Americans give up a lot during a recession,eating out, shopping for new clothes and going to the movies. But they don’t necessarily skip out on giving. In spite of the economic downturn, some Valley nonprofits are still going strong. “We’re actually right now, in spite of the economy, in a stronger place than we were a year ago,” said Madelyn Gordon, executive director of Grandparents as Parents Inc. “We’re attributing that to a number of things. We’re reaching out to both agencies and government, anybody and everybody.” Gordon believes that, during such times, it’s necessary to think outside of the box. Taking an unconventional route means many things for the Canoga Park-based company with 11 support groups in Los Angeles County. The focus of the organization is to assist grandparents and other caregivers of relatives’ children with a variety of resources. In addition to reaching out to different kinds of entities, the group engages its volunteers, plans extensively and is upfront about what is needed during an economic downturn. When this is done, “There’s a change, a shift in mentality,” Gordon said. “Our approach is to continue to put out proposals and certainly be able to state our case.” The fact that the group has been around for more than 23 years is also helpful. It means that the group has some proven strategies for success. “We went from almost a 100 percent volunteer grassroots effort to beginning to grow ourselves,” Gordon said. In the past five years alone, the group’s budget has grown dramatically,from $4,000 to $260,000, to be exact. However, that amount is still small compared to a slew of other nonprofits. “Many people are shocked that our budget is as low as it is for the amount of work we do,” Gordon said. But she is proud that the group has not only been able to function within those confines but that it has also managed to grow. Acquiring support is a different experience entirely for health-related nonprofits, according to Diana Vose, president of the Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Health Foundation. The group recently raised $85,000. Previous fundraising efforts have yielded more than $200,000, but the recession may have prevented the foundation from raising that much this time around. “I think hospitals and healthcare are different from other nonprofit groups in terms of philanthropy,” Vose said. “Our hospital treats the entire Santa Clarita Valley. We’re the only hospital in the Santa Clarita Valley. Individuals might want to consider the hospital when they are considering a philanthropic gift. It’s probably the one nonprofit that will affect them.” Vose believes the fact that Henry Mayo is community-owned gives it an advantage over corporate-owned hospitals. That’s because any funds raised are given directly to the hospital rather than to a healthcare conglomerate or out-of-state hospital. “Everything that the hospital does, all the revenue, goes right back to our own hospital or building funds, new technology purchases, things that make our hospital stand out and grow,” Vose said. Still, the hospital foundation is making some changes to how it raises funds. It has decided to increase its efforts to generate revenue for individual major gift requests and place more emphasis on donor retention. “A lot of our fundraising programs have been decreased this year,” Vose explained. “Henry Mayo is moving forward with capital projects. We’re expanding our (Intensive Care Unit) and building a new (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit). We elected not to engage in a massive campaign for support.” Despite scaling back on fundraising, Vose said that the foundation isn’t sitting on its laurels. She said that she shares the same concerns as everyone else does about the economy. While Henry Mayo continues to grow, the foundation must work harder to obtain less money, she explained. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything quite like this,” said Vose, who has headed the foundation for seven years and worked for Henry Mayo in different capacities for 20 years. Fundraising is a relatively new activity for the San Fernando Valley Counseling Center in Northridge. Yet, the 37-year-old organization has survived through the support of its clients and interns. “We’ve been looking at ways of trying to do fundraising,” explained the center’s co-director Elise Kaplan. “In the past, we’ve only had people who are familiar with our center donate. We haven’t really reached out to the community so much. We really just started doing that.” Because the counseling center operates primarily on client fees,and the number of clients went up last year,reaching out to potential donors hasn’t been a necessity. Clients pay for the mental health services offered by the counseling center on a sliding scale that can dip as low as $20. Moreover, their counselors-in-training make donations to the center. This is because the interns’ hours of service there go toward their licenses. Aware that individuals often forgo elective treatment, such as mental health counseling, during economic downturns, Kaplan said that the center has begun to advertise its services and is trying to form partnerships with local businesses. “We just started advertising in the LA Weekly. We’re also advertising in the San Fernando Valley News and in the Yellow Pages,” Kaplan said. All the while, the center obtains referrals from other agencies. “We provide a very valuable service at a very reasonable cost,” Kaplan said of the center’s success. “We have a very good reputation in the community. A lot of people tell their friends about it. We’ve weathered (the years) well.”