The biggest annual fundraiser for the Arkansas Foodbank, typically a dinner in a large ballroom where attendees buy tables and bid on donated items, will be held inside people's homes this year.
The charity's fundraising goal for Empty Bowls is $150,000, but it can't be held in person this year because of precautions to curb the spread of covid-19.
The Arkansas Foodbank is on the front lines of crises related to covid-19. The nonprofit is major facilitator of meals for children who normally are fed at school, and has distributed thousands of meals since mid-March for schoolchildren.
"So it's kind of a double-edged sword for us," said Sarah Riffle, the organization's chief development officer. "The community has been extremely generous with us in the past few weeks ... but on the flip side, we are going to be experiencing some lost revenue."
The covid-19 outbreak has disrupted daily life for individuals, businesses and nonprofits.
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Nonprofits rely on events to raise money and the generosity of people who may be tightening their belts in a tumultuous economy. Charitable giving nationwide has declined in recent years, and the covid-19 outbreak presents yet another challenge on top of that.
Like businesses and schools, many nonprofits are trying to convert what they had normally done to a virtual experience. Beyond live-streamed fundraisers, some have started donation drives, sending email blasts to their listservs.
Some have ceased the majority of their operations. The Arkansas Repertory Theatre has canceled all programming, and community theaters have scrapped shows.
In the three weeks the Arkansas Community Foundation has opened its COVID-19 Relief Fund for applications, it's received hundreds -- awarding 175 $1,000 grants in the first round. Chief Development Officer Ashely Coldiron said staff members are evaluating another 225 for a second round of funding.
Some nonprofits have furloughed or laid off staff, but Coldiron said the foundation hasn't received many reports of that. She finds that encouraging, but acknowledges that not much time has passed.
"I think this is so early on and everything that we're not seeing the drastic effects of it yet," Coldiron said.
The Arkansas Community Foundation currently has $2.1 million in the relief fund and plans to distribute $1,000 grants on a rolling basis.
Fundraising has been friendly so far. The foundation started with $130,000, taken from a disaster fund, and has received the rest through donations.
"I think there will be more need in the future," Coldiron said. Major donors are stepping back, she said, taking stock and reining in donations.
"Many [nonprofits] are volunteer-based, or they operate on a shoestring budget," she said. "Many of them can't have events right now."
Springtime is when third parties host events that make the Arkansas Foodbank the beneficiary, Riffle said, but nearly every event this spring has been canceled.
So when it comes to Empty Bowls, the show must go on. While people can tune in to Empty Bowls, they can also tune in to Our House's spring fundraiser.
No longer a dinner at Heifer International, with music and prizes for children, the charity will live-stream a concert by Lagniappe, the band that had already signed on to play. People must buy tickets to receive a link to the concert.
That's one of two annual fundraisers for Our House.
"We really look to it for funding," said Sara McCoy, development coordinator for Our House.
Other efforts to collect nonmonetary donations may be impeded by permanent or temporary business closures, McCoy said, such as school supply drives with drop-off locations at restaurants across the community.
"A lot of what Our House does is supported by local businesses," she said. But they're struggling now, too.
Our House can't ask businesses to make donations right now, she said. The nonprofit must proceed "just making sure that we can fulfill that need without hurting anyone else."
Metro on 04/06/2020