GALLATIN COUNTY — There’s been a lot of discussion about how small businesses have been hit hard by this pandemic, but have you thought about how nonprofits have been affected?
“Well it’s been challenging as everyone I’m sure knows. Some of our expenses went up and a lot of our income went down,” explained Dee Metrick, the executive director of Reach Inc.
A lot has changed for many of these organizations.
“We count on a lot of in-person, large fundraisers. You know, we have galas. We have golf tournaments. We have events that really require that in-person connection, which was hard for us last year,” said Carrie Gilbertson, the executive director of Thrive.
But these nonprofits credit their community in keeping them up during these challenging times.
"Financially, it would have been hard, and we would have been out of business. But we received a tremendous amount of support from community with private donations. We got a city grant,” Metrick said.
And fortunately, for these nonprofits they have been serving Gallatin County for awhile, but could easily see how newer or maybe smaller nonprofits would struggle even more.
“Absolutely, I mean it is a tough time to gain ground during a pandemic and to be able to start building reserves or to fundraise if people aren’t particularly familiar with your mission and the importance of the work that you’re doing," said Gilbertson. "So, I can imagine that that would be hard for some newer or already struggling nonprofits."
These Gallatin Valley nonprofits are all facing similar challenges.
“We are always dependent on donations. The state reimbursement does not come close to covering our costs, and there’s a really long waiting list in this state,” Metrick said.
Give Big Gallatin Valley is one of the county’s biggest fundraisers for nonprofits, and it’s coming up in a few short weeks.