Countywide : United Way to Cut Funding to Agencies

United Way of Ventura County, facing the largest drop in its budget in 42 years, will slash funding to all but a few of the 62 agencies it serves, the nonprofit agency announced Thursday.

The $2.6 million in grants recommended by United Way’s volunteer analysts is 27% less than the $3.5 million in funding the fund-raising umbrella agency parceled out last year.

United Way will also distribute $726,000 in funds to 310 agencies specified by the donors, and $608,000 in federal and state assistance funds.

While the typical member agency will receive $15,000 less this year, the recommended cuts were not uniform across the board, said Mervyn Kopp, the allocations vice chairman.

The recommendations were based on the need for the recipient’s program, the quality of the program, the agency’s effective use of resources and their financial management, Kopp said.

Just three agencies will receive an increase in United Way funds this year, if the recommendations are followed.

United Way will give $10,000 to the Turning Point Foundation, which did not receive any agency money last year.

Two other agencies, AIDS Care and Orthopaedic Hospital of Los Angeles, should receive modest hikes in their allocations. Contributions to all other agencies will drop by an average 28%, with the actual cuts as high as $83,000 for the American Red Cross, which will drop from $332,500 to $249,380.

Funding was cut by more than half to five agencies. Kopp blamed the impending closure of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Center and the poor financial health of Zoe Christian Center for the cutoff in funding to those groups.

About $11,000 that donors specified for the rape center will instead be given to Interface, which has agreed to underwrite a rape hot line that the rape center operated, Kopp said.

The insolvency of the Rape and Sexual Abuse Center forced the United Way board of directors on Thursday to establish a policy on how to distribute money donated for a specific agency that folds, he said. The board decided that in the future, the funds should instead go to “as like a service as possible,” Kopp said.