LORAIN — Despite collecting slightly less money than a year ago, United Way of Greater Lorain County announced Friday it is distributing the same amount of money to program services as it did in 2008.

Fifty-one health and human service programs at 27 Lorain County agencies will receive $1.6 million for the 2009-10 funding cycle that begins July 1 and ends June 30, 2010. The largest allocations will go to agencies including Neighborhood House Association ($184,797), American Red Cross ($149,255) and Catholic Charities Services of Lorain County ($106,931).

Another $409,000 going to various agencies is money previously designated for specific programs by donors.

United Way was able to maintain its level of funding by trimming staff and salaries, according to Gerald Skully, executive director for United Way of Greater Lorain County.

“We literally looked at each line item and did what we had to do to make the allocations match last year,” he said. “We had to make sure programs and services were made whole, that people are served. That is our first priority.”

In the end, the agency reduced one of its eight staff positions to a half-time post and imposed a 2 percent pay cut.

Keenly aware of thousands of county residents struggling to find jobs, pay bills and keep families together under the increasing strain of hard times, United Way looked first to fund programs that provide for basic needs, including food, safe, affordable living quarters and crisis intervention.

Skully said the agency is seeing up to a 20 percent rise in the number of people needing some degree of help.

“You take away jobs and it takes away hope,” he said. “People are depressed and dealing with family issues and conflicts. It can all start unraveling.”

Older people and children are typically the most vulnerable in hard times, and programs assisting them are pushed harder when the economy turns sour, Skully said.

Collections for 2009 were less than $100,000 behind the $2.8 million raised in 2008, according to Skully.

“Even with an uncollectable 8.5 percent, we were still able to distribute $2.1 million,” he said.

The difference between the $2.8 million collected during the campaign that concluded in March, and the $2.1 million in distributions is primarily taken up by the agency’s $716,000 operating budget, Skully said.

The 8.5 percent in uncollectable money represents $203,000 in initial pledges that will not be forthcoming, which is not unusual, Skully said.

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.

UNITED WAY DISTRIBUTION
(Amounts listed represent the total allocations to the organizations)
American Red Cross of Lorain County — $149,255
Arthritis Foundation — $17,086
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Lorain County — $38,500
Boys & Girls Club of Lorain County — $75,000
Catholic Charities Services of Lorain County — $106,931
Children’s Developmental Center — $120,000
Cleveland Hearing & Speech Community Services — $27,000
El Centro de Servicios Sociales — $111,700
FAITH House — $35,000
Family Planning Services of Lorain County — $80,715
Girl Scouts of Erie Shores — $40,000
Heart of OhIo Council, BSA — $56,250
LEAP — $36,400
The Linden School — $20,500
Lorain County Alcohol & Drug Abuse Services — $41,155
Lorain County Office on Aging — $51,951
Lorain County Safe Harbor — Genesis House — $52,000
Lorain County Urban League — $43,076
Lorain County Volunteer Guardianship — $17,900
Lucy Idol Center — $58,000
Neighborhood House Association — $184,797
Nord Center — $94,672
Save Our Children — $29,000
Second Harvest Food Bank — $65,000
YWCA of Elyria — $27,000
Common Ground — $12,000

Legal Aid Society — $15,000

Total allocated: $1,605,887
Total approved by board: $1,672,283
Amount unallocated: $12,396

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