June 26, 2011 | Read Time: 1 minute
Janet Huerta, whose group provides services to victims of domestic or sexual violence, says she’s under more stress than ever before during her 20-year career.
Private donations to her group, Saving Grace, are up this year, but she says that doesn’t fully compensate for the uncertainty about government money, which accounts for 70 or 75 percent of the charity’s budget.
The charity’s caseload has increased by about 30 percent since 2007, while much of the money it gets from state and federal coffers has stayed flat or decreased since 2003.
Saving Grace, which has a $1.3-million budget, received almost $117,000 in federal economic-stimulus money in 2009, but that runs out in September. Ms. Huerta describes the situation as unnerving because she has to prepare budgets based on what she expects lawmakers to do—and never feels completely confident until she has signed contracts in her hands.
The growing pressure on both state and federal governments to cut spending has made things worse for organizations like hers.
The winter holiday season was a bright spot—the charity took in double what it expected in private donations. Ms. Huerta attributes that partly to a decision by the organization a few years ago to “rebrand” itself and change its name, which seems to be paying off.
She says Saving Grace was able to give staff members—who received no salary increases this year despite a growing workload—a small bonus this month.
But she worries about the current political environment, with some lawmakers questioning the value of government-provided social services. “This year virtually everything is unclear, she says. “I just have to accept that’s the way it is.”
