譯/李京倫、核稿/樂慧生
疫情下求生 非營利組織新任務
It took Stephanie Cartier nearly three years to open No Limits, a central New Jersey cafe operated by people with intellectual disabilities. That was early February. It took only a few days in March to close the 65-seat restaurant indefinitely.
史蒂芬妮．卡地爾花了近三年，才在美國新澤西州中部開設「無限」咖啡簡餐館，聘用智能障礙者服務。這家65個座位的餐廳二月初才開幕，到了三月卻在短短幾天之間就宣告不支，無限期歇業。
Customers dwindled as fears of the coronavirus increased. There was not enough cash coming in to pay the staff.
Nonprofits like No Limits are ubiquitous in the United States: built on a dream, dedicated to good works, thinly capitalized. Like so much in American life, they have been upended — perhaps temporarily, maybe forever.
社會日益害怕新冠肺炎，這家咖啡館的客人少了。現金進帳不足以支付員工薪資。無限咖啡館這類非營利組織在美國到處都有：以夢想為基礎，致力於慈善，資金有限。非營利組織就跟美國生活的諸多面向一樣被顛覆，也許是暫時，也可能是永遠。
Crucial spring fundraisers and conferences have been canceled or moved to less lucrative online venues. Donors are stretched in many directions, preoccupied with their own problems and much less flush than they were two months ago.
至關重要的春季募款活動和會議若非取消，就是改為募款所得沒那麼多的線上形式。捐款人在許多方面承受過大壓力，為他們自己的問題煩心，而且財富比兩個月前少得多。
Nonprofits that are paid by local governments said new rules against large gatherings were making their services impossible to deliver, placing their existence at risk.
接受地方政府資助的非營利組織說，禁止大型集會的新規定使它們不可能提供服務，導致生存陷入危機。
In an ordinary disaster, no matter how severe the impact, there is a border beyond which life is normal. said Tim Delaney, chief executive of the National Council of Nonprofits."Here there is no border," he said. "We see the first tidal wave coming in, but know there will be a second, a third and a fourth after it."
美國非營利組織協會執行長德雷尼說，一般天災，不論衝擊多嚴重，總還有條邊界，邊界之外生活仍維持正常，「現在這裡沒有邊界，我們看到第一波海嘯進來，還知道會有第二、第三和第四波」。
Relief efforts are underway. Foundations, traditionally not among the spryest of organizations, learned from 9/11 and severe hurricanes that they could move fast. They are quickly retooling to disburse emergency money and relax reporting requirements that are suddenly impossible to meet.
救援工作已在進行。各基金會傳統上不是最活躍的組織，卻從911事件和超強颶風的經驗了解到自己可以快速行動。基金會迅速調整以撥出緊急資金，並將突然間變得不可能達到的通報規定放寬。
Bloomberg Philanthropies, Carnegie Corp. of New York, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and 23 other foundations as well as individual donors have created a $78 million COVID-19 rescue fund for New York City nonprofits.
彭博慈善事業、紐約卡內基基金會、桃莉杜克慈善基金會和其他23個基金會與個別捐款人，已設立總額7800萬美元的新冠肺炎急難基金，援助紐約市的非營利組織。
The committees deciding who gets what are making "Talmudic decisions — they are weighing equally compelling choices," said Lorie Slutsky, president of the New York Community Trust, which is administering the new fund. "Human service agencies are on the front lines now, but the economic footprint of the arts in New York City is outsized, and we want to preserve as many of those as possible who live on fumes."
管理這筆基金的紐約社區信託基金會的主席羅莉．史勒茨基說，決定哪個組織能得到多少的委員會，是在「計較細微末節，在必要性相當的選擇中做取捨。社會服務機構目前處在第一線，但紐約市藝文組織的經濟影響力太大了，我們想要盡可能多拯救些快要斷炊的組織」。
Nonprofits on the front lines have been forced to be nimble. Meals on Wheels People in Portland, Oregon, closed its 22 neighborhood dining locations March 13 and switched to a no-touch delivery system for its 15,000 clients. To reduce contact even more, deliveries are made only three days a week, although they include more than one meal.
處在前線的非營利組織不得不靈活應變。俄勒岡州波特蘭市「讓行動不便長者吃到飯」組織，3月13日關閉22個社區共餐點，轉而為其1萬5000名服務對象提供無接觸送餐。為了更進一步減少接觸，一周只送餐三天，不過一次不只送一餐。
※說文解字看新聞【李京倫】
美國新冠肺炎疫情擴大，許多商家生意慘淡，本篇談的是非營利組織也岌岌可危。
survival（存活）是本文關鍵字。survival of the fittest是適者生存。survival instinct是生存本能。owe your survival to somebody/something則是因為某人或某物而得以存活。
live on fumes跟run on fumes同義，原本指汽車快要耗盡汽油還在行駛，引申為「在幾乎沒有或已經沒有熱情、精力或資源的情況下苦撐，硬撐」之意。
Talmudic有兩種含意，原意是「跟塔木德有關的」，塔木德是關於古猶太人宗教、生活的律法集，源自於西元二世紀，塔木德在希伯來文中的意思是教導或學習。本文用的是引申義：區分得太仔細，到了計較細微末節的程度。
stretch原意是（盡量）拉長，拉緊，引申用法不少。stretch (somebody's) patience是考驗某人的耐心。stretch the truth/facts則是說出或寫下不完全真實的話。stretch the rules則是英式英語片語，指通融某事，給人方便。
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