The gift that keeps on giving – nonprofits in Virginia

This holiday season, I am reminded of the good done by ordinary people working hard for nonprofit organizations, making an extraordinary difference in the lives of Virginians. According to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 10.3 percent of non-government job are held by those working in the nonprofit industry. This represents 11.4 million people, the entire population of New York City. In Virginia, nonprofits employ more than 250,000 people, a larger number than the population of our capital city.

Nonprofits make a huge impact every day in almost all Virginia communities — organizations like Habitat for Humanity, AARP, Boys & Girls Club of America, Boy Scouts of America, Communities in Schools, YMCA, YWCA, the Salvation Army, Girl Scouts of America, Teach for America, American Red Cross, just to name a few. For every Virginian who is helped by one of the many nonprofits in our state, think of how many friends, family and neighbors are impacted by that assistance. Where in the world would Virginia be without the both the nonprofit employers and volunteers?

With each generation, nonprofit organizations become even more important as our citizens not only strongly encourage, but in many cases demand more from the corporate community in terms of support not only with corporate donations but matching donations and volunteer time. Think about the “Coats for Kids” campaigns that go on annually with dry cleaners like Puritan, food drives at national supermarkets like Kroger, and the Angel Tree program with the Salvation Army that provides gifts to over 8,000 people in need just in the Richmond area alone. These are just a few of the activities that go on all year that gives us all reasons to be proud to be a Virginian.

This holiday season, start a new tradition of giving. Give the gift of your time, your talent or your treasure to a nonprofit of your choice. It will come back to you tenfold, and it will make our state even better, one good deed at a time.

Anne B. Hagen, CPA, CGMA is the VP and CFO of Masonic Home of Virginia, a continuing care retirement center located in Henrico, Virginia and serves on the Board of Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, Richmond Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity and chairs the Supervisory Committee of the Virginia Credit Union.