Article Contributed on: 7/8/2008 10:59:44 AM
There are so many issues that come up when the economy starts going downhill, not the least of which is that non-profits have a difficult time getting money because they can't get folks to stop worrying about what they have to pay for their next tank of gas, and how they are ever going to get enough ahead to send their kids to college.
When things start getting ugly out there, with a war or two we can't seem to stop, and threats of a new one, with our disposable capital shrinking while corporate interests pay cheap labor elsewhere, with no real difference (both promise everything and deliver nothing) in our political parties, folks just aren't keeping that long focus to the future. Horizons are shrinking to the dimensions of our back yard, and the only interest we focus on is the puny one we have from our bank accounts. This is human nature.
It then *seems* logical that some system for "helping" non-profits get through the tough times would be laudable, at least on the face of it. But, as usual, in human nature, logic isn't what usually wins out. When things get desperate, people reach for emotional tools to get the control they want.
We see it in campaign advertising. The early ads are usually about issues -- they are usually very logical, very well thought out, above the fray. But the minute the polls start showing the numbers are too close to call, the fangs come out, and we are barraged with personal attacks, ads with exaggerated emotional "hot buttons" pushed at every opportunity, and messages that make it sound like if we don't vote for this person, we are broken, confused voters. Sad to say, often these kind of approaches work. We *are* upset with government and the directions the US is taking. We *are* feeling insecure about the future. We do feel that things are sliding away from the confident, financially secure America we grew up with. It's easy to fall for the emotional appeals.
Thus it is that Boulder County is attempting the same approach with the "Worthy Cause Tax," an idea whose time came (and went) when it was first proposed for a very different use back in 1998 when it was a "shot in the arm" approach for the emergency rescue services in Boulder County. The theory was, if you threw a chunk of tax money at services with outdated equipment, you could help them over the hump, and once they got the new equipment, that would be great, nothing further would be needed; they'd be back on their feet and moving - and it worked.
Unfortunately it worked too well. Turns out there isn't a non-profit on the planet who doesn't feel that their particular organization couldn't use a "shot in the arm" from whoever is passing out cash from the voter's pockets. Turns out that many voters think that when you vote for something like "Worthy Cause" there is no doubt in their minds that their favorite non-profit will be the one to get the funds. Think again folks. It's very likely that a number of non-profits will suffer greatly because of this largesse from the government -- those who focus most, not on culling favor with the Commissioners and anyone on a committee to choose who's "worthy," but on actually providing services to the folks most in need.
This is a bad ballot initiative, not only because it makes it necessary for non-profits to have someone in their organization learn how to suck up to government to get on the good list, but because it's twisted something that was meant as a temporary fix into a permanent dependency. The new version of the Worthy Cause Tax will be set up for a TEN year stint.
For those of us who spent some significant time helping write grant proposals to SCFD (Scientific and Cultural Facilities District - statewide grant funding for the arts and sciences), it's old territory. What actually happens, and those who write grants see it again and again, is that groups that should be seeking good solid financial foundations for their groups (endowments and such), run to get quicker and easier grant monies. But there are many catches. They never get as much as they really need to do it right. Recipients can grow to count on those grants the way betters count on their gambling winnings - they get out over their skis financially and find, to their surprise (though not mine), that this year they were not politically astute enough, or trendy enough, or didn't have enough good press (or had too much), and were considered not "worthy" enough to fund. Regardless of how well they serve their clients in need.
Some are told "we're looking to fund the new and more creative efforts" which can apply in human services as well as in the arts. Some may have found, in their efforts to help folks in need, that the causes of the problems are based in government programs to start with, and these non-profits are considered politically incorrect and ignored. So many ways to mess up organizations with folks working non-stop to help others.
Out of all the funds that are collected, only 8 get funded. (2004 and 2008 listings below)
http://www.countyofboulder.us/news/press_releases/2004/61504grants.htm
http://www.bouldercounty.org/newsroom/templates/?a=346&z=0
But out of how many non-profits in Boulder County? 2,170 at last count.
http://www.taxexemptworld.com/organizations/boulder-county-co-colorado.asp?spg=2
Granted, not all of these are charitable organizations, but going quickly through the list to see, I was not all the way through the Cs and I counted 150.
What the voters *don't* see is the amount of time and effort that these organizations have to spend to apply for grant monies (especially grants from government, where there are always (no matter how well intentioned) political motivations at play).
http://www.ci.longmont.co.us/city_council/retreat/pdfs/human_services_coord.pdf
• Boulder County Government funds non-profit human service agencies through its annual contract process and also through a dedicated 1.5 mill levy, which voters approved in 2002. In 2004, the County funded 50 non-profit human service agencies for annual operating expenses, for a total amount of $3,769,169. The County does not set a fixed percentage of its General Fund revenues for these human service agency contracts. The County Commissioners determine annually whether the agencies will receive an increase to their contract and whether they will invite new agencies to apply for funding. For the past several years, the County has not opened up its process to new agencies. Of the 1.5 dedicated mill levy, one mill is designated for Imagine!, the community center board that provides developmental disability services to Boulder County residents. The remaining .5 mill is allocated to County human services to help replace the loss of State funding. In addition, Boulder County voters approved a dedicated "Worthy Cause" tax in 2000, and again in 2003, to help fund capital expenses for designated emergency shelter, transitional housing and health care services. The current Worthy Cause tax sunsets in 2008.
In January, the Commissioners hosted a "summit" with Worthy Cause non-profits (unclear if these were recipients or applicants, but I suspect applicants, since final announcements of the winners came in February).
http://www.bouldercounty.org/bocc/Minutes/2008/012408.pdf
Of course, the purpose of this "public meeting": remains clouded, since the minutes only refer to which tapes you can get out of the library to find what happened (in all our our copious spare time, a trip to the library and a jaunt through a VHS tape is right up there in the high priority area). This business of "contract" and grants is very interesting. In fact, it's weird. As you can see from the 50 contracts mentioned in the above information, ANY non-profit can contract with a city or county for services ... why is there a *need* for this measure? One answer is because you can get a lot more PR for a grant than you can for a simple contract. AND you can get more money out of the taxpayers if you make it a special line item on a ballot proposal.
But for every grant awarded, *hundreds* of non-profits could be working on applications, taking time away from their (already often unpaid) work to try to get some closure on how good their chances might be. Every time money comes from government, there is a huge burden of reporting. If you know anyone whose ever gotten a grant, ask them how much time their organization had to spend to get them. Eight get funded. All the rest spend the time and the effort spitting in the wind, for nothing.
Everyone says that "it's only a little bit of money, really, from each of us, and that's OK." It's OK until you realize that with a County of 282,000 (http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/08/08013.html) people (as of 2006), donating .05% of their sales taxes (odd that every year that somehow magically comes to $450,000), means that's something like $1.60 per person. And we tell ourselves that we're actually helping charities. We'd be mortified to donate that little an amount to any organization. But we are told this makes us generous to those in need.
Going to only eight organizations. And you don' t get to say which eight. And the new version that will be on the ballot will be locked in for 10 years. And these organizations get locked into contracts with the County that need to be signed and they need to report every nickle they make (even if it didn't come from the County) to justify getting that funding. This is *not* helping. The rest are struggling mightily in our economy, and the Commissioners don't even see them on the radar. Some might not survive, but that's OK, we're funding the "Worthy" ones. Do we really think out of the hundreds of non-profit charities in Boulder County, that only 8 are worthy?
If we really want to help Human Services non-profits, we should each send the ones we like $5. We get to choose which organizations; they get to spend what they need to spend without dependence on local political winds; they don't have to shell out scarce resources for applications, marketing, etc. to government to put them in a better light; and most importantly, the folks who benefit from those services get their full attention. It's not the big bucks, but it might be enough to keep them functioning for a little longer, in the hopes that they can get real donations from real patrons who care about human services. In Boulder's high-budget population, you'd think folks might manage a few more real dollars out of their own pockets.
If we really feel strongly that community based non-profits work better than government services (there are hosts of examples), why would we ever tie their hands in this way? If we really feel strongly that community based services are valuable, maybe we should bite the bullet and send them a large donation. Then we can honestly say we helped. Then perhaps, if life throws us a curve and it's our turn to need help, there will be more than eight organizations out there, bound up in paperwork and chronically dependent on tax funds, which blow their way only when the political winds are right.
We'll see how anxious the County is for these funds when we see how they handle opposition to this ballot measure. If this is really just a cover for the fact that the County hasn't budgeted correctly for routine Social Services needs, they'll be desperate to get it passed. My guess? They'll pull out the same arguments again, about how all of the important social services in Boulder County (remember, eight of the huge list of Boulder County charities) will be decimated without our $1.60 each. Yet funding for community non-profits happens by contract all the time, so why not just up the actual amount needed? Could it be this really just another TABOR end-run in disguise?
We'll hear emotional appeals to our sympathies, and those who oppose this poorly thought out measure, will be blasted as hard-hearted thugs who have no compassion for the poor and helpless. We will be told that our callous resistance to this wonderful measure will seriously hurt folks who have no other place to go. And it will all be bogus. If these services are needed by the County, it is the job of the County Commissioners to make sure those needs are put into the budget, and funds for them are spent on Social Services, as they should be, as a normal part of what Counties are supposed to be responsible for. WHY aren't "emergency shelter" services part of basic health and human services to begin with? Did they get forgotten? Real needs must be met by real budgeting and a committment to health and human services. We spend tax money in less important places, and maybe *that's* the real problem.
If the appeals are to our emotions instead of our good sense, we should be very wary. All that will really happen if this measure fails in November is that the County won't have full control over 8 non-profits, who will now be able to spend 100% of their time serving their clients, with no strings attached, and the County won't be able to send out press releases telling the world about how generous the people of Boulder County (at $1.60 each) are to the poor and needy. Those who really care about the poor and helpless will do as they always do, dig out their wallets and vote with their heart, asking for no reports or control, just asking that those who work to help others get the money they need to do so.
Maybe we are the ones who need to look at how "worthy" our intentions are, when we fall for this kind of "feel good" ballot measure without really understanding what it means and how it hurts the rest of the non-profit community.