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Charities See Low Donation Numbers at Year End

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Posted at 7:07 PM, Dec 18, 2020
and last updated 2020-12-18 20:54:34-05

LAFAYETTE, La. — The Christmas season typically means year end donations for charities and non-profits but in 2020 job loss, illness and other factors have contributed to financial hardship for these organizations. In Lafayette, Faith House is seeing this first hand.

"We're down about sixty percent in where our fund raising efforts normally are," says Nicole Cockerham, Director of Development at Faith House.

According to the Association of Fundraising Professionals, studies predicted non-profits would lose more than 25 billion dollars this year, and for Faith House, a domestic violence crisis center, this comes at a time of great need.

"We have seen roughly at the emergency shelter, a 70% increase over last year," says Cockerham.

That's more than 500 victims a month, and December numbers won't be any fewer.

"Anytime it's a stressful time of year some people, there's a lot of people out there that the holidays don't equate to happy times," adds Cockerham.

Faith House has not turned anybody away, but things are tight as the need for safe space continues to grow.

"We are trying to get this issue addressed in the near future, because obviously we have outgrown our shelter," says Cockerham.

If you'd like to give to Faith House you can visit their website orfacebook page.