve scrutiny.
Another fundraiser may ease an immediate crisis but it cannot guarantee the scale or continuity of a public program. A nonprofit’s willingness to stretch its resources should not become justification for shifting more responsibility onto it.
Charitable donors should understand the conditions that mediate how an organization operates. Voters must understand what elected officials’ proposals would require of community organizations and whether resources would accompany those expectations.
Nonprofits often organize residents, analyze policies and present issues before public bodies because their work gives them firsthand knowledge of how government decisions affect real people. Bringing that knowledge into public forums can help address problems before they become emergencies.
At a recent NAACP town hall at Mount Olive Cathedral CME Church, Venita Doggett, executive director of the Memphis Interfaith Coalition for Action and Hope, emphasized participation beyond Election Day. “I remind people that you have power beyond the ballot,” Doggett said.
Examples include attending government meetings, organizing around neighborhood concerns and holding elected officials accountable for policies that dictate community needs and the resources available to meet them. These actions become essential when campaign promises turn into budgets and governing decisions.
This year’s high stakes and polarizing mid-term political contests should serve as a reminder for the electorate to commit to tracking the long-term impact of our choices beyond election season.
Now and in the future, voters must examine what elected officials’ decisions mean for nonprofits that families depend on to survive and thrive.
— Judith Black Moore is a nonprofit consultant and the founder of Taking Back the Future, a youth-focused nonprofit. With decades of leadership experience at nationally recognized nonprofit organizations, she brings a seasoned, strategic lens to the issues that matter most in the nonprofit sector.
