How Do Nonprofits Touch Your Daily Life?

From feeding families to delivering critical care, nonprofits step up every day to protect and save lives in ways most of us never see. In moments of crisis, it’s often nonprofits that provide what matters most: a safe place to sleep, urgent medical care or someone who will answer the phone and offer help. Through volunteer fire departments, food banks, mental health hotlines and more, they are helping to keep our community strong and safe.

But their impact goes beyond emergency response or crisis relief. Nonprofits shape our daily lives, offering more than volunteer opportunities or accepting donations — they ensure access to services like libraries, provide educational and cultural events and advocate for policies and programs. By supporting local initiatives, advancing civic engagement, promoting social change, offering resources and developing and improving recreational open space, they strengthen our community at every level.

We all use nonprofit services on a weekly, if not daily, basis. If your children attend a public school, use the library or participate in community-run sports or leadership development organizations (Scouts, 4-H), they are engaging with a nonprofit. Likewise, nonprofits that support these schools and organizations enhance public education with funding for programs, supplies and enrichment services. For example, the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC) offers grants to Anne Arundel County Public School teachers from its Grants 4 Teachers Fund every year as a way to provide them with funds to implement innovative projects for their classrooms that are otherwise impossible due to funding constraints.

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Source: Capital Gazette