Finding Nonprofit Solutions

New Hampshire's shifting demographics is creating new challenges for nonprofit agencies and businesses alike, requiring even more cooperation between the two sectors to find innovative solutions.

Our resident population is aging, and as it does, medical costs and senior living choices will become greater concerns for the elderly, even as they potentially face the additional stress of an insufficient labor force to adequately care for them. Additionally, our immigrant population is also burgeoning, creating cultural and language challenges. The working poor are coming in record numbers to nonprofit organizations for assistance.

Today there are nearly 7,000 nonprofit agencies in NH that offer critical social services that the government and the private sector are either unwilling or unable to provide. And yet the needs of the people in our state outpace even this large number of organizations. This is not good for NH or our businesses. So what are we to do?

The nonprofit world needs the wisdom, experience and resources of the for-profit world. When most people think of the word charity, they think of people donating time and money to benefit someone in need. Real charity, however, moves us beyond our own preoccupations towards empathy for other people. To be truly charitable, we have to be mindful of more than simply the immediate need. We have to be willing to discover and address the root causes of those needs.
When businesses and nonprofits work with each other to come up with innovative solutions to meet the needs of people, we not only give people the proverbial fish so they may eat for a day, but we teach them how to fish. Unless we work together to come up with new solutions and make a collective commitment to stewardship, those people in our state who rely on charities will continue to suffer the indignity of dependence, and all of us will suffer the economic and social consequences.

Charity is a complicated business. Cultivating the individual and collective generosity of an entire state and channeling that goodwill to the citizens most in need is both challenging and rewarding. As the head of the state's largest nonprofit social services organization, with 850 employees who serve more than 60,000 clients every year, the issues that I face on a day-to-day basis at NH Catholic Charities are like those that surface in any large company. Effectively positioning NH Catholic Charities in the 21st century requires understanding and managing the challenges inherent in a statewide agency that is dedicated to serving the diverse needs of people from all walks of life. However, the face of charity, for those we serve, is changing and we need to build new approaches and partnerships to change with it.

Well-organized nonprofits bring experience, a strong sense of mission and a view from the front line of those who are most vulnerable or living in poverty. Businesses bring boardroom experience, bottom line expertise and a sense of innovation. Pairing the strengths from both industries creates a formidable team that can harness the tremendous amount of creative synergy needed to lead people toward independence.

Assistance programs that rely solely on government or grant funding can often be fleeting. To be truly stable and productive, nonprofit agencies need to tap into the experience of business leaders who can help discover new and lasting avenues for funding to ensure sustainability. Organizations like the United Way use loaned executives from the business community to be their voice and to help with fundraising.

Volunteer recruitment is an ongoing challenge for nonprofits and is another area where business partnerships can benefit the community. Employees are a great resource for volunteering and businesses that promote and encourage community service often reap many benefits: greater exposure in the community, a reputation for committing to stewardship among nonprofit clients and increased morale for employees. Nonprofits benefit beyond the time these volunteers donate. A study this year in the Chronicle of Philanthropy revealed that those who volunteer are much more likely to philanthropically support the organization in the future. There simply is no substitute for seeing the results of one's charitable work firsthand.

I challenge the many thriving businesses in NH to form partnerships with nonprofits that will maximize the experience of business leaders to develop innovative approaches to charity. By collaborating and sharing a sense of stewardship, we can use our talents and expertise to call into action the universality of every person's accountability for the well-being of one another.

Tom Blonski is president and CEO of NH Catholic Charities, a statewide nonprofit based in Manchester with district offices and programs that range from the NH Food Bank to nursing and rehabilitation centers and immigration and refugee legal services. He has served as president for the past two years. Before joining NH Catholic Charities, he served as executive director for a variety of nursing homes in Connecticut for 12 years. To reach him, call 603-669-3030 or visit www.nh-cc.org.