Priorities shift in social services funding

McALLEN - Cities are increasingly shying away from paying salaries at the nonprofits they have traditionally supported as federal funding for community services continues to decrease.

"I see them giving less and less to social service agencies and more money to construction," Estella DeAnda, executive director of Mujeres Unidas, which helps victims of domestic abuse and family violence. "The fact is nonprofits are competing with each other. We're all providing viable services and we're all fighting for those state and federal dollars."

McAllen is set to distribute $1.9 million this year through the Community Development Block Grant program, by far the largest amount of any city in Hidalgo County. But that figure is down 33 percent from 2001, and the city is now giving preference to what Community Development Director M. Piedad Martinez called in a memo, "tangible materials and services."

"With limited resources, the more we can leverage for direct service to the community the better, rather than just funding salaries," said Sam Saldivar Jr., chairman of the McAllen Community Development Board, a residents advisory board.

The crux for many nonprofits is that their other income streams, state and federal grants and private donations, are also dwindling.

Mujeres Unidas, which runs a shelter for battered women and rape victims, has already received a preliminary denial from McAllen on its request for $20,800 toward the salary of a crisis intervention counselor. DeAnda said the organization would have to consider downsizing if its efforts to reverse the decision are unsuccessful.

"Everything - state grants, federal grants - is being cut back," she said. "For nonprofits like us, our direct services require that we have staff that are well trained. And for that we need to pay."

The senior citizen services provider Amigos Del Valle Inc., one of the Rio Grande Valley's largest nonprofits, only received $10,000 of its $30,000 request to McAllen to help cover the cost of salaries and food for its Meals on Wheels program.

"Hopefully the cities will start contributing more," said Executive Director Joe Garza. "If (that doesn't happen) we need to make some changes in how we operate our program."

Administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Community Development Block Grant program provides annual grants on a formula basis to large cities, urban counties and states.

These grants are intended to help develop viable urban communities by providing decent housing and a suitable living environment, and by expanding economic opportunities, principally for low- and moderate-income people. By law, only 15 percent of the program money can go to social services, largely represented by private nonprofits.

For years, organizations came to rely on that funding to help cover their payrolls. But now that money is more likely to go toward the purchase of food for low-income families, a McAllen Food Pantry project that Saldivar cited as an example of where he wanted CDBG money spent in the future.

"For the (nonprofits) to believe they're going to get funding in perpetuity, it's not realistic. That's not how businesses and organizations work," Saldivar said. "All of these social services are important, but unfortunately we have to make some choices."

The trend in McAllen, which has been developing for much of the last decade, is much the same in cities across the county.

Pharr, for one, has scaled back grant funding for salaried positions, said Javier Rodriguez, that city's planning and community development director.

And Mission went so far as to deny all funding requests for salaries this year, to devote money to that city's low-income housing program, said Jo Anne Longoria, the city's community development director.

"Last year we did (fund salaries), but we had that big cut and we had to eliminate some services to meet our priorities," she said. "If our funding goes up, maybe that will change."
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James Osborne covers McAllen and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4428.