Anilrgowda

VISTA ---- When it came to garnering financial support in 2006, many local nonprofit organizations said the keys to their success were creativity and a supportive community.

With the help of silent auctions, cowboy hoedowns, home tours and budding relationships with online retailers, Vista's nonprofit leaders said they were able to raise several hundred thousand dollars and turn what could have been a slow year for charitable giving into a successful one for groups that serve the underprivileged.
"They talk about shopping Vista, but it's also giving Vista," said Lori Butler, director of development at the Boys & Girls Club of Vista.

The club has received more than $100,000 in donations this year, and administrators expect several thousand dollars more as year-end contributions arrive in the coming weeks, Butler said.

Many organizations receive the majority of their funds at the end of the calendar year, as donors become inspired by the generosity of the holiday season and look for ways to get last-minute tax breaks.

"People realize that if they have some type of charitable intent for the year, this is the time to do it," said Tim Stone, executive director of NewTithing Group, a San Francisco-based philanthropic research organization.

That reasoning appears to hold true here. In the last several weeks, the Vista Community Clinic raised $100,000 through its Holiday Home Tour, and a North County Solutions for Change event for its loyal sponsors did the same.

"People want to give," said Chris Megison, executive director of Solutions, a homeless service agency that operates two family living centers in the city. "They just want to contribute and be a part of it ... and a lot of people are also looking to get their finances in order."

To cater to potential donors, many local nonprofit leaders said, they send out end-of-the-year newsletters and cards that recap the year and provide the opportunity for one last contribution.

The responses soon trickle in.

"There's checks in the mail," Butler said, noting that they still have more than $10,000 to add to the books.

In recent months, for instance, the club was promised $8,000 from a local company that hosted a $5 employee ice cream social and fundraiser, and nearly $1,000 from a bank that put up Christmas trees in its branches with "donation" ornaments.

The club also established a partnership with American Express in which card holders can make donations with their credit card ---- doubling the points they earn ---- and donate already accumulated points.

"There are just so many creative ways to do giving," she said.

Megison, who noted that a third of the organization's budget comes from individual contributions, agrees.

Solutions leaders said that, despite struggling with a donation dry spell during the first seven or eight months of the year, the nonprofit ended 2006 in good shape because it was able to drum up support around the community by reaching out to college-age students, holding events and tapping into the Internet.

"It's not easy getting people to support your cause, but it's happening," Megison said, adding that the organization nearly reached its goal of $150,000 for its holiday contribution drive.

Annually, Solution aims to collect between $300,000 and $350,000 in private contributions. The rest of its operating budget comes from the federal government and other nongovernmental grants, corporations and foundations.

Megison said that the organization came close to its $300,000 goal, but with more than three times the number of families living in their shelters this year, they are planning on starting early in 2007.

"We finished this year strong," he said. "It's really up to us to show our neighbors the value of their contribution. We have a lot of work to do for 2007."