By Carol Johnson, Times-Mail
carol@tmnews.com
BEDFORD - As expected, most of the 15 member agencies of the United Way of South Central Indiana will have to do with less this year.
Affected by layoffs and plant closings, the annual campaign fell short of its $325,000 goal, resulting in about $65,000 less to allocate.
In 2008, United Way of SCI distributed $220,000. Lorri Hamer, United Way of SCI executive director, said the allocation committee had just $155,000 to dole out.
"It is what it is," said Hamer. "We are still cautious about the layoffs at GM. About one-third of their people are on indefinite layoff and those people pledge."
The agencies most affected are the Thornton Memorial Boys Club, Limestone Girls Club and American Red Cross. The Boys Club and Girls Club will receive $35,500 this year, down from $52,000 each received in 2008.
The Red Cross will receive $16,000 this year, down from $25,000.
"The Boys and Girls clubs went way down," said Hamer. "They've traditionally received about half of our allocations and they still got about half of our allocations. It's not that we gave the money to someone else; it just wasn't there to give."
Jim Jackson, Boys Club executive director, said he was braced for cuts, "but not that severe."
In about 10 years, he said, the Boys Club annual allocation has shrunk from a high of about $82,000 to the current amount. Part of that was to even up the funding United Way gave to the Boys Club and Girls Club but the last few years, there has been less to allocate. Jackson said the club had never fully recovered financially from previous cuts in funding.
"We've already cut things from our budget because we've been getting less," he said. "You hate to start raising fees because that's not what we're here for. We're going to have to sit down and really look at this whole picture."
With the baseball season just a few months away, he worries about paying for maintenance of Wiley Park.
"You have to buy brick dust and you have to pay those umpires," he said.
Just up the street at the Girls Club, Gwen Turner, executive director, was mulling over how to maintain services without cutting staff or operating hours.
"Our summer camp will be cut for sure. We won't be able to go the full eight weeks now," she said. "We will look to grants to replace some funding. The homework program will continue, but we probably won't do as many arts projects because there will be no money for materials. We re-evaluated our staffing hours already in anticipation of potential cuts but we may have to do more."
The final campaign tally was $243,000, which was about 75 percent of goal, said Hamer.
In determining the allocation figure, Hamer said the board had to figure in that 20 percent of the pledges would not come in because of job losses and layoffs between now and the end of the fiscal year.
"Typically, that number is between 5 and 7 percent, but we are assuming we won't see 20 percent because of layoffs," she said. "Now, if that does come in, we'll reallocate that."
Cuts were not made across the board. Two agencies, Lawrence InterFaith Endeavor and Community Health and Wellness, received the same funding as in 2008.
"They scored highest in serving those basic needs in the community," she said. "They are doing a great job with the money we give them serving a great need. The allocations committee felt they couldn't be reduced."
Jackson and Turner said they are optimistic a joint fundraising campaign, It Just Takes One, the clubs will launch in March will make up for the funding cuts.
"I'm not totally disheartened because I'm excited about our joint campaign," Turner said.
"The community has always been good to us," said Jackson. "That's how we've survived."