Thank you for helping us hold our ground.
All we could do was hold our ground. And we were lucky. In June, there was an estimated 1.6 million pandemic related layoffs in the nonprofit sector. In July, a report by Deloitte’s Monitor Institute said that the U.S. nonprofit sector could shrink as much as 40 percent, or, with luck, as little as 10 percent. The report goes on to say that the need for the social capital provided through nonprofit services will “dwarf” available resources.
In response to the pandemic induced economic pressure, the Forge, like many other nonprofits, had to furlough staff, cut costs, and rethink how to pursue our core mission. That meant cancelling or indefinitely postponing big programs and initiatives. For the Forge, that jeopardized the career discovery initiatives, the Skills Bootcamp and pre-Apprenticeship programs, an expansion into an adjacent 3,000 sq ft of space for entrepreneurial and educational program delivery, and a mobile makerspace serving local schools. We lost 75 members, a $4,000 monthly drop in revenue. All our classes had to be cancelled, another $3,000 monthly source of revenue.
Without the support from community partner organizations and individual donors, the ground we gained over the last five years would have been lost. With it, we have been given the opportunity to adapt. The programs and dreams from before the pandemic are once again possible, along with new insights and goals.
These four funding sources gave the Forge the ability to hold our ground:
● Emergency Loans with potential to forgive (Allegacy Federal Credit Union made SBA’s PPP Loan seamless for us, a private donor gave a personal loan, and Piedmont Business Capital’s COVID Relief Loan).
● Foundations with open minds to the situation and the willingness to give funds for general operations or reinterpret the goals and metrics of standing program support (Cemala Foundation, Tannenbaum-Sternberger Foundation, Lincoln Financial Foundation, and Downtown Greensboro Inc.).
● Nonprofit Advocacy Organizations working with County Commissioners to distribute emergency cares act funding and distributing emergency funds raised from private donors (Arts Greensboro for $1,171 in relief funding, Arts Greensboro and the NC Arts Council for $6,734 of NC CARES, and Guilford County for $11,353).
● The 125 members who decided to continue paying their dues, regardless of the access they had to the facilities, and the support of individual donors in our community.
Because of this support and our focus on truly efficient operations, we were able to keep 4 staff members from unemployment, recover or replace lost revenue sources, and continue to provide our core programming to a once again growing membership. Our staff was able to leverage the unique skills and resources of a makerspace to provide prototyping and micromanufacturing services for local entrepreneurs, inventors, and small businesses. And because we were open, serving our members, dozens were able to generate an income using the Forge. We were also able to relaunch the Pre-Apprenticeship pilot program in January.
Through the generosity and support of our community and our Members, the dedication of our staff, and the focus on efficient use of funding and space, the Forge is weathering the current storm. With just a slight increase in that support, we can recover from the last year and bring better and broader support to our community in 2021.
Contributions to Forge Greensboro can be made directly on the organization’s website, or mailed to the Forge Greensboro office located at 219 W. Lewis St, Greensboro, North Carolina 27406.
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