After Hurricane Harvey caused devastating flooding at Houston’s Alley Theatre, actors and production staff were indomitable. They continued rehearsals, built sets, and found a new venue for the September 15 premiere of Describe the Night, a political saga set in Russia that had been on the calendar for months. As damage was being cleared at the theater, the play opened on schedule at a University of Houston venue.
The team members needed to see their hard work realized, says Nancy Giles, the Alley’s director of development. “Theater people have to make theater, artists have to make art.”
And fundraisers have to raise money. As the actors were busy perfecting their lines, the show went on for Ms. Giles, too: Since the disaster ended, she has helped the theater raise $150,000 for a fund to aid its employees, $175,000 for cleanup and repairs, and $150,000 in unrestricted money.
Ms. Giles says she’s confident the organization will raise enough in private support to cover the damage and help keep the theater running — though she hopes it doesn’t have to wait too long for foundation grants and big donations. “It’s a little bit daunting to think about what’s going to be happening when the wintertime comes and [Harvey] seems much further away and we still have some bills to pay,” she says. “There will have to be a campaign to address it.”
Wait and See
Ms. Giles’s concern is shared by many nonprofits in disaster-stricken areas: Although most believe that supporters and grant makers will come through, they still wonder how long the hurricanes will affect local giving. Some nonprofits not involved in direct aid after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma report that in the weeks after the storms, gifts have been delayed or reduced as donors have shifted contributions to recovery efforts. Some organizations with small staffs have had a hard time raising money at all, despite seeing major damage to facilities.
Experts predict it will take months for local giving to return to normal. “In the short term, most giving patterns are going to be disrupted,” says Bob Ottenhoff, president of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
For many organizations not involved in direct aid, the year-end period is a time for wait-and-see. Year-end giving “will be a real test for how the community is responding philanthropically,” says Amy Purvis, chief development officer at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. “I think that’s when we’ll be able to say — after December 31 — ‘Yeah, we are seeing a Harvey effect.’ "
Feeling the Effects
The museum is already seeing some small effects, Ms. Purvis says. Recently, a local foundation delayed reviewing a $1 million grant proposal made by the museum, because the grant maker said it was focusing solely on emergency donations. “I don’t think it means that they won’t fund it,” Ms. Purvis says. “It’s just going to be some time for the donor community — and the community at large — to recover from this.”
There will likely be a dip in annual-fund gifts to the museum, Ms. Purvis predicts, because many small-dollar donors are likely giving to direct-aid groups and don’t have the income to support multiple organizations.
“I hope I’m wrong,” she says. “But as a seasoned fundraiser, you just kind of feel it in your bones that this is going to have an impact.”
Still, she believes the museum will be financially sound: The organization had a $4 million surplus in gifts at the close of fiscal 2017 — which ended in June — and was doing well before the storm.
Some of the University of Houston’s biggest donors have said they are holding gifts or reducing commitments as they shift money toward relief efforts, says Eloise Brice, vice president for advancement. “We may hear more of that over the next year,” she says, though she remains confident about the college’s fundraising over all. The university, which is in a multiyear, $1 billion fundraising campaign, was on track toward its goals before Harvey struck. “We will move on. We will be OK,” she says.
A good sign for the university: It raised $821,000 in the weeks after Harvey for its “Cougar Emergency Fund” — which will help students who were displaced or otherwise affected by the storm.
Small Groups Struggle
Some small organizations in the path of recent hurricanes are struggling to raise money, period.
Island Dolphin Care, which was hit hard by Hurricane Irma, hasn’t started calling or emailing donors yet — although it has posted appeals on Facebook. “When you get back from a storm like this, you have to deal with the damage first,” says Deena Hoagland, the group’s director, adding that she and several other employees have done most of the cleaning of facilities so far.
The Key Largo, Fla., nonprofit — which provides therapeutic programs to adults and children with special needs (including recreational outings with dolphins) — lost two Tiki huts and ramps to its docks, and flooding shut down its elevators. The total damage is estimated at $300,000 to $500,000.
Although some donors called Ms. Hoagland and have given online and sent checks, she has not been able to tally a fundraising total yet and doesn’t know how close she is to covering the damage.
Key West’s Marathon Wild Bird Center has seen thousands of dollars’ worth of damage, estimates Kelly Grinter, the group’s director.
Ms. Grinter, who is the lone staff member for the nonprofit, has had a difficult time finding local volunteers to help her clean fallen trees and make repairs to the facility, as many people in Key West are dealing with damage to their homes. But she has gotten some assistance from people outside of the local area after making a plea for help on Facebook last month. A Mormon volunteer group came by to lend a hand shortly after the storm passed through. And this month, a Pennsylvania couple vacationing nearby helped out.
“Every day I find something new that’s damaged,” Ms. Grinter says, listing as part of the destruction a storage shed and a boathouse that housed volunteers.
As for raising money, “I haven’t even gotten that far,” she says, though she plans on reaching out to regular supporters soon to keep her charity afloat.
Going Easy
Larger organizations are trying not to be too aggressive with supporters.
Ms. Brice, of the University of Houston, says she almost always starts conversations with donors by asking them, ‘How did you do during Harvey?’ " — because she wants to make sure that the supporter’s situation is stable before seeking a gift.
At the Alley Theatre, staff members have been tracking how big donors are responding to such questions. “We’re not soliciting anyone who has been impacted in a negative way,” Ms. Giles says.
The Alley is also excluding from its email appeals donors who live in areas that were hit hardest by Hurricane Harvey. “We’re letting them come to us,” she says.
Focus on the Mission
Nonprofits that are not involved in direct aid should be reminding their donors about their missions and how vital their organizations will be to providing a “sense of normalcy” as areas start to recover, says Mr. Ottenhoff of the Center for Disaster Philanthropy,
“It may not be a good time for them financially in the short term, but it is a very important time for them to be trying to strengthen their base,” Mr. Ottenhoff says.
Over the past decade, two other major events have depressed giving in the Houston area: the 2008 financial crisis and the big dip in the price of oil in 2014, says Greg Robertson, chief advancement officer of the Houston Grand Opera. In Mr. Robertson’s experience, many opera donors are loyal.
“We’ve kind of been weathering the storm this past decade,” Mr. Robertson says. “The lesson learned is that we need to continue to make the case about why having great art and great opera in the community really matters.”
The opera estimates that it’s seen millions of dollars in damage from the storm — which destroyed its costume shop, its wig and makeup department, and a hydraulic lift it used in performances — although a damage assessment is still ongoing. The opera has relocated its shows for now to the city’s convention center. Its usual venue, the Wortham Theater Center, experienced serious electrical damage that left it closed for now.
The opera has also been disciplined in ensuring that its ticket holders and supporters know about the change in venue; it’s sending reminders twice a week and regular updates on social media and its website, he says.
Ms. Giles, at the Alley Theatre, agrees that it will be crucial for nonprofits in the storm regions to focus on their core missions during the recovery and beyond: “I think we all come out of this whole in the end. We just have to tell our stories.”