By Erin Geismar  Publication: The East Hampton Press

After what proved to be a difficult year for nonprofit organizations, The Retreat, which provides support, shelter and services for victims of domestic violence, has managed to finish the year in the black. But Richard Demato, the shelter’s president, apparently doesn’t believe in keeping the secrets of the shelter’s success. Instead, he invited representatives of local nonprofit organizations to attend a summit at his Sag Harbor art gallery to share ideas about how they can collaborate and succeed.

Mr. Demato said The Retreat began 2009 with a $400,000 deficit after losing funding from East Hampton Town and other major donors. At the event on Friday, billed as the East End Social Services Summit, he told the group of about 30 that the organization survived the year by changing its fund-raising and marketing strategies.

“We found more people who gave us less,” he said, and added that the organization marketed itself aggressively. “You have to get your name out there, your face out there. You have to do different things to get different people. We’ll do anything to bring a new group to our organization.”

Jeffrey Friedman, The Retreat’s executive director, said they wanted to host the summit because despite a successful year, he knew that certain ?challenges, like providing health care for employees and dealing with ?limited resources, would continue to affect the organization, as well as other nonprofit organizations.

“Collaboration is really the only way that community-based organizations are going to survive,” he said.

“Funding for nonprofits is being affected from all directions,” Mr. Friedman, who has worked with nonprofits for 15 years, said. “We have to get creative in terms of how to continue to meet the demand for the people we serve and how to work together and maybe work in a way that we haven’t in the past.”

Organizations from Springs to Westhampton were represented at the two-hour forum, including the East Hampton Wellness Foundation, the Ross School, Bay Street Theatre of Sag Harbor, the Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation and the Springs School’s Project MOST. Representatives spoke about their respective organizations and the specific problems they face. Before long, the tone of discussion became collaborative, with many interjecting ideas on how the organizations could work symbiotically.

Through the discussion, they shared a few common needs and areas where they could possibly combine resources to cut costs. Doreen Quaranto, outreach director of Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton, said she could use a bus to transport the elderly to mass on the weekends. Raquel Barnes of the Bridgehampton Head Start program, said the organization pays for a bus service, but can afford to bus each child only one way, either to school or home from school. Juan Castro of the East Hampton YMCA/Rec Center, said he has occasional need to charter a bus, also an opportunity for possible collaboration.

Many of the organizations present agreed collaborating would also be beneficial for writing grants and insuring employees. Mr. Demato even suggested that organizations could share employees when appropriate.

“There could possibly be a way to share therapy personnel,” he said. “Staffing is expensive with health care, so if we share people we can cut costs.”

Mr. Friedman and Mr. Demato stressed that an important part of The Retreat’s effort to remain in the black this year was marketing, and the groups brainstormed ways they could share the burden of marketing — including creating an East End Social Services Facebook page where everyone could post updates about their organizations.

They also discussed collaborative events. A representative from the East End Arts Council in Riverhead said the group would be willing to co-host events and gallery openings with organizations that could find a common theme in their mission and the art council’s exhibit.

Suffolk County Executive Assistant Jennifer Freeman , whose office receives grant applications from many Long Island nonprofits, said that nonprofit groups need to stop assuming they are competing for the same funds and instead work together for them. She said it would be beneficial for many of the smaller groups to form one, larger body for the purposes of applying for funding. She said that would help the organizations get noticed by government agencies, and it would be beneficial for each organization because they would adapt to each other’s strengths and needs when applying for grants.

“Once you get over the competitiveness, you can all work together,” she said. “The fed seems to look more favorably on that.”

 

Another government attendee, County Legislator Jay Schneiderman, said he tries to keep an eye on nonprofit organizations applying for grants and said that his Sag Harbor office is always open for support.

“My office is happy to help any organization apply for grants, or if there is any other way we can help we’d be happy to do that,” he said.

Edna Steck, director of Human Services for East Hampton Town, supported Ms. Freeman’s idea of creating one body and cited precedent. She said that in the past, New York State has provided funding for communities that worked together to deliver services and formed referral agreements.

The organizations also agreed that referrals were a way they could help each other.

“All of our issues impact each other,” said Mr. Friedman. He said that while The Retreat offers help only for domestic violence, with those victims it also sees cases of substance abuse as well as children who need special services.

He said that the benefits of collaboration extend beyond financial gain for each organization and that by working together, East End nonprofits would also advance toward at least one common goal.

“We need to work together to improve the quality of life for those around us,” he said.

 

http://www.27east.com/story_detail.cfm?id=257427&town=Sag%20Harbor&page=2

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