RI’s nonprofits show up when it matters most | Commentary

I’ve spent nearly my entire career in the nonprofit sector, and one of the earliest lessons I learned is that this is a space where people don’t get to say “no.” While businesses can pivot away from an unprofitable product or market and government agencies are often constrained by funding cycles or jurisdiction, nonprofits stand in the gap when community needs outpace available resources.

Nonprofits don’t have the luxury of saying, “we’ll revisit this next quarter.” They respond in the moment because they know someone is depending on them. And as such, I truly believe the best measure of a nonprofit’s strength is not whether a challenge disappears but whether an organization continues to show up as demand grows.

That lesson is especially relevant for nonprofits that provide essential items to families in crisis and for the community health centers that place access to care above all else.

That’s because our communities are healthier when preventive care is available. Children have better opportunities when their families are well. And employers and our economy are stronger when workers can receive the health care they need, when they need it. A healthier, thriving Rhode Island does not happen by chance. It is built by the everyday work of nonprofits that refuse to stop showing up.

Organizations like Wood River Health that continue to respond to rising demand for services remind us that some responsibilities cannot wait for the right conditions. Organizations that exist to better the physical, emotional and social well-being of our neighbors do not pause because budgets are tight, staffing is short or their work has become more complex.

In fact, the opposite is true.

Across Rhode Island, nonprofits make the choice each and every day to open their doors knowing there will be more people needing them than the week before. They do this because they understand that stronger families and stronger communities benefit us all.

Too often we think of compassion as empathy when we should see it as a commitment. Nonprofits take this even further by redefining compassion as action, making the promise that when Rhode Islanders need them, they’ll find a way.

Jennie Johnson is chief advancement officer for United Way of Rhode Island.