2011 brought challenging times
By Kathleen Marvin
TCWRC Executive Director
The year 2011 was difficult in many ways. Not only did we experience a serious decrease in funding from a variety of sources, but many people in Tillamook County also faced hardship and uncertainty. Thus, at the very time when our resources became stretched to their limit, the need for our services became greater than ever.
To deal with our budget shortages, we have undertaken a number of measures and looked for creative ways to do more with less. Our ultimate goal: to avoid cutting the programs that are so critical to our growing list of clients.
We have cut staff, of course. But along with that, we have ramped up our volunteer recruitment and training efforts with the goal of building a dedicated cadre of helpers who can assist us at every level of our operation.
We also developed new group services to leverage the staff we have and, at the same time, draw upon the diverse experiences and strengths of group members to help each other.
As a result of these creative efforts, we were successful in achieving our goal in 2011. We did not have to cut any of our client services. In the coming year, we will continue to strive to leverage every resource we have and partner with other organizations to draw upon each other’s expertise to achieve more with less. But we also know we will face even more difficult realities in 2012. We know that a major local source of our funding will be gone this year. And other state and federal revenue sources are likely to continue to shrink.
We will do our best to keep our services intact, but we may be faced with extremely difficult choices ahead.
We know that every nonprofit in the county is facing similar challenges and that many of our traditional private donors also are dealing with changed circumstances. That is why we are constantly looking for creative ways of getting things done.
We have been blessed by the support of a number of caring individuals who have taken it upon themselves to hold fundraisers on our behalf. We would be thrilled to work with anyone willing to do the same.
We continue to benefit from the revenue generated by our Wild Flower Thrift Boutique. Now more than ever, donations of furniture, appliances and even (titled) derelict vehicles are gratefully accepted. Such donations can benefit you by providing a tax deduction, while ridding yourself of unwanted items. And they are an important source of funding for our day-to-day operations.
Some of our supporters give generously with amazing in-kind donations of goods and personal services. We could not operate without these extraordinary people. We would be eager to hear from anyone who wishes to do the same.
Finally, this year we will reach out to those who may be interested in planned giving through their estates via charitable bequests, life insurance, charitable trusts, gifts of assets and similar arrangements. Through such instruments, we hope to build an endowment to ensure our long-term sustainability.
While we know that 2012 will bring a host of challenges, I remain confident in one principle: Dedicated individuals working toward a common purpose can achieve great things.
We will strive to prove that in 2012.
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