Category Archives: Non-Profit

By Jill Nagy
After nearly 40 years in the same Saratoga Springs location, Wellspring broke ground in November for a new, larger facility in Malta.
Wellspring provides free services to victims of domestic abuse and violence in Saratoga County and sexual assault victims in Saratoga and Washington counties.
“We are here 24/7 at no charge,” Wellspring’s director, Maggie Fronk said.
“We have outgrown our space in Saratoga,” she said. In fact, the agency is using off-site offices in order to meet with clients and comply with COVID social distancing requirements.
The new building will be on Route 9, just south of Malta Avenue, a site chosen partly for its visibility, Fronk said.
Bonacio Construction is building the facility.
Designed by Saratoga Springs architects Balzer & Tuck, the 8,000-square-foot building will provide confidential space for client conferences; an area for children to play while they wait for adults to finish their appointments; a food pantry and an area where clients can obtain household items, school supplies, clothing and other necessities; space for community meetings and education programs; a workforce development room; space for prevention and community outreach programs; and a staff wellness room Fronk called “a welcoming space to take a break and breathe.”
The enlarged space will allow development of the workforce development program and community-focused training for police officers, doctors, and others in the general community, Fronk said.

Saratoga WarHorse, a nonprofit organization that uses retired thoroughbred racehorses to work with service members and veterans with post-traumatic stress, plans to use the program to aid individuals mobilized during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Military Armed Forces program is designed to assist service members and veterans during the immediate aftermath of trauma and prevent the negative consequences of PST. It formally launches in December and is currently accepting participants.
Officials said that since April, more than 50,000 troops across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, have been activated domestically to assist in their state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, approximately 25,000 retired and former U.S. Army medical personnel have volunteered their service.
Their frontline support includes mortuary affairs, serving at community-based testing sites and creating enhanced medical capacity for hospitals and healthcare professionals.

Saratoga Casino Hotel has kicked off its 30 Days of Giving campaign, committed to donating some $100,000 to 38 local and regional non-profit organizations in Saratoga and Warren counties.
Through Dec. 22, team members from Saratoga Casino Hotel will help to fill local food pantries, purchase essentials for families in need, and deliver checks to provide funding for non-profit programs and initiatives.
“We couldn’t think of a better way to support and recognize these organizations in our community,” said Skip Carlson, vice president of external affairs at Saratoga Casino Hotel. “This year, more than ever so many organizations and families are in need. Our goal behind our 30 Days of Giving program is not only to provide direct support to each group, but to also help increase the exposure of these amazing organizations.”
Each organization will be featured on Saratoga Casino Hotel’s social media pages highlighting their cause and promoting local support and assistance. Throughout the 30 days the casino will also feature four Player Choice contests on their Facebook page where fans can vote for particular organizations to receive a $1,000 donation. All organizations selected for the Player Choice contests will receive at a minimum $500.
The first recipient of the 30 Days of Giving is the Saratoga County Foundation receiving a $5,000 donation.
“We’re incredibly thankful to be the beneficiary of this generous donation from Saratoga Casino Hotel,” said Todd Shimkus, president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce. “The money will be used for our Save Our Locals campaign and will go a long way in allowing us to continue our mission of helping local businesses that have been so heavily impacted by the pandemic”.

By Sabrina Hauser
The nonprofit world is filled with dedicated and passionate leaders and an organization’s CEO is no exception.
They exist and work in a demanding environment with constant challenges. The average nonprofit CEO spends between 60-70 hours of accountable time in a week, existing between the Board, directors and employees. This can be an isolated position, managing both upwards and down while driving the initiatives of the agency. Typically, the CEO lacks a right-hand person to co-manage with and often is called upon to make decisions alone, often in a vacuum. The mental load can be unnerving.
Coaching for today’s nonprofit CEO is a way for nonprofits to tap into an objective outside resource, who will guide the CEO in key administrative and strategic areas vital to the continued survival —and success—of an organization.
Finding and retaining an individual or company with expertise in the world of nonprofits is critical to the success of the coaching process. A coach will work with the CEO and her team to review and set strategies; develop action items and accountability; engage in motivating activities to support an agency’s employees, directors, board and donors; and build camaraderie between and among board members and support staff.
A coach can be a crucial resource for educating the CEO and team in best practices for attracting talent to your agency, as well as maintaining the expanding upon engagement with donors, supporters, and board members.

By Matthew Young
Generosity is the lifeblood of a nonprofit organization. Donations can often sustain a charity for generations. But among the devastating impacts of COVID-19 on local communities this year is, unfortunately, the understandable decrease in charitable donations.
This has resulted in many nonprofit organizations experiencing unanticipated financial difficulties. In such times, organizations often look to their institutional funds for support.
Institutional funds, such as an endowment fund, typically consist of donations established either through a gift agreement or estate planning document, such as a will or trust. Donors are oftentimes interested in the long-term survival of the organization and want to ensure that the charitable services will be available to their communities for years to come.
For this reason, donors often place restrictions on access to the principal (original gift amount), only allowing the organization to access the income (interest) generated by the fund. Normally, this model can sustain a charitable organization, but it can be challenging during times of financial crisis.
Fortunately, New York law provides for a procedure under the doctrine of “cy pres,” which means at or near the donor’s intentions when they cannot be precisely followed. This doctrine allows an organization to modify or release donor restrictions placed on the use of charitable gifts (including gaining access to principal) to provide greater flexibility to weather difficult financial times. Two options are available when seeking cy pres relief.

By Susan E. Campbell
A new internet-based service will soon bring together Capital District businesses with nonprofits whose missions align with a company’s goals for charitable giving.
Called Knitt LLC, founder Lisa Munter believes her organization will provide “a mindful and time efficient way to connect” donors and donor organizations. Its success, and future compensation, will depend on the “knitted” relationships among businesses and nonprofit organizations who did not have a prior relationship, Munter said.
Munter is an avid volunteer and wife of a businessman whose company, Munter Enterprises, is “inundated with requests for donations.”