Suffering from financial woes, Girls Inc. of Albany looking to restructure

ALBANY — A shortage of funding has left Girls Inc. of Albany with one staff member, down from six, and no on-site summer programs as the organization attempts to restructure its operations.

“We are working with several other organizations to reach more girls and have partnered in some outreach programs,” Girls Inc. of Albany Board Chair Joe Dent said Thursday. “We are short in funding, our building desperately needs some repairs and we are currently attempting restructure to be able to reach more girls.”

Girls Inc. is not the only local service organization that is having money woes. The Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Club of Albany, among others, have all seen recent declines in funding.

Girls Inc. has three memorandums of understanding (MOU) under consideration with Mt. Zion Baptist Church and Greater Second Mt. Olive Baptist Church and the Boys and Girls Club in hopes of restructuring its services.

Marvin Laster, assistant chief professional officer for Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany, can relate to Girls Inc.’s plight.

“We’re trying to reach more kids with high quality services at less cost,” Laster said. “We are developing a community driven strategic plan and have partnered with Albany State to conduct a county survey to assess the needs of kids. We are hoping to find out where there are overlaps in services so we can utilize the resources we have more efficiently.”

Michael Rogers, dean of the College of Business ASU, and Rachelle Scott, immediate past chair of the United Way of Southwest Georgia, will lead the organization’s efforts to develop a community-driven, three-year strategic plan for Boys and Girls Clubs of Albany.

“The development of this plan will emphasize Boys & Girls Clubs’ belief in the imperative of creating collaborations and partnerships. The new plan will enable the Clubs in Albany to continue their transformational work while anticipating and meeting the needs of its members and other stakeholders throughout the community,” Rogers said. “The underlying purpose of the BGC of Albany mirrors ASU’s mission of helping students, young people in particular, to reach their full potential and I’m delighted they asked for our help.”

LaKisha Bryant Bruce, executive director of United Way of Southwest Georgia, said her organization has experienced growth over the past two years after developing a new funding formula several years ago.

“We don’t fund organizations, we fund individual programs. We don’t fund overhead that often,” she said. “Basically it is a grant process and the money has to be used for specific purposes and quarterly reports are required.”

According to a 2012 report from the Georgia Center for Non-Profit Organizations, Dougherty County has 135 NPOs providing social services. That number backs up a statement made by Salvation Army Board member David Blackwell in an interview with The Herald earlier this month.

“We have more nonprofits per capita than most of the cities in this country. Everybody is competing for the same dollars,” Blackwell said.