More News

Banks are getting their bailout, but local charities aren't sure anyone is coming to rescue them.

In Montgomery County, the Salvation Army has fielded about 1,000 more calls this year for help in paying housing, utility and food bills, said Capt. Michael Rojas.

Meanwhile, donations have slowed, including a 15 percent decline in donations through the mail, Rojas said.

"We're seeing a real need amongst people on fixed incomes, including the elderly and disabled, because they are having to spend more for gas and food," he said.

"Our big concern is our Christmas kettle campaign, which makes up about a tenth of our annual budget," Rojas added.

The Salvation Army is just one of several local charities struggling to meet growing demand with fewer resources.

Many donors' investments were hit hard by stock market losses, but many charities depend entirely on contributions and do not have investments or endowments to draw on.

The impact of the economic downturn on charities is being felt in a number of ways.

For example, emergency calls to the Capital Area Food Bank's Hunger Lifeline increased 248 percent from April through September compared with the same six-month period last year, said Kasandra Gunter Robinson, its senior director of marketing.

Besides providing food, the food bank refers callers to about 700 nonprofit partner groups that serve meals and give groceries to needy residents throughout the Washington region.

At a recent meeting, food bank partners reported that lines at their doors are getting longer and forming earlier, Robinson said.

Corporate giving to the food bank has decreased, monetary donations from individuals have increased and direct food donations are down, leaving the agency to have to buy more food to stock its shelves, she said.

Checkout lines at Goodwill's local thrift stores are busier. Spending there is up about 2 percent, and donations are up about 3 percent, said Brendan Hurley, vice president of marketing and communication for Goodwill of Greater Washington.

Regular Goodwill customers seem to be doing more of their total buying in the charity's secondhand shops, including ones in Rockville and Gaithersburg, he said.

Hurley said he expects to see more new faces checking out Goodwill goods if the economy does not improve.

Habitat for Humanity will dedicate a dozen new homes in Burtonsville over the weekend — built with the "sweat equity" of new owners as well as the work and gifts of donors.

But with foreclosed houses flooding the market and home prices down, donations from one of the organization's strongest supporters — homebuilders — have dropped "at least" by half, said Barbara I. Mason, director of development for Habitat in Montgomery.

Individuals also are cautious, but "with the giving season right around the corner, we're asking the community to help make up for losses on the corporate end," Mason said.

Many donors' investments were hit hard by stock market losses, but many charities, including Habitat, depend entirely on contributions and do not have investments or endowments to draw on.

At the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, concerns are rising.

Donations are down about 26 percent for the year so far, said Sarah Mahin, the group's development and communications director.

"We're getting a lot more calls (for assistance) — double or triple [the level] of the past few years," Mahin said.

How many more people are homeless will be clearer when shelters open their doors for expanded service Nov. 1, she said. Seven shelters are located in the county.

Finding permanent or transitional housing to move people out of shelters has gotten tougher already, Mahin said, because foreclosures have pushed more people into the rental market.

At the Montgomery County Volunteer Center, which coordinates efforts of many charitable groups, "I'm always worried," said Ann Evans, program manager.

Last year, when donations were expected to be down, they held fairly steady, she said.

Deadlines for donations to provide Thanksgiving meals and December holiday needs are Oct. 31 and Dec. 31, respectively, she said.

So far this year, referrals for help, which come largely from social workers and school counselors, are about the same as last year.

Although the federal government provides a more stable, more recession-resistant regional economy, federal workers also lost money through investment plans.

The annual effort to get federal employees to pledge part of their paycheck to charities — the Combined Federal Campaign — has just begun at some agencies, and it's "too early to tell" how much will come in, said Michael Orenstein, a spokesman for the Office of Personnel Management.

Federal employees in the Washington region pledged more than $60 million in 2006, the most recent year for which totals are available, he said.