Nonprofits find ways to survive in severe recession

SALT LAKE CITY — Just because your business is called a nonprofit doesn't mean it can get by without money.

Keeping the doors open and the lights on at area nonprofits such as the Utah Food Bank, Crossroads Urban Center and the 4th St. Clinic takes operation and maintenance funding just like companies in it for the money.

The economic downturn has sent demand for emergency services to historic levels — 30 to 45 percent higher than two years ago, area community service nonprofits report.

A wilting economy is also hurting Utah's nonprofits.

"Nonprofits are always in survival mode in a way," said Matt Minckevitch, who runs the state's largest emergency shelter. "The wake of this recession is higher, stronger and longer than any previous one, and everybody's wondering how they're going to make ends meet."

Contrary to trends in other states, Utahns have increased their giving of goods, services and time. In other words, the worse the economy has gotten, the more people have given, said Chris Crosswhite, executive director of the Rescue Mission of Salt Lake. "But the need keeps eclipsing even that. Everybody's seeing it, whether they're faith-based or not."

Some for-profit companies are seeing it too. And some, such as GE Financial, are helping the helpers.

"We couldn't not try to do what we can," Tim Carfi, president and CEO of GE Capital Financial Inc., said Wednesday during a break of a special two-day conference for nonprofits the company held at the Salt Lake Country Club. "We thought even a nice location would be a great place to meet as well as show them a little appreciation. Helping out the agencies who day in and day out are the bridges between making it and not making it is the least we can do."

"Offering financial expertise is new, but community service has been such a part of the company for so long, this just kind of grew as an idea of how we could help right now," Carfi said.

The goal for nonprofits, like any other business or family trying to right itself financially, is not to focus on what's lacking but instead on what's exceptional and marketable about their specific effort, said Carfi, a New York transplant who has lived in Park City the past two and a half years. "The goal of the conference is to help people who might not even have a business model to get one and to refocus on exactly what makes them unique, and do so in a few hours."

Even people whose business is helping others have some grimmer financial realities to face.