June 3, 2010; Source: The Desert Sun | For a different order of municipal budget problems and nonprofits, look to Palm Springs, California. The city of 47,000 has its challenges in determining what kinds of nonprofits should be able to get parts of the municipal budget, to be sure, but they are of a different order than those of many other localities. Among its tough decisions was to cut its sponsorship of the Palm Springs International Film Festival from $400,000 to $350,000 and to withhold, for the second year in a row, sponsorship of the Kraft Nabisco Championship LPGA golf tournament. Through “private philanthropy,” the Mayor was able to raise money to keep the city’s Fourth of July fireworks alive.—Rick Cohen
About The Author
Rick joined NPQ in 2006, after almost eight years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Before that he played various roles as a community worker and advisor to others doing community work. He also worked in government. Cohen pursued investigative and analytical articles, advocated for increased philanthropic giving and access for disenfranchised constituencies, and promoted increased philanthropic and nonprofit accountability.
