Funds to Be Available to Assist Area Poor

IRVINE —  At a time when services to the poor and needy have been sliced because of federal cutbacks and failed investment policies by Orange County, United Way is making $2 million in grants available to nonprofit groups this year--three times the amount given last year, officials said Friday.

The money will be given to agencies that provide six specific services to the poor, ranging from housing for the homeless to health services for the indigent, said United Way of Orange County spokesman Jeff Urbaniec.

He said the money became available because of administrative changes and not because donations have increased from the previous year.

Donations, he said, are lagging behind projections.

Both United Way-affiliated agencies and non-affiliated agencies will be eligible to apply for the money, which will not have to be paid back, he added.

A task force of United Way officials said groups that provide services in the following fields will be eligible for grants: homelessness, child care and development, community building, health services, family violence prevention and youth development.

Barbara Johnson, executive director of Fullerton Interfaith Emergency Services, welcomed the announcement. The group, a coalition of Fullerton churches and synagogues not affiliated with the United Way, provides shelter for homeless families.

“We’re definitely going to apply. When they prioritize the issues and homeless is at the top, we fit right in. This is good news for us and other agencies,” said Johnson.

Grant proposal forms will become available on Jan. 25 and must be completed by March 1. Funding will begin on a monthly basis beginning July 1, said Urbaniec.

Many of the agencies expected to apply lost funding after the county declared bankruptcy in December 1994.

Urbaniec said the increased funding will be offered even though the organization is falling behind in its goal to raise $19.7 million in employee contributions for 1996.

The fund-raising effort, which ends Feb. 8, is past the midway point and donations are about 15% below what had been projected for this time when the drive began on Sept. 15, Urbaniec said.

Despite fewer contributions, Urbaniec said the extra funding is coming from money that was previously intended to pay for administrative costs of the member agencies.

“We shifted the money in order to support some critical programs in the community,” said Urbaniec. “We went through a lengthy process of assessments and needs in the community, and now we’re looking for nonprofit agencies out there who are doing the best work in the community and need help.”

Also on Friday, United Way officials said they expect to increase the amount of money set aside for emergency loans to nonprofit groups to $550,000 from the present $250,000. Urbaniec said the extra money will come from funds committed to the program by several large Orange County corporations.

That announcement came at an opportune time for several agencies that provide services to elderly poor residents. The agencies were notified Friday they will not receive federal funding because of the budget impasse in Washington.

The Orange County Council on Aging, a private nonprofit group that contracts with Orange County to represent the needs of 21,000 elderly citizens living in care facilities, was one of about six agencies notified by county officials that they will not receive funding for services provided after Friday.

A letter from the county’s Community Services Agency advised the group that because Congress has failed to pass a budget, “the County of Orange cannot reimburse you for the services [provided] on and after Jan. 5.” The county distributes federal monies to various agencies funded under the U.S. Older Americans Act.

Council on Aging Executive Director Pamela McGovern said the news was “devastating.” Her agency, which has 16 part-time employees who assure that people living in local nursing and boarding homes are treated according to federal law, operates on a yearly budget of $300,000, of which 60% comes from federal funds.

“Our work is federally mandated, and as of today, we don’t have very many places to turn to for funding,” said McGovern. “We’ll have to give serious consideration to getting a loan from the United Way.”

Even before the stalled budget talks, McGovern said the agency was facing a $70,000 cut in funding next year.