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The Mission Possible initiative to find solutions for struggling charities came into sharper focus Tuesday, when 25 volunteers gathered to winnow down the best among hundreds of solutions offered by supporters.
After nearly three hours of discussion, the most popular ideas included:
•Finding easier ways to donate, such as transferring interest paid on checking accounts and rounding up purchases to the nearest dollar for charity.
•Create a central clearinghouse of nonprofit needs and find partners to help meet them.
•Establishing a panel of "angel investors" who would hear ideas from charities that need money.
•Encouraging nonprofits to consolidate administrative functions to save donor dollars.
Also popular was exploring a way to implement Charlotte's own version of a Chinese program that allows the young to "bank" volunteer hours spent in service of the elderly. Those hours are then reciprocated in later years by the next generation as a sort of "no-cost Social Security."
More than 350 ideas were submitted through a database created for Mission Possible, a coalition made up of the Observer and eight media partners that sought to alert the public to critical nonprofit needs.
"As all of you know, many of the traditional approaches to charitable causes just aren't working any more," Observer Editor Rick Thames told the panelists. "We thought it important to bring new faces to the table, and these 350 ideas represent those new faces."
The hundreds of ideas could be grouped into a handful of categories, including administrative solutions; donation drives and events; national initiatives brought to Charlotte; online initiatives; and volunteer drives.
Mission Possible was launched with a belief that the public could make a difference, at a time when the recession and the banking crisis had cut into donations and grants to local charities.
In addition, United Way's annual campaign experienced a $14million drop in donations last year, forcing it to make steep cuts in its grants to its 90-plus member charities. All this has come when rising unemployment and home foreclosures have increased requests for help.
In addition to the Observer, Mission Possible's media partners included WCNC NewsChannel 36, Charlotte Magazine, WFAE, Spanish-language newspaper La Noticia, alternative weekly Creative Loafing, local internet firm Edison Nation and three Web-based organizations: CLTblog.com, Qcitymetro.com and DavidsonNews.net.
Most of the 350 ideas and the bulk of the discussion Tuesday centered on ways companies and average people could find it easier to donate to charities, including donating unused orunpurchased event tickets and citywide raffles.
However, the liveliest debate came when it was suggested that charities might save money by consolidating back office operations, such as finance and computer services.
"They're not going to have a choice. This is the future," said panelist Rosalyn Allison-Jacobs.
The Rev. Ricky Woods of First Baptist Church West cautioned that consolidation can kill smaller charities meeting essential neighborhood needs.
Quincy Foil was also concerned that consolidations might cause as much harm as good. Yet she saw benefits in the discussion.
"We're told it's a bad time for nonprofits, but I think it's a great time," she told the group. "This is their chance to learn how to operative more effectively and do some soul-searching about their mission, their vision and ways to be more effective and leaner."
