Lynn non-profits fear funding loss after Wall Street crashes

Non-profit organizations and charities in Massachusetts are concerned the financial demise of big Wall Street firms could translate to the loss of key benefactors on which they depend for funding.
“We just came back from a regional conference where that was a hot topic, especially since our national headquarters is on Wall Street,” said Patricia Driscoll, executive director of Girls Incorporated of Lynn.
“It isn’t so much in Lynn, but some of our other Girls Inc. groups have direct contact with these big companies.”
According to Driscoll, the Lynn Girls Inc. has formed a small working group to take a closer look at the problem. “We might not have the direct connection with Lehman Brothers or AIG, but other institutions are going to be affected, and this will have a domino effect,” she said. “So many institutions that we rely on for funding and cash donations, well, a lot of them won’t be in a position to do that ? individuals as well as companies. Some of the individuals have the affected companies in their stock portfolios.”
Driscoll said the leaders at Girls Inc. in Lynn “are concerned but not panicked” and focused on becoming more proactive when presenting options to their long-term corporate donors. “We are looking at how else they might contribute ? mentoring, providing volunteers, in-kind donations, strategic planning.”
Girls Inc. in Lynn is scheduled to open its new headquarters in May 2009, once the addition to the historic structure is completed. The relocation from its present quarters could present a funding opportunity.
“We’re going to be in a new neighborhood, in a new building, and that helps us think about what opportunities might be presented. There will be new people, new programs that we might want to deliver, and new income streams we might want to consider, like using the building for other purposes when the girls are in school. We have to think more like a business.”
Many local organizations depend on charitable contributions and corporate donations, from the Salvation Army to Catholic Charities to the Greater Lynn YMCA.
Ted Ball, president of the Greater Lynn YMCA Board of Directors, has taken a wait-and-see approach to the financial fallout. “It’s a little early to say what might happen. The dust hasn’t settled, but at the Y as well as at any non-profit, there’s very much concern. Money is going to be tightening up and donations with it,” he said.
Like others at the head of non-profit organizations, Ball said he would look for viable options. “I think there will be a trickle-down effect, so that even the guy running the small business, who may have been a lucrative donor in the past, will be looking more closely at what he can afford to give over the next couple of years.”
The Wall Street meltdown is likely to impact donations to non-profit organizations large and small, including giants like the United Way.
“It’s all related,” said Ball. “The big corporations regularly contribute to the United Way, which, in turn, gives to other non-profs.”
Mark Kennard, executive director of Project COPE in Lynn, said millions of dollars will no longer be available to non-profit organizations as a result of the financial tumble. “We don’t receive donations directly from any of those big institutions, but we see the writing on the wall,” he said. “We’re all concerned about the level of corporate donations. Generally speaking, local businesses are just getting tapped out (by requests for financial support).”
To compound the situation, non-profit organizations are further concerned that the current state budget deficit could spell cuts to human services.
“We’re bracing for the loss of corporate donations and at the same time the possible loss of government assistance. It’s not going to be a pretty time at all,” said Kennard. “And if you add to that the referendum Question No. 1 on the ballot, eliminating the state income tax, you may find an even more difficult time for non-profits.”
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