Nonprofit agencies feel economic pinch

Area United Way officials defend method
of distributing available funds to groups

June 23, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

When representatives from the United Way of Greenwood and Abbeville Counties came to visit Greenwood PALS Mentors Executive Director Neil Crisp a few weeks ago, he expected the news to be disappointing.
But when the visitors told Crisp that his agency’s programs would be receiving less than half of the funding it requested from the United Way’s 2006-07 Community Investment Funding, it meant substantial changes were in store for the agency, which pairs adult volunteer mentors with local youths for one-on-one interaction.
“We were shocked and, in some ways, confused, but we accept it,” Crisp said. “We are part of the United Way system, and I feel like there is much wisdom out there, but we are now grappling with the issues of (operating at) quarter funding.” According to information from the United Way, PALS Jr./Sr. program was one of two programs that scored below 50 percent on evaluations performed by United Way volunteers, thus receiving only donor-designated gifts from the United Way’s 2006 Community Fund. The PALS Youth Enterprise program was funded at 49 percent of its request.
This is the second consecutive year United Way funding has dropped for PALS, Crisp said, which has forced the agency to look at reducing staff and occupancy. Its location, next to The Museum and Greenwood Community Theatre, is too expensive for the current budget, meaning it will have to move.
“The United Way understands and they are very sympathetic,” Crisp said, adding that he knows the funding decisions are made by volunteers who are supposed to speak for the community. “It is a community organization that is driven by volunteers, and the volunteers say what the community prioritizes.”
But a number of Community Investment Fund recipients have expressed concerns about the United Way’s distribution of money raised during the agency’s annual campaign, though agency officials insist the disbursal is accurate and fair.
In March, officials from the United Way of Greenwood and Abbeville Counties announced that donors had helped the agency reach its $1.7 million community campaign goal, with a surplus of about $9,000 passed along to the United Way of America’s Hurricane Katrina response fund, said Betty Cobb, director of resource development with the United Way.
That amount, she said, helped fund 32 programs of 28 local agencies in five community impact areas: Creating a Healthy Community, Educating Youths, Building a Vibrant Community, Caring for Families in Crisis and Nurturing Young Children.
To get those funds, programs are evaluated by United Way volunteers, who complete an evaluation form and make a site visit before assigning a numeric score to the program.
“For the last few years, we’ve done (the scoring) in quartiles, and those who scored highest would be scored at a slightly higher level than those who scored lower,” United Way Director of Community Impact Stacey Connors said. “It’s a competitive process, which is different.”
Some program representatives who spoke on conditions of anonymity with The Index-Journal said they had concerns that the evaluation process was somewhat flawed because the volunteers must grasp a program’s entire mission, goals and output in a very short amount of time.
“It’s like there is a group evaluating us as if they only do that for a living. These are lay people in the community,” one program representative said, adding that it puts stress on the program and the volunteers. “... You are supposed to educate them in an hour or two and get them totally on board with the history of (your program) and its needs.”
But Connors said volunteers receive training before evaluations begin, adding that it will take some time for programs to adjust to the scoring system, which is fairly new. She and Cobb said officials think the system is more objective and justifies how the campaign funds are distributed.
“I think it will be a much fairer process,” Cobb said.
Recipients of the 2006 Community Fund were placed into four tiers based on their scores, with the highest scorers being funded at 84 percent of their request, the next highest at 69 percent, 59 percent and finally 49 percent. Programs scoring under a certain level were awarded only donor-designated funds — those donations assigned to specific programs — the level in which the Pals Jr./Sr. program placed with Boy Scouts Scoutreach, though Boy Scouts received “additional funding.”
Programs in the “Nurturing Young Children” and “Educating Youth” impact areas received the smallest percentage of funding for the five impact areas, capturing 19 percent of the community investment funds total.
Crisp said youth-oriented programs can sometimes be difficult for volunteers to evaluate because of the nature of the programs and the people they serve.
“We understand the investments we are making now may not bear fruit or pay dividends for five, 10 or 15 years ... In social services ... (results and statistics) are a really difficult thing to put a finger on. It is especially difficult in youth organizations because you are not dealing with folks who can give you specific feedback,” Crisp said. “I don’t envy (the United Way volunteers) one bit trying to get their arms around social services-type programs. Maybe we all need to do a better job of telling them our story.”
Like Crisp, Sexual Trauma & Counseling Center (STCC) Executive Director Martha Busterna said the drop in her agency’s funding level — the STCC was funded at 59 percent of its request, and The Child’s Place, an umbrella program of the STCC, was funded at 69 percent — would have significant impact on the agency.
“It was a surprise and it is going to have a definite impact on our agency’s services,” Busterna said. “We were not aware that we were not going to be receiving at least what we got last year ... The (United Way) grants are critical because they fund the operations of our programs.”
Barbara Turnburke, manager of the American Red Cross’ Greenwood and Abbeville Service Center, which was funded this year in the top tier, agreed that the United Way funds are an important part of the agency’s operational budget.
“We were thrilled,” Turnburke said of the agency’s 84 percent funding level. “We were happy with what we got because there are a lot of organizations out there trying to get the same funds as you. (The programs) know going in that we may not get what we request.”
Though last year’s top-tiered recipients were funded at 100 percent of their requests, Connors said community investment panelists determined that, with close to $2 million in total requests, the agency needed to bring its quartiles down to numbers that would allow programs in lower tiers to receive adequate funding.
“Ideally, we’d love to start the top tier at 100 percent each year. It’s not that we funded a lot more programs, but it is that the requests we get from the programs are for more money,” she said, adding that it is not surprising programs are asking for more money in the wake of federal and state funding cuts. “Had we started the top tier at 100 percent, there would have been so little left for the lower tiers.”
Cobb said that because the programs must reapply for the grants each year, there are no “cuts” or “increases” in funding from year to year.
“We go back to zero base,” Cobb said.
But a number of program representatives said if they had known about the drop in percentages before they placed their requests, they might have adjusted their request amount.
“I don’t think anybody was prepared for the fact that no one in the entire United Way family was going to get 100 percent,” one representative said, adding that the drop in percentages could cause some programs to “pad their budget” to compensate for the difference.
Connors said some agency representatives did come to United Way officials to talk about the percentage differences, and she said United Way representatives initiated contact with those programs that were in a “significantly” different funding position than they had been in before.
“We did have partner agencies ask if it was because we were funding new programs, but that really wasn’t the case,” Connors said. “We did fund a couple of new programs that we hadn’t funded in the past, but we had a couple of programs that we traditionally fund who decided not to apply.
“It was really that the amount of the average request grows each year,” she added.
The two new programs getting funding from the United Way this year were Greenwood Healthy Learners and the Arts Council of Greenwood County Arts Reach, and each were capped at 25 percent of their request.
“(The volunteers) wanted to support the programs, but we didn’t want to invest a lot of money and then find out that they wouldn’t be here next year,” Connors said.
Connors said the United Way is “trying to provide as much assistance and support as we can in exploring additional funding for organizations,” though she cautioned that recipient agencies should never rely on just one source of funding to remain operational.
“We wish we could honor ever dollar that is requested. We really do,” Cobb added. “We’ve looked to see if we could do anything different to increase our resources to get new campaigns and increase the ones we already have in existence.”

PALS Mentors needs to find cheaper place to meet budget

June 23, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

For nearly 20 years, Greenwood PALS Mentors has been a fixture in Uptown Greenwood, sharing its home with the building complex that houses The Museum and the Greenwood Community Theatre.
But because of recent funding cuts, the agency, which provides support to local youths through volunteer mentors, is having to find a new location with lower occupancy costs.
“We are very pleased with our location, and we have not had a rent increase in the almost 20 years that we’ve been here,” PALS Executive Director Neil Crisp said, “but (rent and utilities) are a large enough portion of our budget that we feel we need to look elsewhere.”
Crisp said the agency, which is a type of big brother/big sister organization, has been eyeing locations at First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood and Main Street United Methodist Church, which he said have outreach facilities that could accommodate the group.
“That would keep us close to this location, but we are still working with them to decide,” Crisp said. “At some point, in the not too distant future, we hope to wind up at the Brewer Complex. That would be an excellent fit.”
The agency will have a moving sale from 9 a.m.-noon Saturday at PALS’ headquarters, Crisp said, and items including books, couches, tables, file cabinets and a pool table will sold to raise money that will help the agency extend its budget. “Virtually everything in here, except office necessities, will be on sale at a great bargain,” he said.
Crisp said the agency has not been operating with a full budget since learning its funding from the United Way of Greenwood and Abbeville Counties would not be what its directors had requested. One program that applied received no funding other than donor-designated gifts and another was funded at 49 percent of the request.
“We are still sort of numb in the sense that we only found out about it (the funding change) a month ago,” Crisp said, “so we are still grappling with issues like cutting occupancy (rent) and looking at staff.”
Crisp said PALS has seen a reduction in funding over the past several years, and the small-sized staff, which includes Youth Enterprise Program Coordinator Henry Watts and Youth Enterprise Program Manager Steve Odom, has been working at half salary for the past year. The more recent funding drops mean that some paid staff will have to be let go from the agency without the possibility of replacing them.
“By nature of being a volunteer organization, PALS needs volunteer coordinators who are both volunteers and hands-on people,” Crisp said. “Losing Steve and Henry will be a significant loss to the program.”
Crisp added that Odom and Watts had indicated they were prepared to retire before funding changes made their departures necessary. “In one sense that’s a good thing, but we won’t be able to replace them,” Crisp said, though he added that their deep commitment to the PALS program and strong character would have made it difficult to replace them anyway.
Crisp said PALS asks volunteers to commit about three hours a week to the program for a year, and about 25-35 volunteers work with about that many students in the program.
“We know the model we use is a centuries-old model that has proven itself time and time again — that is the model of one adult mentor with one young mentee,” Crisp said, adding that the system is the most efficient method of successfully reaching a child.
Crisp said the PALS program is vital to its participants because it provides them with at least a few hours of meaningful interaction with an adult each week.
“That’s probably the most time they’ve spent with an adult, one-on-one and face-to-face, that week,” he said. “These volunteers are really investing in those children and they are very special. The type of people PALS draws are extremely wonderful and unique.”
Though the agency is struggling through a sea of budget woes, Crisp said board members are working to keep PALS afloat.
“We are determined to stay,” he said. “We are going to hunker down, but we don’t anticipate being like this forever.”
For information about the PALS program, call 229-6889.

Post 20 beats Easley

June 23, 2006

By RON COX
Special to the Index-Journal

There’s just something about playing your archrival at home.
For the second time this season, the Greenwood Post 20 baseball team routed League VII nemesis Easley at the friendly confines of Legion Field.
Just five days after suffering a 10-run loss in Easley and 17 days after routing the team by 15 runs in Greenwood to start the season, Post 20 blasted Easley, 14-3, Thursday night, pounding out 17 hits — eight for extra bases — in a game called after seven innings because of the mercy rule.
“They’re probably our biggest rival and every time we play them we want to put a whooping on them, I guess,” said Post 20 shortstop Kyle Behrendt, who was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs. “We just came out to play tonight.”
Behrendt, a Greenwood High School graduate, missed Saturday’s 13-3 loss to Easley because he was playing at the North-South All-Star game. However, the Wofford College signee was at the abrupt practice called on Sunday, Father’s Day, by coach Billy Dean Minor.
“We had a pretty intense practice after that to get us back on track,” Behrendt said. “And we came back on track tonight.”
Behrendt was one of four Post 20 batters to collect three hits on the night. Trey Wimmer, Josh Lovvorn and Brent Wham all matched Behrendt’s 3-for-4 performance. John Wilson and Keith Hill collected a pair of hits apiece for Greenwood.
All of the offense, which was combined with six Easley fielding errors, made life easier for Post 20 starter Nick Milford. The former Dixie High School standout, who plays for Anderson University, went six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and no walks for his second win of the season.
Post 20 hosts recently crowned USSSA state champion Greenwood Livewire 7:30 tonight at Legion Field. Post 20 returns to League VII play at the start of the week with a pair of road games: Monday at Greenville and Tuesday at Belton.
As has been a key to the team’s success this season, Post 20 got on the scoreboard early against Easley, grabbing a pair of runs for a 2-0 lead.
That was more than enough of a head start for Milford. The four-year Post 20 player allowed only one hit through the first three innings. He followed that by sending down the next eight batters in order.
While Milford was keeping the Easley offense in check, the Easley defense was falling apart. Five errors over the next two innings combined with six base hits — four singles, two doubles — produced six more runs, giving Milford an 8-0 cushion.
Cruse Tollison capped a three-run second with his second run of the night. Lovvorn and Wham, Post 20’s eight- and nine-hole hitters, scored a run in each the second and third innings. In all, the two combined for seven runs in the win.
Easley’s Chris Pitts ended Milford’s consecutive out streak with one out in the fourth with an infield single. It was the first of three straight hits for Easley and all three batters would come around to score to make it 8-3.
But Post 20 wasn’t done with the offense. The first six Greenwood batters reached base safely in the fourth, with the first five making it all the way around.
Wham added one more for Greenwood in the sixth, scoring on Wimmer’s fifth RBI of the night for a 14-3 win.

Obituaries

Earl Bridges

NINETY SIX — Earl D. Bridges, 77, of 203 McKenzie Road, husband of Helen Bridges, died Thursday, June 22, 2006 at Hospice House.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home & Crematory.

Johnson Goggins

GREENVILLE — Johnson Goggins, 95, died Wednesday, June 21, 2006 at Magnolia Manor Center, Greenville.
Born in Newberry County, he was a son of the late Johnson Goggins Sr. and Emmaline Goggins.
Survivors include a sister, Ella Bell Goggins Pulley of Clinton; five grandchildren; two stepchildren, Mary Scott of Clinton and the Rev. J.J. Robinson of Abbeville; 51 step-grandchildren; 34 step-great-grandchildren; 16 step-great-great-grandchildren.
Services are 1 p.m. Sunday at Zion Hill Baptist Church, Cross Hill.
Childs Funeral Home, Clinton, is in charge.

Margaret Langston

GREER — Margaret Thomp-son Langston, 83, formerly of Greenwood, widow of Oliver Odell Langston, died Thursday, June 22, 2006 at NHC of Greenville.
Born in Athens, GA, she was the daughter of the late Donald D. and Katie C. Thompson. She retired from Greenwood Mills, Mathews Plant, and was a member of the Quarter Century Club. Mrs. Langston was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star, Callie Self Chapter, where she served in various state and local offices and served as the secretary for more than 30 years. She was also a Hospital Volunteer at Self Regional Medical Center, a member of Greenwood Business Women’s Club, and a member of Mathews United Methodist Church where she served as the president of the United Methodist Women, Sunday School Superintendent and was a member of the choir.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Virginia Fleming.
Surviving is a daughter, Judy Masters and her husband, Donald, of Greenville; a son, Michael O. Langston of Burlington, NC; two brothers, Jack D. Thompson and Gary G. Thompson, both of Fayetteville, NC; two sisters, Jennie S. Fasig of Destin, FL and Betty B. Lee of Melbourne, FL; six grand-children, Greg Masters and Carol Soto, both of Greenville, Scott Langston and Todd Langston, both of Raleigh, NC, Angela Lloyd and Melissa Mebane, both of Burlington, NC; and 11 great-grandchildren.
Services will be 2:00 PM Saturday at Harley Funeral Home Chapel with the Reverend Chris Lollis officiating. Burial will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Greg Masters, Scott Langston, Todd Langston, Hilty Dodgen and Hilton Dodgen.
The family will receive friends at Harley Funeral Home, on Saturday, from 1:00 until 2:00 PM.
Memorials may be made to Mathews United Methodist Church, PO Box 2066, Green-wood, SC 29646, or to Self Regional Medical Center, Attention: Volunteer Office, 1325 Spring Street, Greenwood, SC 29646.
Online condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.harleyfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

J. Ancel Ouzts

GREENWOOD — James Ancel Ouzts, 92, resident of 213 Folly Farm Rd., widower of Sarah Parker Ouzts, died June 21, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born in Greenwood County, January 12, 1914, he was a son of the late Courtney and Elbirda Adams Ouzts. He was educated in Gree nwood County schools and worked in the defense plants building planes during WW II and received many citations for his work there. Mr. Ouzts retired from Greenwood Mills - Harris Plant after 30 years of service.
A member of South Greenwood Pentecostal Holiness Church, he was also a member of the Guy Reed Sunday School Class and served as a deacon and trustee of the church. He also served in many other areas of the church.
Surviving are his caregivers, his nephew, Gene Ouzts and wife, Adonnis and their children, David, Katie and Adam Ouzts, all of the home; a nephew, Donald Ouzts of Hodges; a niece, Janice Ouzts Kirby of Greenwood; four great-nephews; one great-great-niece; two great-great-nephews; an aunt, Sarah Elmore of Greenwood.
Mr. Ouzts was predeceased by a brother, Hoyt Ouzts.
Funeral services will be conducted at 3:30 p.m. Saturday from the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Lawrence Johnson officiating.
Burial will be in Greenwood Memorial Gardens.
Pallbearers will be Jamie Ouzts, David Lee Ouzts, Adam Ouzts, Josh Kirby, Jimmy Still, Ron Massey and Adam Gillenwater.
Honorary escort will be Guy Reed, Marshall Royston, Branch Hall, Vernon Jarrett, Nira Miles, Dot Boyd, Edith Jones, Mr. and Mrs. Billy Z. Davis, Mr. and Mrs. Marion Davenport, Mr. and Mrs. Holley Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Burton, Mr. and Mrs. Victor Pruitt, Mr. and Mrs. Paul Goldman, Mr. and Mrs. James Young and John Williams.
The family is at the home on Folly Farm Road and will receive friends at the funeral home from 2:30 to 3:30 Saturday afternoon.
Memorials may be made to South Greenwood Pentecostal Holiness Church, 17 1st Street, Greenwood, SC 29646.
For online condolences please visit www.blythfuneralhome.com
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Services is assisting the Ouzts family.
PAID OBITUARY

Mattie Patterson

Services for Mattie Patterson are 11 a.m. Saturday at Morris Chapel Baptist Church, conducted by the Ricky V. Syndab. Burial is in The Evening Star cemetery.
Pallbearers are Alvin Baylor, Clyde Ebo, Michael Patterson, Tony Burton, Michael Martin and Frank Caldwell.
Flower bearers are Cynthia Bowie, Tonya Parks, Elaine P. Williams, Felicia Morton, Keisha Patterson and Cynthia Chappell.
Percival-Tompkins Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at pertompfh1@earthlink.net

John Reed

CALHOUN FALLS — John Willard Reed, 81, of 705 Shirley St., husband of Jeanne Helms Carwile Reed, died Thursday, June 22, 2006 at Hospice House in Greenwood.
Born in Manhattan, N.Y., he was a son of the late Joseph and Ann Tamburello Penzato. He was a former automotive body repairman and retired from S.C. Highway Department. He was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Abbeville.
Survivors include his wife of the home; a stepson, Jimmy Carwile of Abbeville; a nephew reared in the home, Joey Penzato; a brother, Joseph Penzato of New Paltz, N.Y.; a sister, Dr. Sadie Penzato of New Paltz; a granddaughter.
Services are 1 p.m. Saturday at Calhoun Falls First Baptist Church. Burial is in Latimer Cemetery.
Visitation is 12-1 Saturday at the church.
The family is at the home.
Memorials may be made to Hospice Care of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
The Chandler-Jackson Funeral Home, Abbeville, is in charge.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.chandlerjacksonfh.com

CORRECTION

For the obituary of Margie Smith in Wednesday’s paper, a survivor was omitted from the information given to The Index-Journal. Survivors include a sister, Gaynelle Boxx of Athens, Ga.

Opinion

Restoring budget process should be real priority

June 23, 2006

Part two:
U. S. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S. C., is among a group of senators supporting the “Stop Over-Spending Act of 2006.” It is aimed at making structural changes in how Congress spends taxpayer dollars.
Among the act’s provisions:
-Creation of a line-item veto tool that allows a President to target wasteful spending, ask that it be rescinded, and send it to Congress for expedited consideration.
-Creation of a new and improved Gramm-Rudman-Hollings mechanism to balance the budget by 2012. It includes procedures to automatically slow the rate of growth for mandatory programs if Congress fails to meet deficit reduction targets.

-REINSTATEMENT OF STATUTORY caps on discretionary spending - and new tools to prevent the use of all-too-convenient “emergency” spending ... enforceable by an across the board sequester if Congress fails to adhere to the caps.
-Creation of a budgetary point of order against new mandatory spending if the Medicare program is projected to become insolvent in 7 years or less. Due to skyrocketing health care costs and an aging population, Medicare is projected to be the first of the large entitlement programs to become insolvent.
-Creation of two new bipartisan commissions: one to study the accountability and efficiency of government programs, the other to examine and provide solutions to the impending entitlement crisis.”

GRAHAM SAYS, “TWO-THIRDS OF the federal budget is on autopilot as either interest on the national debt or mandatory spending. Unfortunately, political malpractice is afoot when it comes to entitlements, as many Senators don’t want to address the ticking time bomb...” He’s right. Some oppose changes.
Graham says he looks forward to working with other Senators to “restore responsibility to the budget process.”
If they can make improvements, maybe they can show the South Carolina Legislature how to do it. At least it would provide a role model. First, though, Graham and his cohorts have their work cut out for them. It’s times like these where taxpayers can find out if their elected representatives are serious about what they say, or are simply playing to the next election.

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