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Pivoting During a Pandemic

Local Nonprofits Needed More Than Ever BY D INA EASTWOOD

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work in preparation, but also much of their annual operating expenses.The calendar read like a bad joke:Santa Catalina Gala, March 12, Folktale Winery—Cancelled

Montrio's Fund for Homeless Women, March 12, Montrio Bistro—Cancelled

MCHA Dinner, March 13, Spanish Bay—Cancelled

All Saints Fundraiser, March 21, Quail Lodge—Cancelled

Monterey Chamber Gala, March 21, Hyatt —Cancelled

NRAEF Dinner, March 27, Spanish Bay—Cancelled

BGCMC Comics for Kids, March 28, Spanish Bay—Cancelled

Carmel Foundation Gala, March 28, Pasadera—Cancelled

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Monterey County’s annual Comics for Kids galais one of the best known in the county. CEO Ron Johnson and his staffhad to pivot at the last minute.“We were feeling good coming into it, months out. We had great spon-

sors with three at our highest level,” Johnson says. “We had Sinbad, thecomedian. And then this pandemic. Our immediate thought was, ‘How arewe going to make this up?’ This event covers our operating expenses forseveral months.” Like many groups, the Club’s fundraiser ended up beingheld in a modified version online.

078-083 Nonprofits.qxp_152-161 Garcia story 5/20/20 8:10 PM

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Other groups, such as Peace of Mind Dog Rescue, followed suit withinhours of Governor Gavin Newsom prohibiting groups to congregate.

“You put so much time and energy into these events. This event raiseshalf our annual budget for the medical care of the dogs taken into theprogram. It’s a huge chunk of money us,” says Co-Founder and ExecutiveDirector Carie Broecker.

“We went online, and it did pretty well, but not as well as had we donein person. No one asked for a refund of the cost of their ticket purchase.Most sponsors allowed us to keep the money. So, it wasn’t a total loss, butit wasn’t the same.”

Holly Zoller, president and CEO of the Carmel Foundation, whichserves local senior citizens, not only had to cancel their fundraiser, but willalso have to use reserves in order to keep services uninterrupted.

“For us, it’s batten down the hatches. Our budget relies on bequests.You have lean years and good years, so we are used to the up and down.But the gala is our biggest event of the year. It’s the one chunk of change.This event was to go directly to housing. We have 50 low-income seniorapartments in downtown Carmel. They (tenants) will never have to move,but we’ll have to dip into our rainy-day fund.”

Zoller says despite the stretch, they’ll continue serving lunches to hun-dreds of seniors in Carmel every week.

“The ‘oh shit’ part hasn’t gone away yet,” says Dan Baldwin, presidentand CEO of the Community Foundation for Monterey County. Baldwinsays the County is now working under conditions usually reserved for anatural disaster.

“We tend to think of that situation in terms of a natural, physical, quan-tifiable disaster, where you can look downstream—where it’s not a perfect

Dr. Johnathan Fradkin and Dyana Klein started Max’s HelpingPaws Foundation in honor of their miniature pinscher.


science, but it’s ok. But this is unfolding right in front of us, and we don’tknow its scale or duration. Typically after a disaster, the part of the com-munity not affected gives to those who were. But in this disaster, every-one’s affected.”

Baldwin says the Foundation’s Covid-19 Relief Fund is topping $2.5 mil-lion (as of May 1). The outpouring of help has been tremendous. Even so,the needs are streaming in faster than the cash.

“We work hard to keep the cushion between what we grant and whatwe have. But the cushion is narrowing a little bit. Now that shelter-in-placehas been extended, we’re actively trying to attract resources. The need isnot going away.”

Baldwin notes that our county does have some resources that manyothers simply do not—that we are looked at as a “Xanadu of wealth,” butthat’s not the entire story.

“The reality is we also have a lot—tens of thousands—of economicallyvulnerable people in our area, and that’s our biggest concern. Not justwhat happens to these people now, but six months from now. How is thedebt load in six months? How do they pay rent in six months?”

The Community Foundation is helping fill the void with a three-tiered


Cannery Row Company, helmedby local icon Ted Balestreri,

also had two company-relatedfundraisers cancelled or

postponed by the pandemic.

Cannery Row Company Chairman and CEO Ted Balestreri with VicePresident of Marketing Diane Mandeville are optimistic for recovery.


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system. It includes a highly streamlined application process for nonprofitsto obtain relief, as well as a brand-new program with the MontereyPeninsula Chamber of Commerce that is providing immediate loans andgrants to local small businesses.

Chamber CEO Frank Geisler says it’s a small solution born from a newCovid-era program: a weekly, online roundtable of local business peopleand government officials.

“We are getting ideasgenerated. More helpwill come out of this. Amanagement plan will beready when shelter-in-place is over. But I stillthink that we’ll have toface a lot of hurts whenthe hospitality industryloses major events.Something happening toCar Week is devastatingto so many—the bigplayers and the smallbusinesses that support those big players.”

The Chamber has more than 600 member businesses, representing anastounding 50,000 local employees. It is yet another of the many that hadto cancel their annual fundraising gala, losing tens-of-thousands of dollars.

“We are rolling with the punches,” says Diane Mandeville, marketingdirector of The Cannery Row Company, whose businesses employ hun-

dreds of locals in the hospitality arena. Cannery Row Company, helmedby local icon Ted Balestreri, also had two company-related fundraisers can-celled or postponed by the pandemic.

“Not to be trite, but we operate as a family. When we knew we had to havepeople work from home, Ted said, ‘I need to be the first person to know ifanyone needs anything.’ We are looking out for all our employees, from

a part-time food serverto housekeepers who’vebeen here from monthsto years.”

Mandeville has beenin the hospitality busi-ness for decades, andshe has hope. “I wouldsay we are optimistic.The hospitality andtourism industry haveweathered many majorcrises—9/11, the reces-sion of 2008—and weknow what the recovery

times are. Well over 70 percent of our visitors drive here. They’re also inthe same time frame as we are, so as Northern California and the CentralValley are released, and we get comfortable in new normal, I don’t have adoubt in my mind that when we reopen, we will return to safe travel.”

Mandeville isn’t the only one adapting to the “new normal.” Manygroups, such as Ron Johnson and the Boys and Girls Clubs, have mobilized

Community Foundation for Monterey County Women’s Fund (virtual) Luncheontook place on Zoom.

Community Foundation for Monterey County Women’s Fund Luncheon tookplace on Zoom because the actual event was cancelled due to COVID-19.



UnmistakablyBennett

San Ca r l o s b e tween 5 t h & 6 t hCa rme l CA 93921Benne t t S c u l p t u r e Ca rme l . c omi n f o@Benne t t S c u l p t u r e Ca rme l . c om(831) 626 -3054

Two Gene r a t i o n s C r e a t i n gF i n e A r t S i n c e 1967

In 1994 my father, Bob Bennett and I, created an amazing sculpture.We were working together on 11 sculptures for the last show in our

bronze foundry. “Phoenix Rising” was unique. The collection of sculp-

tures fell into the style and direction that Dad was moving in, except

for this one. We both went to bed thinking about it and would arrive

early in the morning to work. It would be the last sculpture that we

worked on together. “Phoenix Rising” has been with me in every

season of my life for the past 26 years. I have treasured the memory

and the energy attached to this sculpture. Our collaboration was

very special to me. “Phoenix Rising” would not have

a grand release to our collectors until now… the

perfect time to acknowledge this gift from my father.

May we rise together out of the ashes into a new

and brighter light. #carmelRISING

“Phoenix Rising”Artist Bob & Ashley BennettLimited Edition Bronze 150, $1750.00

to serve in innovative ways, in this case makingsure kids and their families won’t go hungry.

“We partnered with the Food Bank and acouple of school districts and we now procureand deliver food to families.”

Johnson, who’s lived on the Peninsula for 50years, is grateful to live here during this crisis.“It’s made me even more proud to live in thiscommunity, more than anything else. This com-munity hasn’t let the nonprofit sector down.Never has. I’ve been here since the 1960s. It’sgratifying to see the community rally around.”

These new partnerships, this spirit, will hope-fully continue long after the imminent threat ofcoronavirus is gone.

It’s a sentiment echoed by the Chamber’sFrank Geisler.

“I think a lot of it has to do with a new atti-tude toward one another. We’re looking at eachother in another way. At the grocery store, peo-ple are watching out for each other. It’s not allgrim. I think we’re going to emerge with a newattitude that is filled with more love, more car-ing, more understanding for elderly and peoplein need. We’ve experienced stress and greed,but I think it’s going to be different after this.There will be a new paradigm.”

Sadly, many other major local events that have

a huge nonprofit fundraising component have been

cancelled for 2020. These include the Pebble Beach

Concours d’Elegance and most other Car Week

events, along with the Monterey Jazz Festival. The

loss of these funds to help those in need in the

community is enormous. Please consider donat-

ing to local nonprofits if you are able.

Baldwin says theCounty is now work-ing under conditionsusually reserved for

a natural disaster.


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