Should you help someone in need? How much should you donate to that someone, especially when you know your gift can save a life, teach someone to read, help them get a job, take care of their child, share the joy of music and art, or enhance the community fabric that makes ours one of the best to grow up and grow old?

During Loudoun's GiveChoose.org online giving event, the average gift is $134. GiveChoose.org is our community's day of charitable giving celebrated on Giving Tuesday, May 5th. Early giving starts April 21st. More than XX charities have united together to share their stories and invite your choice to give a gift of as little as $10.

Sometimes, our community needs to come forward and support a common goal. This is one of those times. Now more than ever. The Richmond-based Center for Nonprofit Excellence has shared preliminary details of a very recent survey of nonprofit organizations as a result of COVID-19:

Thirty-five percent of nonprofits are experiencing a drop in donations and 47 percent anticipate a drop in the coming weeks.

Dozens of local charities canceled or postponed events and galas. Corks for a Cause, traditionally held but canceled in early April, generated $20,000 for Loudoun Abused Women's Shelter. For many Loudoun charities, special events generate as much as 15% or more of the organization's annual income—now lost.

More than half nonprofits are experiencing a decrease in client usage of services or programs, with 62 percent experiencing a decrease in earned revenue/income for their charitable work.

For example, Lansdowne-based Blue Ridge Speech and Hearing provides services to fit folks with hearing aids and personalized speech therapy. For now, their clients are (rightfully) electing to isolate at home and forgo treatment. Their nonprofit business has come to a halt.

Nearly half nonprofits are experiencing challenges with staff and/or volunteers who have limited availability due to childcare constraints. Fifty percent of nonprofits are experiencing destabilization of long-term financial stability.

Loudoun's nonprofit sector employs more than 5,000 individuals (more than twice the insurance and finance sector). In the best of times, our social service sector provides as many as 53,000 individuals with personalized help and aid. In these worst of times, demand for food has turned the operations model upside down for charities like Loudoun Hunger Relief.

Of some 25 critical or essential safety net nonprofit organizations in Loudoun County, 14 of 25 have an operating reserve of three months or more.

Loudoun's nonprofits are under-resourced as illustrated by past studies represented in the FacesofLoudoun.org community service campaign. While our community's population has [text continues but is cut off in the document]