The news that the organization she manages faces yet another budget cut hadn’t quite sunk in yet for Jill Snyder, the executive director of the Mental Health Association in Kokomo.
The organization will receive almost $38,000 less than last year from United Way of Howard County. It was the largest cut in total dollar amount among United Way’s agencies.
“It’s not going to be easy. I’ll guarantee you,” Snyder said. “I’m a little surprised. We knew we would be cut. ... I don’t think people realize all the budget cuts affect the people we deal with. We’ll see more people walking the streets and not getting the services they need.”
United Way announced Tuesday it allocated a total of about $843,000 for 2010. The amount was about $65,000 less than last year.
Five of the 14 agencies in the county that United Way funds received cuts for this year.
The 7 percent allocations cut parallels a 7 percent shortfall in the Live United fundraising campaign.
United Way announced last week the campaign ended $100,000 shy of its $1.5 million fundraising goal for its Live United campaign.
The shortfall was part of an ongoing decline in donations. In 2008, the campaign raised $1.75 million of its $2 million goal.
Snyder said Tuesday it was too soon to know the long-term effects the funding losses would have. But they will pull money from the organization at a time when more people are needing its services, she said.
Lori Tate, president of United Way of Howard County, said the organization cut some of the funding because of discrepancies over how MHA spent some of its 2009 allocations.
United Way agencies sign contracts each year outlining details of how they will spend their allocations.
MHA spent more allocation money on its client assistance programs, Tate said. Other MHA programs have declined in clientele, so United Way allocated less money to those services, she said.
Snyder said MHA has begun focusing more on client assistance, as opposed to education outreach services in schools, because recent changes in Medicaid and food stamp laws have created more of a need for help from mentally disabled people.
“With what’s going on politically, changing food stamps and Medicaid allocations, that changes how our clients are able to apply for that kind of thing,” she said. “[We’ve] got [people] who can barely write a check and saying ‘You need to help me.’”
Second in 2010’s total cut size to MHA was Carver Community Center, which lost $11,000 in allocations compared to 2009.
A phone message left at Carver Community Center was not returned Tuesday afternoon.
Visiting Nurse Service lost all of its United Way funding. Last year, it received about $8,500.
“Basically, the $8,000 is a small piece, but it’s directly related back to the community,” said visiting Nurse CEO John Pipas. “Not getting it doesn’t kill us, but it’s not going back into the community.”
Tate said the agencies have 30 days to appeal their allocations cuts.
United Way is also facing internal budget cuts.
Tate said last week the organization plans to cut $110,000, which is an 18 percent budget cut.
• Daniel Human is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He can be reached at 765-454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.
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United Way cuts agency allocations
It’s a result of a shortfall in its Live United campaign
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