As the economy went south, so did donations to charities

Charitable donations have shrunk both locally and nationally with the economic downturn, but fundraisers say it could have been worse.

Charitable giving fell 2 percent nationwide last year, to about $308 billion from $314 billion in 2007, according to a national survey released today.

"This relatively small drop in giving demonstrates that even in a challenging economy, Americans are amazingly generous," said Keith Curtis, a fundraising consultant in Virginia Beach. Curtis sits on the board of Giving USA Foundation, which issued the report.

United Way of South Hampton Roads also has experienced a drop in contributions. It raised $11.5 million in its public campaign last year - a decrease of $500,000, or 4 percent - CEO Mike Hughes said.

The decline wasn't deeper "because the economy is a little bit better here than it is in other places," Hughes said.

Nationally, religious organizations defied the downward trend, with a 5.5 percent increase in contributions, the report said. Among other charitable groups, human services fared the worst, with a 12.5 percent decline.

The charitable squeeze has shaken some local nonprofit groups.

Samaritan House, a Virginia Beach shelter for homeless families and those that have suffered domestic abuse, budgeted $8,000 to $10,000 a month for donations in the $25-to-$200 range, said Ruth Hill, the executive director. Since September, the monthly total has languished at about $2,000.

"People are just a little bit fearful and holding back because they don't know what the future holds," said Hill, who launched a drive targeting big donors.

The dip in United Way giving translates to a $120-per-month funding cut at Meals on Wheels in Chesapeake, coordinator Lois Jack said. With growing numbers seeking help, "that might mean less people we can subsidize," she said.

The study, compiled by Indiana University, said this was the second time donations fell since the report was launched in 1956. The first time was in 1987.

Curtis, president of the Curtis Group, said the overall decline wasn't larger because the stock market suffered its worst losses later in the year.

"Fifty percent of giving in this country comes from high-net-worth individuals," he said, "and many were giving throughout the year."

Human-services agencies might have suffered disproportionately, Curtis said, because "many don't have a fundraising structure in place. They don't have the volunteers and staff who can go out."

Religious organizations, he said, were cushioned by weekly donations from parishioners. Also, "whether it's your church, your mosque, your synagogue, you're there. A nonprofit like a homeless shelter, an arts organization, a food bank, a college - you may have an attachment to it, but you're not there participating in the daily or weekly life of it."

Catholic Charities of Eastern Virginia, though, suffered a decline in aid from church collections, CEO Dominick Calgi said. It also will lose about $50,000 in the next fiscal year from United Way.

A $40,000 emergency grant last year from The Norfolk Foundation staved off cuts, Calgi said.

ForKids, which helps homeless families, last fall took over a shelter in Suffolk. To help cover additional expenses, it cut nearly $600,000 in "enriched services," such as arts and adult education, executive director Thaler McCormick said.

The agency budgeted growth in contributions from $1.1 million in fiscal 2008 to $1.5 million this fiscal year, which ends this month. Donations have risen but are still $108,000 short, McCormick said.

"We have to do twice the work for half the gift," she said.

Others also have enjoyed donation increases. Edmarc Hospice for Children in Portsmouth grew to $900,000 from $800,000 last fiscal year, executive director Debbie Stitzer-Brame said.

Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia also expects an increase in financial donations, chief development officer Marianne Smith said. But food donations have fallen while the number of clients has risen, to 334,000 from 225,000 last year.

Smith, like officials at other agencies, worries about the coming year: "We've still got to meet that increased need."

Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com