Their services have never been needed more but their resources are drying up as financial insecurity or uncertainty causes donors to hold on to their cash during the Covid pandemic.
David Maulsby, Executive Director of Camp Hope, says the impact is crippling their ability to help veterans recovering from PTSD. “We’re very, very fortunate in the city of Houston to have two superstars in Jim McInvale and Michael Berry they have stepped forward in the last month or so and have raised a big chunk of the money we have lost in 2020.”
Kevin Scally, Chief Relationship Officer for Charity Navigator, says their June survey finds 72% of charities have suffered financially due to the pandemic. He calls it an interesting confluence as many organizations meet the age old problem of having increased demand for their services at a time they are seeing less funding.
“The need for us to be available to our veterans is greater than ever before while the income has shrunk to less than ever before, so it’s a cataclysmic intersection that we’re headed to that is not good and is not healthy,” confirms Maulsby, who says they are unable to hold benefits and gatherings where they traditionally raise money. He suggests it may take decades and generations to fully recover to pre-pandemic levels.
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