Must the RFC Cut its Granting?

I take great satisfaction that the RFC’s granting has grown from $802.50 in 1991 to $400,000 annually from 2006-2008. We have maintained or increased our granting budget in every one of our 19 years. Unfortunately, without extraordinary aid, that remarkable streak will end in 2009.

Our loyal supporters dug deep in 2008, despite economic hardship. Their contributions by the end of last year totaled almost as much as they had in 2007. But a small drop, coupled with the market-related shrinkage of the assets we had saved for hard times, will most likely force us to reduce our granting to $320,000 this year. This is a bitter pill to swallow, but I believe our community deserves a full accounting of our situation. We can’t afford to give away more than we raise.

We will save $30,000 by postponing our next teen Gathering previously scheduled for August 2009. While we are committed to holding future Gatherings, events that mean so much to our beneficiaries, providing individual grants for the children of targeted activists must remain our top priority. We will resume the Gatherings once we have sufficient resources to fund them without jeopardizing our primary granting program.

The remaining $50,000 in cutbacks, should they prove necessary, will be culled from the approximately 160 individual grants we will make this year. We intend to trim the size of many of our awards so that none of the children we support will be completely denied access to programs and services they desperately need. It has always been our policy to avoid turning down a family that falls within our guidelines. We take great pride that, although for many children we have been able to provide only a portion of the funds they need, we have offered at least some aid to every child who meets our funding criteria. It is my fervent hope that we will maintain this record in 2009.

We face a stiff challenge, but I must put this in perspective. When I founded the RFC in 1990, I established a goal of awarding $100,000 annually from the year 2000 onward. Even with the imminent cutback, we will more than triple that goal this year. $320,000 in grants, when placed in that context, still brings a smile to my face. It is a figure we can all be proud of.

And I hope, with the help of our extraordinary supporters, we’ll raise the $80,000 we need to return to the $400,000 level quickly. Every time I think our community couldn’t possibly be more generous, you’ve come through.

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