Double whammy

Economy | Needs are up and giving is down for nonprofits, but all is not gloomy | Mark Bergin

Associated Press/ Dan Young/Marshfield News Herald

For many nonprofit charities, economic recession delivers a two-pronged stick in the eye. Rising unemployment swells need for services. And the tightening of bank accounts shrinks donations.

That combination adds up to bleak headlines splattering the pages of newspapers throughout the country: "Food banks can't meet demand." "Dip in donations endangering Boys and Girls Club." "More need help, but fewer give to charities."

The news got only worse last month with prominent nonprofits announcing significant administrative layoffs. Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family let go 149 employees and eliminated another 53 unfilled positions, an 18 percent reduction in workforce. Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a group aimed at funding breast cancer research, trimmed staff at its Dallas headquarters by 16 percent. Smaller groups, like the American Lung Association and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, have made similar cuts.