Hands to Help Seniors

View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

I was glad to read that private foundations are recovering well after the recession, with their endowments up 12% in 2012 after growing only 0.7% in 2011.  A new report from the Council on Foundations and the Commonfund Institute looked at 140 private foundations which have $78.7 billion in assets.  Much of the increase was due to solid returns in the stock market.  Unlike nonprofits like Hands to Help Seniors, private foundations look to invest their money so they have more to give away in future years.  This strategy, however, can backfire when the stock market tanks.  It's still a difficult environment for nonprofits and foundations.  "These are good results, but I think the philanthropic field is still struggling with diminished gifts and erratic returns year-to-year in the wake of the global economic crisis," William Jarvis, the head of the Commonfund Institute, told the Wal`l Street Journal.  We agree and we believe people will continue to be cautious with charitable donations until it's clear that the economy is rebounding significantly.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

People living under the official poverty level are currently at 15% of the population (defined as $23,492 in income for a family of four).  This is well above pre-recessionary levels (12.5% in 2007), according to the Census Bureau's most recent Current Population Survey.  The number of Americans considered in "deep poverty" has continued to rise over the decades, from 3.7% in 1975 to 4.5% in 2000 to 6.6% of Americans last year, or about 20.4 million people. Worst, 44% of America's poor are now considered to be in deep poverty (50% or more below the Federal poverty level), up from 42% before the recession began.  The 2012 numbers are the highest on record since the government began tracking the data in 1975.  Unfortunately, unemployment rates remain high and with government cutbacks kicking in for many social services program, it doesn't appear that this is going to improve dramatically in the short term.  There are currently 3.9 million Americans that are living below the poverty line, and if Social Security payments were not included, this number would leap to 19.2 million. 

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

A number of local residents came out to protest loudly against building affordable housing in their neighborhood at a Pebble Beach Land Use Advisory Committee meeting last week.  They were apparently successful.  The committee has recommended 7-0 against allowing the 24 rental units the Pebble Beach Company was to build as a requirement for it getting approval for a massive construction project in the Del Monte Forest.  The Monterey County Board of Supervisors wants the units built in Pebble Beach.  We will have to wait to see how this plays out.  The project won't go before the Housing Advisory Committee until Jan 8, 2014 and county planners wouldn't review the project until months after that.  There is also an environmental impact report (EIR) which will have to be done.  If the units can't be built in Pebble Beach, they will still be built but in another part of Monterey County.  The Pebble Beach Company would have to pay a big fee if this happens.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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 View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

It was a close call, but yesterday's deadline to come up with $2.6 million in funding to build the cemetery on the old Fort Ord site was met.  The mysterious $1 million did come in as planned, but it was not via a donation.  State Assembly Speaker John Perez funneled $1 million out of the state Assembly's budget and into the cemetery's endowment fund.  State Senator Bill Monning (Demcocrat, Carmel) put out a news release praising Perez.  "I want to thank the speaker for his support to build this cemetery and for his commitment to prioritize veterans issues," said Senator Monning.  I served in the Army at Fort Ord and can't think of a better use for the land.  Now another difficult task is ahead.  In order to meet the deadline of a grant, the endowment fund had to borrow $300,000.  If you would like to help, click here.

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to

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View From A Nonprofit Serving Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

There has been much discussion about the glitches in the roll-out of online insurance exchanges.  However, The New York Times recently reported that California is doing a great job reaching minority populations which can benefit from buying cheap insurance policies online.  Outreach workers who speak Cantonese, Cambodian, Mandarin, Spanish, Tagalog and other languages are going to county fairs, farmers markets, street festivals and back to school nights to inform people about the new Health Care Reform.  There are currently seven million uninsured Californians without insurance, so the Affordable Care Act has a disproportionate impact on our state (we have 15% of the nation's uninsured).  The goal is to build public awareness for the Covered California website, where consumers can shop for the best insurance policy and also make them aware of an expansion of Medi-Cal coverage that many people may qualify for.  I am happy to see that with so much chaos going on in Washington D.C., our state is doing an excellent job of building awareness of the benefits of the health care reform law. 

Please note that this blog reflects my personal opinion and may or may not reflect the opinion of Hands to Help Seniors and the individual members comprising the Board of Governors.

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