Weathering the Economic Storm (WTES) is a funding partnership that awards emergency grants to effective local nonprofit agencies struggling to respond to the ever-widening impact of the economic recession on Greater Cincinnati's most vulnerable citizens. Convened by The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, 20 leading philanthropic organizations and dozens of individual contributors came together to pool not only their funds, but also their intellectual capital to make the wisest grants in a time of crisis. A number of innovative strategies were employed to make the best use of the $2.1 million that was raised in the initial funding round.
Is this Emergency Action Still Needed? While there are promising economic indicators, unemployment increases have continued through 2009, reaching more than 10% in our area. High levels of unemployment, underemployment and wage freezes for workers in the Greater Cincinnati area are expected to continue at abnormal rates through much of 2010. In other words, positive economic trends will take a long time to make a difference in the life of the average person who is struggling.
Results At this time, early results are available from the first round of grants. Agencies report that more than 12,000 people were served by grant-funded services; more than 14 percent were senior citizens, and 23 percent were children. (5/31/09 - 9/30/09)
46% of money went to rent/mortgage assistance and foreclosure prevention
23% to emergency food & non-food items
17% to transportation
7% to pharmaceuticals
4% to benefits enrollment
3% to utilities
Overall Impact Through the end of October, the number of individuals throughout Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana already served, plus those yet to be served by funded projects totals approximately 22,000. Services range from home foreclosure prevention to charitable pharmacy medications; from rent and utility assistance to food and support benefits enrollment; from leveraging Federal stimulus funds to subsidizing childcare expenses.
How Does This Connect With The Work Of United Way of Greater Cincinnati? WTES builds on United Way's sustained support over many years in human services. WTES funding helps to fill gaps that develop quickly, adding support from other funders during this critical time for families and agencies. These funds do not replace United Way's financial commitment to its agency and community partners, nor do the funds supplant any donor contributions to the United Way campaign.
Please download the pdf at left to learn more about WTES results, overall impact and next steps.
WTES Grants & Results
In less than six months, the funding partnership distributed approximately $2 million in four rounds of grants. The partners worked collectively to assess and prioritize critical needs, providing funds to stabilize families, support nonprofit organizations, leverage additional grant funds, and address the crucial needs of children and the homeless. To see a complete listing of the grants awarded click on the links below.
Round #1 Safety Net Funding 2009
Round #2 Arts & Culture Funding 2009
Round #3 Early Childhood Education/Childcare and Family Shelters/Services
3/24/09: A bold step towards recovery (Soapbox) "By addressing the issue with a dedicated source of funds geared toward immediate needs as well as keeping families in homes and training unemployed workers, GCF's investment will go a long way in keeping the damage to the economy to a minimum."
Donate by check You may also send a check to our donation address: The Greater Cincinnati Foundation, P.O. Box 5200, Cincinnati, Ohio 45201-5200. Please specify Weathering the Economic Storm Fund in the memo line of your check.
GCF donors make a grant online GCF donors can log in to Advisor Xpress to make a grant online from a donor advised fund. Please select The Greater Cincinnati Foundation as the recipient and specify Weathering the Economic Storm in the grant purpose line. Thank you!
Join us by helping during this crisis!
GCF and the other funders have put together more than $1.9 million to help the region. Individuals can join in to provide even more money to help families and organizations weather the storm. A gift of ANY size makes a difference. You may use the button at left to make a secure online contribution, or another of the options below.
GCF has created a Community Investment Portfolio to help donors understand the issues facing nonprofit organizations in meeting the needs of our community during this crisis. Please download the PDF file at left to read Weathering the Economic Storm: the Economic Downturn and the Impact on our Community. For Community Investment Portfolios on other topics, click here.
