Nonprofits upset by funding cuts

Nonprofits in Grand Forks are reacting to the City Council's proposed diversion of $200,000 in funding from the nonprofits to poor homeowners to help pay for street repairs.

The way I hear it, maybe "reacting" is a little too neutral. They're flabbergasted, indignant, agonized, mad as heck, etc.

In an earlier post, I said that this looks like taking from the poorest -- the homeless, the disabled -- to give to the poor. United Way president Pat Berger thinks so, too. I chatted with her for a while today having been unable to reach her for a response on Monday night, when the council proposed the funding cut.

The thing I was most surprised by -- though I shouldn't have been, having written about similar cuts in the past -- is that the $200,000 is not the only impact to nonprofits. What they do is use that money to get more money. A lot of foundations and agencies that make grants to nonprofits require a local match. So you can imagine how one of these nonprofit directors feel when she or he hears about the cuts.

The other surprise is that nonprofits might not save that much money if they consolidate. Council President Hal Gershman, who spearheaded the funding cuts, said he's hoping the nonprofits will make up for the loss of funding by consolidating.

Berger said she's looked into this. There would be some savings but not as much as you'd think. Nonprofits can't share receptionists because the agencies are already lean as can be and receptionists often have a bunch of other jobs.