By Carrie Napoleon, Post-Tribune correspondent
Rising demand for service during a time of slumping revenues has put hundreds of not-for-profit agencies in a fight for their lives.
And some, like the highly regarded Indiana Coalition on Housing and Homeless Issues, apparently won't survive the battle.
The Indianapolis-based coalition said this week that it will cease operations in the next few weeks, the victim of sluggish donations from longtime supporters.
"I think it's primarily due to the economy," said coalition executive director Sandra S. Herman. "We have some wonderful supporters who have provided funding in the past and they indicated they are not in a position to do that this year. It kind of snowballed on us."
It's becoming a familiar refrain today for many not-for-profit agencies, analysts say.
The struggling economy is expected to spell doom for thousands of community-based agencies before things improve, said Tim Delaney, president and CEO of the Washington, D.C-based National Council of Nonprofits.
Delaney said not-for-profits are feeling the pinch from all five of their key revenue sources: corporations, foundations, government, individuals and fees for services.
Analysts say the United States will lose nearly 100,000 not-for-profits in the next two years, a loss that can devastate a community, Delaney said.
"The safety net," he said, "is unraveling very quickly."
One local agency, the Northwest Indiana Community Action Corp., already is feeling the pain. The group had to cancel its on-demand bus service for disabled, elderly and low-income residents earlier this year.
Sylvia Cardosi, the agency's 211 call center manager, said while funding is relatively steady, demand continues to grow. Information requests to the 211 call center, a one-stop assistance information center, grew by 58 percent in 2008, she said.
Jane Hopkins, the agency's director of community services, adds that requests for energy assistance for the heating season that began in October were up more than 30 percent from last year.
Demand also has been up at the food pantry operated by Hilltop Neighborhood House in Valparaiso, said executive director Debbie Lambert. Valparaiso University has helped to keep the food pantry stocked, she said, but corporate donations are dipping.
"We've just had to tighten our belts a little," she said.
Lambert said part of the problem is that most local not-for-profits go to the same corporate pool for funding. As those businesses suffer, so do the agencies they help subsidize, she said.
Other area not-for-profits are staying afloat amid the crisis, experts say, but are one or two months away from serious financial trouble should the economy remain sour.
Layoffs at local steel plants and other companies also can hurt not-for-profits reliant on individual donations, analysts say.
Alex Monanteras, CFO for the Lake Area United Way -- which funds 34 smaller civic agencies -- said about 40 to 45 percent of the agency's funding comes from individual donations made by workers at local steel mills. A round of mass layoffs at the mills, such as those that have occurred at some plants, could devastate the agency, which operates with a little more than one month's funding in reserve.
"We are in the process of continuing to evaluate receipts against pledges," Monanteras said. When people are laid off, the agency loses out on that pledged payroll deduction, he said.
Tula Gogolak, director of community relations and development for Meals on Wheels of Northwest Indiana, said while donations to the group over the holiday season did decline, those who could afford to donate gave more than usual.
That may be the greatest talent of all, said Alan Abramson, a senior fellow at The Aspen Institute think tank in Washington, D.C. -- surviving in spite of challenge.
"I think nonprofits do figure out ways to get by; they thin the soup and make it go further," Abramson said.
But eventually, he said, shrinking revenue will take its toll.
"Over the long term it's hard to keep going in the nonprofit community," he said. "You need a certain amount of money coming in the door to sustain."