TROY, Mich. – To the many of you who responded to the economic crisis survey we conducted in October and the others who have voluntarily updated us on the status of your capital campaigns, I want you to know we are working as expeditiously as possible to develop a systematic approach for addressing the many requests for assistance that we have received.

Your requests have underscored what we all have come to understand – that the economic contraction has had a profound effect on every conceivable nook and cranny of the nonprofit sector, placing many of you in a vice between heightened demand for your services and reduced revenue flows from your various financial sources. So many of you have told us in detail how your capital campaigns are being subjected to reductions, delays, cancellations of pledges, and plummeting values of the collateral that is securing your loans.

Each of your requests is tailored to the particulars of your grant and your circumstance. A grant to a museum is quite different from a grant to a community health clinic, which is different from a grant to a small college. Some of you are asking us for additional time to complete your fundraising. Others would like to pursue a different fund mix within your fundraising goal. And others still have asked for additional support, whether through bridge loans, operating support, or working capital.

We are reviewing each and every one of these requests. Because each is unique, we're trying to avoid formulaic or rigid responses. But because we would also like to avoid being capricious, we are trying to weave a thread of consistency through our responses.

We will be back in touch with those of you who have contacted us. And we will do our very best to be helpful. At the end of the day, we – and you – need to balance two impulses that are not mutually exclusive. On one hand, our desire is to be flexible and supportive. On the other, there is something to be said for the discipline of holding to a challenge grant deadline. The deadline reinforces for potential donors the opportunity of the challenge grant. It also may prompt an organization's board and staff to redouble their efforts to get to the finish line. We are committed to working with you to find the appropriate balance.

I appreciate your patience. Please stay tuned.

Sincerely,

Rip Rapson, president

Read Rip Rapson's two previous open letters regarding the economic crisis: October 31, 2008 and December 23, 2008.