SLO County nonprofits need their state money, not an ‘army’ of coronavirus volunteers

Gov. Gavin Newsom has sounded the call for an “army of volunteers.”

At a news briefing this week, he introduced a new website — californiansforall.ca.gov — that matches volunteers with community organizations in need of help during the coronavirus crisis.

“We are working with organizations like the United Ways of California, American Red Cross and California Association of Food Banks to create a process that will streamline volunteer efforts,” according to Cristina Valdivia Aguilar, communications director for the governor’s California Volunteers program. “The California Association of Food Banks has stated that as COVID-19 has taken hold of our state, food banks have lost much of their vital volunteer workforce.”

It’s hard to fault such an altruistic ideal, except for this: Newsom’s program is highly redundant.

It’s also far from the most pressing need for these strapped organizations.

Many, if not most, communities already have their own registries that match volunteers with nonprofit agencies.

For instance, United Way websites typically have such listings. There’s also a nationwide organization, VolunteerMatch, that connects people who want to help with organizations that need their particular skills and talents. There’s an entire section devoted to helping during the COVID-19 crisis.

So why start another volunteer registry now, especially when there are far more effective ways to help the senior nutrition sites, the dental clinics, the food banks and domestic violence programs that are stepping up like never before?

What those agencies need most right now is a steady revenue stream. Yet one of their most dependable sources of funding — state contracts and grants — is in jeopardy.

As of Friday, the Governor’s Office had yet to guarantee payments for nonprofits that are “underperforming” — albeit through no fault of theirs.

There is just no way they can fulfill all the terms of their existing contracts and grants right now due to COVID-19 restrictions.

These agencies are caught in a classic Catch-22: If they meet their contract obligations, they violate the state’s stay-home order and, even worse, risk exposing their clients to the coronavirus.

Some examples:

• Agencies that used to serve hot meals in a cafeteria-style setting can no longer do so on account of the governor’s stay-at-home order. Some are switching to meal delivery, but that makes it harder to serve the same number of people — yet their contracts still require them to meet a quota.
• Dental clinics continue to treat patients with emergencies, but in keeping with state guidelines, are postponing routine appointments or consulting with patients via video. As a result, their number of in-person appointments has fallen below the required number.
• Child care centers are still open for the children of essential workers, but because they’re serving a much smaller client base, they can’t meet their enrollment numbers.

A bipartisan group of 30 state Assembly members have signed a letter highlighting the problem and asking the governor to continue to pay out on existing contracts and grants.

So has the California Association of Nonprofits, a statewide alliance of more than 10,000 nonprofit agencies across the state.

Hundreds of its member agencies signed a letter asking the governor to honor their existing contracts, including these San Luis Obispo County organizations: Court Appointed Special Advocates; Family Care Network; Homeless Animal Rescue Team, the YMCA, Paso Robles Children’s Museum, among many others.

So far, the association has gotten the run-around from state officials, according to Jennifer Fearing, president of Fearless Advocacy, which lobbies for nonprofits.

“I am absolutely frustrated that I have not been able to move the needle on a state level,” she said, especially since the federal government is making allowances for agencies unable to fulfill all their contract requirements.

Nonprofit agencies already are struggling financially; many have canceled fundraising events that have brought in the bulk of their yearly private donations.

They also are faced with the new expenses of providing masks and other protective gear to workers and stepping up sanitation efforts.

Those that don’t provide direct services like food, shelter and medical care also are struggling.

Museums and zoos, for example, are getting zero ticket revenue, yet they still have to maintain their closed facilities and, in the case of zoos, feed and care for their animals. That’s costly: The L.A. Times recently reported that the Oakland Zoo spends roughly $800,000 per year — nearly $67,000 per month — on animal food.

It’s absurd that, on top of all that, nonprofits have to worry that the state will shortchange them on their existing contracts.

Does California really want to force nonprofit agencies to close their doors, lay off entire staffs, and then start over from scratch when California reopens?

We’re talking about many of the very agencies that are keeping millions of Californians housed and fed, providing emergency dental and medical care for the poor and the uninsured, offering legal advice to renters threatened with eviction, and giving support to domestic violence victims stuck at home with their abusers.

These nonprofits are stepping up to serve clients at a time when government aid programs — unemployment benefits, PayCheck Protection loans, federal stimulus checks — are not reaching many of the people who need them most.

Nonprofit organizations need financial help — not a feel-good volunteer registry that duplicates existing efforts.

Have a heart, governor.

Rather than punishing them for failing to meet terms now impossible to fulfill, announce that the state of California will honor existing contracts and grants with nonprofit organizations that are needed now more than ever before.

This editorial has been updated to include a statement from California Volunteers.

This story was originally published April 23, 2020 at 10:46 AM.