— by Mary Beth Difley, CER Board Member
As all of you probably know nonprofits, including Center for Enriching Relationships (CER) have a financial struggle during the summer months. Typically, donations are down, yet clients who are in need of counseling, and the needs of the organization continue. So, the bottom line is that CER is in need of your financial support. We are asking you to financially support CER on a monthly basis or with a one-time gift. You can do this at www.cersandiego.org or on the CER Face Book page. You can also send your donation to 2525 Camino del Rio, Suite 315, San Diego, CA 92108 or call (619) 858-3105 and ask for Denise. We need to replenish CER’s scholarship/co-pay fund for the underserved clients throughout San Diego County. Watch the video to find out about CER and how we serve the local community.
We recently reviewed an article printed in Hillsdale College’s Imprimus publication. The article is taken from a talk by Karl Zinsmeister, who is the Vice President for publications at the Philanthropy Roundtable. His comments and interesting facts should spur us all on to give more to private non-profits.
“Our nonprofit sector now comprises eleven percent of the total United States workforce. It will contribute around six percent of gross domestic product this year. To put this in perspective, the charitable sector passed the national defense sector in size in 1993, and it continues to grow. So philanthropy is clearly a huge force in our society.”
“Only 14 percent of charitable giving in our country comes from foundations, and only five percent from corporations. The rest comes from individuals, and the bulk of it comes from small givers …” How does private philanthropy compare to government funding? Private philanthropy “is superior in its ability to be individual and pluralistic. As Mother Teresa used to say, ‘I never think in terms of a crowd, but of individual persons.’ Government programs, by necessity, focus on the crowd…but one-size- fits-all standardization is not really how humans thrive.” CER exists to serve individual and family needs!
“We humans are social animals, and we naturally become disturbed and want to help when we see fellow creatures in trouble. Early on, Americans discovered that voluntary action to lift others up is not only possible, it is superior to the kind of state paternalism that diminishes freedom. Private charitable giving and the spirit of volunteerism have been essential bulwarks of the American character, and they remain indispensable to our national success.”
For the complete article: Click Here