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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Mountain Nonprofit Seeks New Revenue Streams

As funding for nonprofits tightened amid economic uncertainties in the last few years, many organizations were forced to cut back on outreach endeavors, abandon expansion plans or reorganize existing resources to keep on track with goals. But in that downturn, a few have looked to new allies: businesses and corporations. Mountains Restoration Trust, a Calabasas-based nonprofit that works with other preservation agencies in Los Angeles County to protect and restore natural habitats in the Santa Monica Mountains, sees it as a needed addition. “The idea that the two don’t mix seems like yesterday’s concept,” said Judi Uthus, MRT’s spokeswoman. The trust is now reaching out to local companies to meet its fundraising goals, aiming to garner $50,000 in the immediate future through 10 sponsorships of $5,000 each through a new campaign. In recent years, partnerships have increased dramatically between nonprofits and corporations looking to give back to the communities that support them, hoping to highlight their ability to be good corporate citizens. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy, corporate giving was up 4 percent last year, and that money is desired by more and more nonprofits. It is a model that MRT hopes it can capitalize on in the coming months, as they reach out to the business community to help fund their ever-more-diversified projects. Protecting ecosystems Debra Bruschaber, the executive director at MRT, worked for a large scale property developer for many years. In 1989, she purchased a plot of land at the corner where Mulholland Highway becomes the Old Topanga Canyon Road in Calabasas. “I was out to make bucks,” Bruschaber said. “I was going to build five homes on it and sell them.” But before that could happen, she had a change of heart and realized that the land could be preserved. Today, that land is the home of Headwaters Corner, MRT’s headquarters. Out of that office, a small team of staff members work with government agencies and other local groups, including the Santa Monica Conservancy and TreePeople, to acquire, regulate and conserve or restore ecosystems. A focus project for the group right now is an area surrounding the Cold Creek Preserve. Sandwiched between Mulholland Drive and Topanga Canyon, it is a vital part of the mountain range’s ecosystem. The trust recently paid $3 million to acquire 100 acres at the site. The real estate market mixed with the trust’s primarily grant-generated income isn’t working well together at the moment, MRT officials said. With many programs on a funding freeze, acquiring funds to buy more land will likely be difficult. “Land in the mountains is expensive. But prices are down right now and now is the time to capitalize on that, to buy things,” Bruschaber said. Leveraging private funds Private fundraising is a starting place, Bruschaber says. “We raised $45,000 through a private event, and we leveraged that to get a $500,000 grant,” she said. “A lot of organizations like to see that community commitment first. But with that, I can take $100,000 and leverage it into a million dollars.” Currently, the trust has an overhead of $350,000 a year for operational costs, including maintenance of the properties it owns and other outreach efforts. It grosses between $2 million and $6 million a year, depending on the result of funding drives. “We were getting by with our government grants,” Bruschaber said. But the group has decided to take a more business-centered approach to their direct funding. With individual donations totaling $50,000 on the high end in a given year, it’s time to reach out and revise the business model. Uthus acknowledged that the idea of partnering with businesses to fund a conservancy project on valuable land might have an unusual tenor. “Before people thought that you were selling out,” she said. “But that whole idea has changed.” Boeing gave the group $30,000 to fund the first year of their Students Helping Restore Unique Biomes program, which brings students to natural habitats in the Calabasas area to participate in a hands-on program to learn about science. It is this sort of interaction that the trust’s organization and board members hope to be able to foster with local companies. They say that changing where the revenue is being raised doesn’t change the core principles of their mission. “Our accountability remains the same,” said Bruschaber. “We still have to answer to everyone.”

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