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Jun 20, 2009 12:40 pm US/Central
MN Nonprofits Facing More Needs, Fewer Resources
LITCHFIELD, Minn. (AP) ―
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The manager of a food shelf in Litchfield says more people are coming to the shelf even as it gets fewer food to distribute. (File)
CBS
Brenda Voigt, the manager of the food shelf in Litchfield, neatly summarized the problem facing many nonprofit social service providers in this economic downturn. "More people are coming to us, but we don't have as much to give," she said.
Nonprofits throughout the state are facing a similar bind. While layoffs and underemployment force a greater demand for their services, their funding has dried up from sources facing their own cutbacks.
A report released last Tuesday by the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits said that in May, 56 percent of nonprofit organizations in the state reported an increase in demand for services and 57 percent reported a loss of revenue.
The report said the revenue loss cuts across all sectors from which nonprofits are traditionally funded -- government budgets, private foundations and individual contributors.
"In business, when supply goes down, it typically means there is less demand," said Christine Durand, communications director for the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. "Not so with nonprofits."
The Heartland Community Action Agency of Willmar recently saw a classic example of this dilemma, when the group got a $20,000 grant for a program designed to prevent people from being evicted from their apartments. The money was gone within two weeks.
"With us, the need is always greater than the funding we receive," said Debi Brandt, community relations director at Heartland. She said officials there have seen an even greater strain recently, as well as a new development: Middle class people coming to the organization for assistance.
"It's a very humbling experience for them," Brandt said. "They're not typical clients.
Even the smallest nonprofits are feeling the pinch. Doug Wilkowske runs E-Quip Africa in Willmar, a one-man operation that takes donations of used computers from homeowners and businesses to be shipped to schools in Africa. The rate of donations has dropped 60 percent this year.
"I don't know if I've bled the local businesses dry or if they're just keeping what they have," he said.
(© 2010 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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