Kids' agencies chase grants - Foundation offers $50,000; programs seek $1.4 million

The need shocked them both.

Jonathan Kresken and Liz Mansfield, directors with the Waccamaw Community Foundation, didn't think 59 nonprofits would have more than $1.4 million in needs to enhance and expand programs benefiting children and youth.

Yet when the foundation alerted charities that $50,000 was available for that purpose, the lack became obvious and revealed the continuous dilemma charities face in getting necessary funds.

"We were surprised by the more than $1.4 million in requests because that was only needs for the children," said Mansfield, director of development and donor services. "It negates programs, for example, that address the environment, health and the elderly. The requests reflect only a small portion of community need."

Of the 59 requests, only 12 agencies were named finalists that might get a slice of the foundation's $50,000 pie. The money was generated with the help of a matching grant received from the Stardust Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Grant recipients will be notified during the week of May 21.

Kresken and Mansfield don't know, at this point, how the $50,000 will be distributed, as the final decision will be made by the foundation's board of directors.

Meanwhile, some nonprofit directors are sorting through a laundry list of projects for which the money can be used.

The Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of Horry County requested $19,772 for the purchase of materials for its arts and crafts, after-school, homework and tutoring programs, said Pete Crawford, its executive director. He added that money is also needed for playground equipment, a computer lab and desks. The nonprofit is a finalist.

"About 50 percent of our budget comes through program service fees, which are service fees from the people who participate in the programs, and it should not be that way," said Pete Crawford, executive director of the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Club of Horry County. "The programs should not ride on the backs of the people who participate in them. So, we are making an effort to get more dollars from the public sector."

Crawford said fundraising efforts and United Way of Horry County contributions, which is about 20 percent of the organization's budget, make up the bulk of the Boys and Girls Club's budget. Private donations are about 3 percent, which is part of the reason why the organization is working hard to build up its foundation and individual giving.

"There is only so much money that can go around, and then a lot of times people are not aware of the programs," Crawford said. "And I believe a little more public awareness of our programs would bring in more funds. ... It's feast or famine when it comes to the money we receive from grants."

MaryEllen Greene, director of preschool at the Friendship House in Myrtle Beach, knows that reality too well. The charity, which provides tuition-free school for low-income children, requested $21,191 from the Waccamaw Community Foundation, but it was not chosen as a finalist.

The money could have been used for expansion and repairs, Greene said. An area in the front of the building leaks from the roof, while the 16 precocious children are taught and take naps in the rear of the building.

Greene said she believes the small number of children served by Friendship House sometimes affects its ability to get funding.

"[Grantors] say, 'You only have 16 children,'" Greene said. "But that is 16 children getting something they never had."

Kresken said charities were chosen based on the kind of impact their programs had on communities, adding that all deserved funding.

Greene said they would continue to have fund-raisers, seek grants and depend on the charitable hearts of businesses, groups and individuals.

In 2002, for example, Leadership Grand Strand Class XXII, 30 individuals from 30 businesses, refurbished the 1,100-square-foot storage building that is used as a multipurpose classroom at the Myrtle Beach preschool, where there is a perpetual waiting list.

"We do what we can to raise a $1," Greene said. "We are always begging, borrowing or whatever."