Local officials on Wednesday said most nonprofits in Owensboro-Daviess County would likely need assistance from monies provided by the Green River Area COVID-19 Response Fund for up to two more years.
Doug Eberhart, Executive Vice president for United Way of the Ohio Valley, said during a virtual meeting that they knew from the start of the pandemic that nonprofits would struggle for funding.
“We recognized the region was going to be increasing requests,” he said. “Once the Green River Area Community Foundation and United Way started to work together, they began to pull together and became a one-stop shop for fundraising around that area.”
Amy Silvert, Executive Director of the Green River Area Community Foundation, said teaming up with United Way along with the City of Owensboro and Daviess County Fiscal Court allowed them to streamline the process for nonprofits to seek funds.
“Some of our private foundations are focused on one area of nonprofits,” Silvert said. “Since we don’t limit that in any way, we thought this was a good way we could lead this with the United Way and do it jointly.”
Judge-Executive Al Mattingly and County Commissioner George Wathen both said that as soon as it became clear that the pandemic was going to negatively impact nonprofits — and, in turn, the entire community — Fiscal Court stepped in right away to help.
We could tell there were a lot of nonprofits that were really suffering,” Wathen said. “We were getting requests, and you could tell there was a lot of need and a lot of pain, especially at the beginning.”
Silvert said the public-private partnership was the largest campaign she’d taken on in her current role.
“We thought we were going to be in, solve some problems, meet the need and move on,” she said. “The needs are still there, and the COVID Response Fund is still going strong.”
Of the $1.1 million raised so far, the COVID-19 Response Fund has roughly $137,000 left to disperse to those in need. While Eberhart said the stimulus payments had been a huge help, he also said United Way was focusing on what the community’s most dire needs would be once that money ran out.
“Some people have exorbitant prices they’re paying on their rent and utilities so, right now, everybody’s looking at how that’s going to impact what the people owe,” he said. “We also recognize feeding is still a major issue.”
According to Eberhart, professional experts claimed it would take nonprofits five years to bounce back from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. He guessed it would take nonprofits in Owensboro and Daviess County at least two more years to reach a semblance of normalcy.
Silvert said nonprofits had suffered a “double whammy” during the pandemic from a combination of lost revenue and additional expenses. Without volunteers, organizations had to pay staff overtime. Without fundraising events, no money was being raised to support the organization.
“Keep in mind the amount of revenue that was lost for these nonprofits,” Silvert added. “Not being able to hold any type of fundraiser or special events … We know they’re not going to be able to recoup that in the next six months to a year.”
