United Way Grants Rise for 1st Time Since 1990

Marking an upturn for an organization hit hard by tough economic times and corporate downsizing, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles said Thursday that for the first time since 1990 it will increase the amount of money it awards to local charities this year.

The increase in giving is the result of a more aggressive fund-raising campaign that solicited thousands of new volunteers and targeted a largely untapped market of ethnic businesses and organized labor groups, officials said.

“We really worked hard this year to get the message out to people about how important giving is and it really paid off,” United Way President Joseph V. Haggerty said. “It’s not a complete turnaround, and we still face a lot of challenges as a community . . . but we did turn the numbers up.”

The nonprofit group, which helps to fund more than 250 health and social welfare organizations, received $58 million during its 1995-96 fund-raising drive, an increase of $1 million over the previous year. A total of $45 million will be distributed to charities in 1996-97, a 2% increase over last year.

While it represents a modest boost, it follows five years of declines since 1990-1991 when the organization raised $91 million. Since then, grants have been slashed a total of 41%, forcing some nonprofit groups to cut programs and seek money from individual donors or foundations.

“Our funding had gone down every year for the past five years,” said Lonna Grant, office manager for the Burbank Center for the Retarded, which last year received a $9,584 grant and this year will get $9,776. “We’re pleased that they met their campaign goals for this year and hope the trend continues.”

The agency’s fortunes have sagged in recent years, pummeled by the recession and criticism that its top officers had neglected fund-raising efforts and allowed overhead costs to consume money that should have gone to charities.

Recovery attempts were further complicated by a long-running scandal involving the former president of the United Way of America, William Aramony, who in 1995 was convicted on fraud and conspiracy charges. Though the local group sought to show that it was distinct from the national organization, fund-raising plummeted.

“Any scandal like that always hurts, but we want to move ahead and get the word out the money does stay here and is used locally,” said Haggerty, who was hired last year from the Phoenix United Way, where he won favorable notices for his fund-raising skills.