Is the economic downturn hurting nonprofits?
On March 26 results from a new survey conducted by the Nonprofit Finance Fund raised concerns that the economic health of nonprofit organizations is rapidly deteriorating (according to the New York Times).
The survey of over 900 nonprofits found that only 12 percent of the organizations expect to operate above break-even, compared with 40 percent reported last year. Just 16 percent anticipate being able to cover their operating expenses in both 2009 and 2010. Obviously, nonprofits are experiencing huge challenges due to the economic crisis.
With corporations and foundations facing losses from the stock market plunge, many are cutting back or halting their usual charitable giving. And with considerable job losses around the nation, individual giving forecasts are unclear. In an end of the year survey covered in The NonProfit Times, more than 40 percent of organizations said that they’re seeing smaller gifts and fewer individual donors. At a time when needs are greater and resources are less, the economic downturn has affected nonprofits in a range of ways. Read more…
Tutoring and loving it!
Is going to school enough?
Most parents feel that by sending their children to school they have ensured that children get complete education. But what if the school does not succeed in inspiring students to learn? What if the classrooms are cramped with too many children and with just a few overworked teachers to manage them? What if the lessons taught in classroom cannot be 
revised or explained at home due to lack of suitable guidance from parents?
Empowerment International struggled with the same issues recently, realizing that many of the program participants were not receiving an adequate education.
When Kathy Adams (Empowerment International’s founder and director) discovered that many kids who were regularly attending primary school failed to read as well as they were expected to, she decided to expand EI’s scope of work further. Read more…
Jamie McCaughey and Emma Hill visited the barrio (where EI works) in December last year and found it to be an incredibly memorable experience. They have since been volunteering with Empowerment International and creating regular newsletters for the organization. Here they describe their experience in detail:
“We visited Granada recently and were moved by touring the barrio and meeting the children and their families. The city changes slowly, bit by bit, as you walk out from the center toward the edge.
On the surface, colonial buildings give way to more modern but good concrete homes; then solid wood and metal homes; then salvaged wood and scrap metal homes; and finally homes made of the most basic materials. By the time we reached the edge of town, we watched a beautiful sunset in a field behind a house made of sticks and plastic sheets. Read more…
Breaking down the Familial Barriers
Often, due to poverty, lack of education or lack of time parents or guardians become barriers to continued education. In spite of having their kids’ best interests in mind, families fail to prioritize education for better future. EI recognizes this and helps families in relevant ways.
A typical home setting in the barrio
Most of the families EI works with have an income of less than $250/month. Lack of adequate funding is a major issue for education of the kids and EI helps these families overcome this barrier by providing books, school supplies, uniforms, and shoes to children to allow them to attend pre-existing schools.
This helps children who have never been able to afford school to attend.
Because of their low income, families often can’t afford medical care. This prevents children from attending school, as they are out sick more regularly than other children.
Saying no to drugs and violence – how EI helps
Although Nicaragua itself does not produce drugs, because of its location – sandwiched in the middle of the drug trade – the country still feels significant influence from drugs. Nicaragua is a major transit country for drugs coming from South America on their way to the U.S, including routes along both coasts and the Pan American highway.
Drugs are particularly an issue among young people in the country, with an estimated 5.1% of male high school students smoking crack, 10.5% smoking marijuana, and 5.7% sniffing glue [1].
Along with drugs, Nicaragua and its youth also face a culture of violence. Many weapons from the armed conflicts of the 1980s remain in circulation, while youth gangs have become increasingly violent and have started recruiting younger members. The average age for youth gangs in Nicaragua dropped from between 18 to 25 years old in 1999 to between 15 and 18 years old in 2006. Read more…
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