Effectively Impacting Troubled Communities
by Ashley High

Smartlink.org, an online resource for individual donors and small foundations that serves community issues, has released some guidelines to help donors effect communities struggling with mortgage crises. In this hard financial time, donors have many pressing needs thrown at them as requests for donations come from housing crises, schools, after-school programs, job training programs, and healthcare. Smartlink.org offers the following guidelines to help donors and organizations that are interested in effectively impacting community services.

Be informed. Find out what neighborhoods have been the most affected with foreclosures, abandoned homes, and other issues. Learn how the community is already working to meet needs and provide housing, jobs, education, and other components of a healthy neighborhood. Even small donations can make a large impact in these situations.

Become connected. Arrange meetings with community leaders to understand the key strategies and goals of local community organizations. Connect and work with leaders who are committed to strengthening the community.

Choose an issue to support. Many social issues are related with the housing crisis. Once a family has stable housing, they are better equipped to keep a job, remain healthy, and become involved in their children’s lives.

Create a giving plan. This is an important step in successful community giving. The giving plan should include the following questions: Where (specific geographical area), for whom (specific population), how long (length of time the donations will continue), how much (the staff or financial support to be contributed).

According to Smarlink.org, consumer counselors are now answering 3,000 phone calls a day from homeowners asking for help. Before, only 300 calls a day were received from homeowners in trouble. In this difficult economic time, communities are receiving even less money from the government and from corporations and individuals. Nonprofits and donors need to wisely choose their donations in order to make the most impact on troubled communities.

Information taken from: “Smartlink.org Creates Guidelines for Effective Philanthropy to Help Communities Affected by Housing Crisis.” www.marketwatch.com.

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