16 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • DECEMBER 2021
NONPROFITS MAKE DONATION PLEAS
BY BRIANA BONFIGLIO
Just a few weeks before Thanksgiving,
Pastor Jim Ryan, president of Lighthouse
Mission, a mobile food pantry
based in Bellport, was unsure how he’d
secure hundreds of turkeys to feed
families in need this year — but he just
knew that they’d somehow fi nd a way.
With infl ation sending grocery prices
soaring, Ryan estimated it would cost
$27,000 to bring 150 turkeys to each of
Lighthouse Mission’s 10 outreach locations
in Suff olk County. The nonprofi t
has seen a drop in individual donations
recently, which it relies on to supply
families with groceries fi ve days a week,
every week.
“Since donations are down, we’re fi nding
that at the same time, the need has gone
up,” Ryan says. “A lot of the time, the
people that were giving are now on the
other side of the line and are in need.”
The Christian organization is not affi liated
with a church or any particular
denomination, nor does it take government
funding, so donations are sorely
needed. Still, its leaders and volunteers
have not lost faith that they will continue
providing for their communities.
“We just trust in God,” Ryan says, “and
he comes through.”
Nonprofi ts, especially small ones like
Lighthouse Mission, are faring slightly
better than when the pandemic began.
Many who do receive government
assistance have relied on CARES Act
Funding to get them through the past
year, says Ken Cerini, managing partner
of Cerini & Associates, LLP, a Bohemia
based accounting fi rm that serves
nonprofi ts and releases its Nonprofi t
Update report annually.
“As this money dries up as we go into
2022, organizations will find themselves
at a crossroads if the pandemic
continues to linger,” Cerini says. “For
the most part, 2021 has seen some
rebound from last year, but it has
still been a diffi cult year for nonprofi t
organizations.”
In a typical year, small nonprofi ts rely
on large fundraising events, like golf
outings and galas, and individual donations.
But because many people are
still hesitant to return to big gatherings,
and the region as a whole struggles
fi nancially due to Covid, individual
donations have decreased over the past
two years.
Maureen’s Haven, a Riverhead-based
nonprofi t focused on homeless outreach
programs, receives less than 14 percent
of its revenue from state and federal
funding. The rest is largely from donations
and fundraising events.
“We usually rely on our gala,” says Dan
O’Shea, executive director of Maureen’s
Haven. “Now is still not the time to get
150 people in a room.”
To make up for losses in revenue, nonprofi
ts have had to get creative. First,
they’ve had to fi nd new ways to raise
money.
“It’s been a lot of additional grant writing
and making requests to past donors to
try and off set that,” O’Shea says, noting
that the organization has needed to shift
where it spends its money because of
new fundraising initiatives.
Nonprofi ts have also rediscovered the
importance of partnering with friends
in the community.
The needs of homeless individuals vary
widely, and Maureen’s Haven may not
always have the items they need at the
ready, such as specifi c clothing, like
T-shirts, boots, or sneakers, or necessities
such as toilet paper. To meet these
needs, the organization oft en reaches
out to local places of worship and civic
associations that can get donations from
their members.
FEATURE
“A lot of the time,
the people that were
giving are now on the
other side of the line
and are in need,”
says Pastor Jim Ryan, director
of Lighthouse Mission.
Volunteers with Lighthouse Mission hand out groceries in Central Islip.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
