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The State of Philanthropy since the Recession

During and after the recession, most charities were forced to operate with less money.

Now, ten years later, Michelle O'Neill reports contributions have been rising, but nonprofits and foundations in the Quad Cities face other challenges.Radio story

Nancy Renkes is Vice President and Chief Partnerships Officer of the River Bend Food Bank. She says the recession did affect most non-profits. The economic turn-around took several years. And during that time, Renkes says giving to the food bank and other charities was stagnant.

Joy Boruff, President and CEO of the Moline Foundation, says her organization's endowment was a critical part of weathering the storm. Years ago, donors consistently gave to one or two charities and trusted them to spend the money where it would do the most good. But that's no longer the case. People want to donate to causes they are passionate about. Technology has also caused major changes in giving. Boruff says that's because it's so much easier to research nonprofits.

Sherry Ristau, President and CEO of the Quad Cities Community Foundation, says long-term efforts, such as "Success by Six" and "Born Learning," definitely pay off. And while money can't solve everything, Ristau says it serves as a catalyst that creates opportunities to care for our communities.

A screenshot from the 2018 Giving USA Foundation report
https://goo.gl/fCpnQr / npEngage website
/
npEngage website
A screenshot from the 2018 Giving USA Foundation report

Copyright 2018 WVIK, Quad Cities NPR

Officially, Michelle's title is WVIK News Editor which really just means she wears many hats, doing everything there is to do in the newsroom and around the radio station. She's a multimedia journalist and serves as Assignment Editor, reporter, radio news producer, copy editor, announcer, news anchor/host, and photographer. She also writes and produces content for WVIK.org and social media. In recent broadcast journalism contests, Michelle's work contributed to WVIK winning various awards for excellence in both Illinois and Iowa. Tweets by MichelleONeilll