Economy Squeezes Charities, Arts Groups

Activities Scaled Back, Canceled as Gifts Fall

Arts and humanitarian organizations in Calvert County are feeling the trickle-down effect of the tough economy.

Attendance was down at a golf tournament to raise money for the Arc of Southern Maryland, which offers support to those with disabilities. The board of directors for a local cancer awareness organization is paying for the group's overhead out of its own pockets. And "Springtime in Calvert -- A Community Art Fair," planned for this weekend, was canceled.

"There just wasn't enough sponsorship. It was the money," said Kathleen R. Sears, executive director of the Arts Council for Calvert County.

Many regular sponsors for events at Annmarie Garden Sculpture Park and Arts Center in Solomons have cut the amount they give, director Stacey Hann-Ruff said. At the same time, the demand has increased for many of the garden's activities, which are inexpensive or free, she said.

Similar reports of reduced donations and higher demand are cropping up throughout the area, including at area food banks.

"One of the things I do know about Southern Maryland: There is a core group of businesses that tend to support the nonprofits, and all of them are development people," Hann-Ruff said. "Calvert County doesn't have huge corporations, so we all hit up the same people."

Brooke Kaine, president and owner of Kaine Homes, has given generously to county organizations in the past. Although he is standing by his multiyear commitment of $25,000 to the College of Southern Maryland's performing arts series, he has cut back on most cash donations, he said.

"We gave time, material, equipment and personnel instead of the hard dollars," said Kaine, describing a few recent in-kind donations to area schools and a hospice. "I know I have done some stuff on a small level out of my personal funds . . . but nothing on the scale we were used to doing."

Patricia Blackford, a certified public accountant in Dunkirk, said her clients are reducing their donations from $2,500 to $1,000 or less. Her clients, primarily small businesses in the county, have even eliminated coupons for free oil changes or discounted haircuts, she said.

"I've watched some of my businesses go under because they cannot continue to keep the doors open," said Blackford, who as a board member for the Brem Foundation to Defeat Breast Cancer has been paying the bills along with her colleagues to keep the organization running.

"Money is not coming through the door like it once did, so we are not necessarily able to do what we used to," she said.

Carolyn McHugh, president and chief executive of the Calvert County Chamber of Commerce, agreed.

"It is a vicious cycle," she said. "When the economy is tight is when sponsorships and people's personal donations decrease. When times are flush and donations are rolling in, people are employed and are not using the services as much."

She said many businesses have dropped their membership in the chamber, which tried to brace itself by offering special sponsorship packages to its members to maintain funding levels.

McHugh said some corporations are trying to withhold funding on events that will be least noticed by the public. "A business might be a little bit concerned if they were a big sponsor of something like a concert, maybe more so than an event that might raise money for health and human services," she said.

Harriet Yaffee, director of the Arc of Southern Maryland, said some companies are restricting their donations to causes that meet their core mission. Her group is in the middle of a capital campaign for a new building.

Despite the reduced funding from corporate groups, Yaffee said the availability of more qualified workers is one positive side of the otherwise grim economic situation.

"We are attracting people we wouldn't have attracted if they weren't unemployed or having difficulty finding a job," she said.