At Thanksgiving, Help Those in Need

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At Thanksgiving, Help Those in Need

By the DiversityInc staff

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November 21, 2007

With billion-dollar corporate losses comes smaller holiday bonuses, more people unemployed--and less giving to nonprofits.

The teetering economy, fueled by the subprime-mortgage debacle, is expected to impact charities, which already feel the crunch. That means the need will be even greater for donations this holiday season to help homeless people and low-income families in need of food, shelter, clothing, medicine and toys. As you appreciate what you have this Thanksgiving, remember those who are less fortunate.

Those people disproportionately are blacks and Latinos. Last year, blacks and Latinos accounted for 44.9 percent of the country's low-income population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Blacks and Latinos were only 27 percent of the overall population, however. (See also: Poor Black, Latino Families Face Choice Between Food, Heat This Winter)

The Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) reports that median giving from U.S. companies last year grew 9 percent from $29.5 million in 2005 to $32.6 million. The DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® last year all sponsored philanthropic endeavors in black, Latino, Asian, Native American and gay/lesbian communities and committed an average of 32 percent of their entire philanthropic budgets to those communities. But this year, as times get tougher, donations may fall from corporations.

For nonprofits, that means trying to help the same number of people or maybe more as the economy puts more people in dire financial straits.

"We have no intention of changing how much we want to give except making it more. When people are in need, we are going to continue to help them the best we can," says Lisa Slow, spokesperson for the AmeriCares Foundation.

DiversityInc has compiled a list of organizations that provide support for the estimated 36.5 million people who don't have money to put adequate food on their tables (Source: Census Bureau). We have verified that all of these are legitimate charities helping people in need this holiday season using the Better Business Bureau and the American Institute of Philanthropy. Click on those sites to see criteria for evaluating charities.

If you know of any other reputable national organizations, send an e-mail to editor@DiversityInc.com.

America's Second Harvest
Chicago, Ill.
800-771-2303
www.secondharvest.org

Heifer Project International

Little Rock, Ark.

501-907-2600

www.heifer.org

Food for the Hungry

Phoenix, Ariz.

800-2-HUNGERS

www.fh.org

End Hunger Network
Santa Monica, Calif.
310-454-3716

www.endhunger.com