Area charities are trying to do as much as possible with fewer resources. In a slow economy, donations go down but demand for assistance goes up.
By ROBERT FARLEY
Published December 14, 2003
[Times photos: Libby Volgyes]
Emily Atkins, 6, of Safety Harbor, spends Saturday morning putting away macaroni and cheese her Brownie troop, No. 1112 of Palm Harbor collected for FEAST. FEAST, Food Emergency and Services Team in Palm Harbor, provides bags of grocerries to 1,600 families a month. The troop earned its community service patch by bringing in donated food and wrapping donated presents.
Local charities are struggling to keep up with demand. Organizations such as Religious Community Services food pantry still help families like that of Noah Cruz, 2, left, and his brother Isiah who handle the groceries while mother Pamela, right rear, picks up baby supplies.
Walter Anderson runs a Palm Harbor charity called FEAST that distributes groceries to the poor, but sometimes he feels like his organization is getting hit from all sides.
Like all charities, FEAST suffered through a sharp downturn in charitable contributions after Sept. 11, 2001. That rut continued through a bad economy the following year.
Its United Way funding was drastically cut last year, and may now be eliminated altogether.
And this year, after getting bumped from its old rent-free home, the Palm Harbor charity had to pay rent for the first time in its 21-year history.
On top of all that, there has been a 75 percent increase in the number of people coming in. FEAST, Food Emergency and Services Team, now provides bags of groceries to 1,600 families - 3,000 people - a month.
Here's the thing about most charitable organizations: When times are bad, donations go down while demand for services goes up.
It's a reality that all area charities have struggled with over the last two years. Now, however, with signs of an improving economy, some local charities say they are finally starting to see an uptick in giving. Others, like FEAST's Anderson, say they still are getting hammered.
But all charities have this in common: the holiday season will be critical. It is the time when most people give. And it will be the surest indication of whether struggling charities may finally be turning the corner toward returning to normalcy.
Stephany Dawson, a spokeswoman for Religious Community Services in Clearwater, sees signs that a bad couple of years for charities such as hers may be ending.
Donations during October and November came to $71,069. That's $21,694 more than it raised during the same two-month period last year.
"It really is encouraging," Dawson said.
December is the most critical month. Typically about 50 percent of the donations received during the year come in the three months ending with December.
"I do think the economy is coming around," she said. "For a couple years, some people weren't able to help, but they are back now helping out."
The upswing couldn't come at a better time for RCS, which operates domestic violence programs, a food pantry and other programs in northern Pinellas County. With donations down and demand for services way up, RCS ran a deficit of $400,000 over the last two years.
"We had two very bad years," Dawson said. "We've got a long ways to go, but this shows we're going in the right direction."
Diana Baker, president and chief executive of United Way of Tampa Bay, said fundraising has been a mixed bag this year. Some fundraisers are enjoying double digit increases. Others are struggling.
"Overall, we're tracking pretty much on par with last year," she said.
Still, Baker sees reason for hope, mostly due to an improving economy.
"I do sense we are on the verge of an upswing," she said. "We haven't seen a lot of results of that yet. It's kind of a slow, steady improvement."
That's what Mary Lou Guthart, director of the St. Vincent DePaul soup kitchen in Clearwater, sees, too.
Donations to the soup kitchen, which serves close to 250 people a day, are up slightly from this time last year. After a tough couple of years, that's good news, she said.
"I think we may be starting to come out of it," Guthart said.
Anderson is seeing no such turnaround at FEAST. Annual donations used to come in at a steady $30,000 per year, but dropped off to $24,000 in 2001 and stayed there last year. This year, donations are lagging slightly behind even last year's numbers.
FEAST has had to cut back on the amount of fresh meat it was able to give out.
"We just don't have the money for it," Anderson said.
FEAST is supported by 18 churches and several other civic groups. It also used to get $17,000 a year from the United Way. With donations to the United Way down, though, their allotment was scaled back to $2,000 last year.
"This year, I don't think we're getting anything," Anderson said.
But they'll manage, he said.
"We eke it out every month as best we can," he said.
Family Service Centers Inc., which is headquartered in Clearwater, also took a hit from reduced United Way funding last year. Its allotment was cut by $168,000.
"That was quite a significant hit for our organization," said David Kirk, CEO of Family Service Centers.
It forced the agency to seek out new funding sources to overcome those losses, he said. As a result, he said, charitable giving is up slightly from last year.
This month will be crucial, he said.
"This is the time of year we rally count on," Kirk said. "It is too early to tell if it is turning around. The holiday season will give us some indication of whether it will."
