Money woes at Operation Bootstrap

LYNN – Local non-profit Operation Bootstrap is in serious financial trouble and could drastically cut programs or shut its doors this summer if donors do not come forward with financial aid.Executive Director Donald Edwards confirmed Monday that the organization, which provides education, job training and language support for immigrants and those without a high school diploma, is struggling to make ends meet as the cost of running programs has now exceeded the revenue coming in.Operation Bootstrap is responsible for several programs spread across the city and employs 28 people, all of which is funded through state aid and private donations.While state aid has remained level-funded to this point, Edwards said private donations have fallen off and the amount of money trickling in is not enough to support all of the organization’s programs and employees as costs rise.Edwards planned to meet with board members Monday night to discuss options, but said that closing is a last resort and he is not ready to shut the doors just yet.”We have some cash-flow problems, but I wouldn’t go quite that far (to say the organization is closing),” he said. “The state funding is pretty much level-funded, but our expenses are much higher than our cash flow. So we are trying to contact anyone who could help us.”Edwards said that raising $50,000 would be good, but $100,000 would be “ideal” for keeping the organization running at full capacity going forward.Board members say they are very concerned about the situation with the finances and acknowledged a meeting to discuss “all options” but none said they wanted to see the organization disappear.”The situation is that Bootstrap is in serious financial difficulty at the moment,” said board member Donald Stewart. “(The economy) is clearly some of it. We are in a situation where the expenses of providing the services to the community is basically exceeding our revenue.”Other members say Bootstrap may have expanded programs a bit too fast and may be trying to do too much in a time when there is not enough money.”I don’t want to see it close, it is a good program that offers good services for needy clients in the city,” said board member Joseph Boyd. “We need to continue it. But we have been doing more than we can do in terms of programs and it has eaten away at the reserves we had. So we are in some trouble.”Both Boyd and Steward say that programs may need to be cut back to save the organization as a whole, but were not sure of the detail of the cuts pending an meeting of all members Monday night.”Some people have been kind of quick to suggest shutting down,” said Edwards. “But we have a staff here and students coming in here and the last thing any of them need is to hear that they don’t have a program to come to or they don’t have a job.”Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr., who has been working with non-profits in the city recently to keep the lines of communication open when it comes to the economy, said he had heard rumors about Operation Bootstrap’s demise, something that many non-profits have had to deal with in this economic climate.”It is just like any other place in the city,” he said. “The non-profits are really struggling.”For Stewart, saving the organization will have to be about creativity among the board members, something he hoped to address at Monday’s meeting.”We have a meeting of the board to see what our options would be,” he said. “So we will be looking at everything, all of the options and trying to be creative at the same time.”Edwards said there was no timetable on when the organization would close if things stay the same, but asked any potential donors to be in contact with him at 781-599-8543 to discuss potential donation options.