Fairfield County nonprofits maintained modest fundraising ambitions a second straight year, at less than half the level they sought on the eve of the Great Recession and even during it.
Combined with the Hartford and New Haven areas, nonprofit capital campaigns hit their lowest level in a decade, according to the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP). Some organizations have turned to extraordinary measures ”“ in East Hartford, the Bushnell Center for the Arts took on management of Rentschler Field where the University of Connecticut plays.
“We”™re the only performing arts center in the country to also manage a football stadium,” said David Fay, Bushnell CEO, speaking before the Connecticut General Assembly last month. “But I wouldn’t be surprised if that changes because a number of my colleagues around the country have asked me for advice on how they too could use their skill sets to take on larger venues and generate some additional income.”
CCP includes university and hospital fundraising data in its Hartford-area report, but does not include in its Fairfield County account campaigns under way by Stamford Hospital and others that could significantly push the overall figure upward. For instance, in previous reports between 2006 and 2010, CCP noted St. Vincent”™s Medical Center”™s $152 million capital campaign that had a major impact on aggregate figures for Fairfield County.
CCP tracked 18 campaigns in the county last year, with 17 of them seeking $148 million, a $400,000 increase from the year before and well off the $350 million range nonprofits regularly sought before 2010.
Campaigns initiated between 2007 and 2009 remain a work in progress, though each have secured commitments well in excess of what nonprofits sought last year in capital campaigns.
The Westport/Weston YMCA alone is seeking $42 million as it raises cash for a new facility, with CCP reporting the organization had raised less than a fifth of that amount through year”™s end.
Among other large campaigns commenced before 2011, Mill River Collaborative and the Ridgefield Library are each seeking $20 million, the former to support the creation of a 28-acre park in downtown Stamford and the latter to double its existing building. And Stepping Stones Museum is most of the way to $17 million to support a 22,000-square-foot expansion, which among other draws will include an energy learning lab.
CCP said four Fairfield County nonprofits launched new capital campaigns last year. Fresh off a $3.1 million campaign, Southwest Community Health Center has $7.3 million to build a medical center in Bridgeport, having raised $5.4 million of that amount from the federal Affordable Care Act and via a construction loan.
Silvermine Tavern Studios has $1 million toward a hoped-for $6 million to underwrite the purchase of the Silvermine Tavern complex and create an artist residency program that would include halls for music and exhibits, as wells as a restaurant serving artisan, farm-to-table fare.
Wildlife in Crisis aims to raise nearly $7 million for a wildlife care and education center in Weston; and Elderhouse, is eyeing nearly $1.7 million for an adult day care center in Norwalk.
