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United Way cuts allocations as donations wane By JONEL ALECCIA Mail Tribune United Way of Jackson County has cut allocations to its members by 10 percent across the board, following decreased contributions in a year marked by Boy Scout turmoil and national tragedy. That's the bad news. The good news, an official said Thursday, is that overall donations are off only 2 percent from last year in a campaign that had the misfortune to begin on Sept. 11, the day terrorists struck America. Pledges and receipts totaled $853,960 - or 76 percent of a $1.12 million goal - by Thursday, when the agency held its annual volunteer thank-you ceremony. Last year at this time, the total was 78 percent of goal, said Dee Anne Everson, executive director. "To get to mid-November and be where we are is such a tribute to this community," Everson said. "Given this year, we knew we'd be impacted by the Boy Scout decision. We didn't know about Sept. 11." The United Way board of directors in March cut funding by 15 percent to the local Boy Scouts of America chapter to protest the youth organization's national policy against hiring homosexual leaders. The move drew marked criticism and support locally, and sparked a grass-roots fund drive that raised more than $30,000 for the Scouts. It's unclear whether or by how much United Way might miss its overall mark, said Everson. Some longtime donors - United Airlines, for example - eliminated or delayed annual United Way campaigns in the wake of the tragedy; others diverted funds to national efforts. The downturn in the national and local economies is also affecting overall donations, she said. "No one will know where we're going to be until early next year," said Everson, who is president of the United Way association in Oregon. Elsewhere in the state, United Way chapters have posted significant deficits; some have extended their public campaigns by two months to make up the loss, she said. In the meantime, across-the-board cuts to 34 local member agencies was a way to ensure continued funding for all, Everson said. She noted that the agency began the cuts by eliminating an internal administrative post. "What we did was make a really prudent decision," she said. But she acknowledged that for the social service agencies affected, cuts of any size are painful. Community Works, a Medford social service agency, will take the largest hit, losing $11,300 of its annual $113,479 allocation, which funds key programs including The Grove, Dunn House, Family Focus and HelpLine. "The decision was made to spread the cuts across the programs," said Ed Roussell, Community Works' development director. "No one program will take more than a $2,000 hit." Still, losing $2,000 could mean cutting staff time for advocates who work with abused women, for example. Other United Way agencies that receive smaller amounts said they would turn to the community for help. Chris Mason, director of the Addictions Recovery Center in Medford, said losing $1,100 of her annual $11,127 fund will force more public fund raising. For the Crater Lake Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the 10 percent cut comes atop the 15 percent cut authorized last spring. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Scouts' right to ban homosexual leaders. Director Ed Weiseth said the current cuts are cushioned by public donations and by proceeds from a golf tournament that raised more than $20,000 a week after the Sept. 11 attacks. "It hurts us, just like it does all the other agencies," Weiseth said. "But it's not just the Scouts. This is an across-the-board cut; it's the only responsible thing to do." Reach reporter JoNel Aleccia at 776-4465, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.