Prince George’s County is taking a hard line with nonprofits that have relied on county grants for funding, as belt tightening shrinks the available dollars county officials have to give.
Community service organizations are being told to look elsewhere for funding, rather than rely solely on the county’s generosity, according to LaVonn Thomas, the county’s chief of community affairs. They also are being asked to take a hard look at their operations to find ways to more efficiently provide social, health and other services to Prince George’s residents.
County Executive Rushern Baker has proposed reducing spending on nonprofits by $3 million in fiscal 2013, from the current $8.2 million.
But Baker’s office has received roughly $8 million in funding requests from nonprofit groups, said Tom Himler, deputy chief administrative officer for budget, finance and administration. Baker controls a $1.6 million portion of the county’s nonprofit spending.
“It’s not good for any organization to rely on a single source of funding,” Himler said.
Those that do are struggling, he said.
Organizations like Mission of Love Charities, a Capitol Heights nonprofit that offers residents free goods at a department store-style facility, are at risk of closing unless they find donors and grants elsewhere.
Not wanting to leave nonprofits empty-handed, Thomas is leading efforts to get organizations in the county to work better together and pointing nonprofits toward other funding sources when county dollars dry up.
County officials also have become more scrupulous in determining who should be awarded funds. Under previous administrations, an organization could request up to $14,999 in grants without providing any details on how it planned to spend the money.
That practice has ended under Baker, said Thomas, who added she was shocked by the lack of oversight.
“It’s going to be tough for some,” Thomas said. “Quite honestly, some people just go into nonprofit work because they don’t want to work for someone anymore, and that’s not the right way to do it.”
