Family Resources relies on year-end giving to support our operating costs. In fact, the end of the year is so important for our team because we receive a third of our donations during the month of December. In addition, 12% of the total donations for the year happen during the last three days of this December.
Without your support, Family Resources would struggle in maintaining our after school programs, youth homeless shelters, and healthy relationship courses. In 2020, we’re trying to have even more of an impact in our community. We will continue to develop plans for our Safe Connections resource center, which will serve as a lifeline for local homeless youth. We can’t make these plans a reality without your support.
We are entering the final few days for donors to make a tax-deductible donation to Family Resources. Through year-end giving, you can make a significant impact in 2019 and start the new decade building a better future for your community.
Consider these additional benefits of year-end giving to fully understand why we rely on your support.
Year-End Giving Donations Are Unrestricted
There are two kinds of donations that non-profits can receive: restricted and unrestricted. Restricted funds are allocated for specific purposes. For example, Family Resources may receive a grant to support our after school programs that comes with specific goals and requirements that we need to meet. These grants are incredibly valuable to us and allow our team to expand in ways we otherwise could not.
Unrestricted funds contribute to our day-to-day operations. These funds aren’t earmarked for specific purposes, which means we can use them as necessary. There are a million small expenses that go into keeping Family Resources up and running. Electric bills, office supplies, shelter mortgage payments, and food for our residents are just a few of the regular monthly costs that we accrue. As hard as we work to be good stewards of your donations, these are expenses that will never go away.
Therefore, we need both restricted and unrestricted funds in order to cover our costs. The general fund may not be the most exciting place to donate funds, but it is one of the most important ways in which you can support Family Resources.
Your Donations Help Us Plan for the Upcoming Year
Year-end giving plays such a significant role in our finances that we base our budget around it through 2020 and beyond. As we start to plan for the upcoming year, we look at past donations and estimate what we hope to receive through year-end giving. With these estimates, we determine what we can afford and which projects we can move forward with in the new year.
In January, we compare our actual year-end donations with our estimated goals and adjust our budgets accordingly. If we hit our goals it means we can move forward with the projects and programs that we’ve developed. However, if we fall short, some projects may get pushed to the back burner until we have the needed funds.
Each of our projects are developed with goals that will have a direct impact on the community. In 2019, we developed our StreetSafe outreach team and worked to create hygiene kits for homeless youth in the area. These initiatives wouldn’t have been possible without year-end giving, which allowed us to move forward with their development at the start of this year.
Local Giving Makes a Big Impact in Your Community
We know that you have dozens of options for charities to support this time of year. We hope that you will consider supporting organizations that are based in Pinellas and Manatee counties and operate in your local neighborhoods.
Local giving allows you to address specific needs within your community. If you see a need for more after school programs for kids in your neighborhood, then your donation to Family Resources can support those efforts. If you want to keep homeless kids off the streets, then start with the street you live on. Local giving is a way to show love for your community.
Everyone can make a difference in their local community. A smaller donation of any amount can have an impact when it is given to a local organization as opposed to a national charity.
With your support, you can be the change that you want to see in St. Petersburg, Bradenton, Clearwater, and everywhere in between.
Help Family Resources With Year-End Giving
Year-end contributions may help you out during tax season, but it will help dozens of kids in Pinellas and Manatee counties for the rest of their lives. We work to give kids a safe place to go after school and to help them build healthy relationships where abuse isn’t accepted. We provide a lifeline for teens who are at their lowest points and lead preventative programs so future youth never have to feel that pain. Your donation is the cornerstone of these programs and the main thing keeping them going.
Thank you for supporting Family Resources through 2019. We are moved by how many of our local community members and organizations have joined us in our mission. Help us continue to grow in 2020 to create a better future for our youth.