Friends, I noticed in yesterday’s Democrat & Chronicle that the non-profit organization Action for a Better Community has received $8 million in federal stimulus funds.  Here is the article:

Agency gets $8M grant

Action for Better Community announced Monday that the agency will receive more than $8 million in stimulus funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The nonprofit agency provides services to help low-income people in Monroe and Ontario counties become self-sufficient.

The stimulus funds will create 27 full-time and 62 part-time jobs. The money also boosts ABC’s budget to $30 million in the 2010 fiscal year, up from $22 million in fiscal 2009. The money will be used to create jobs at ABC and enhance several programs.

While I think ABC does a great job helping people in our community and can obviously use $8 million to help fund its operation, I cannot help but worry about what will happen when this money is no longer there to support them as the stimulus funds are slated to end after next year.  That means these are not recurring funds to support ABC into the future.  It’s a one-shot grant.

ABC is adding the funds to its operating budget and is using the money to hire 89 new employees.  what happens when ABC needs to cut the $8 million from its budget after next year and has to lay off the 89 employees?  This could result in the collapse of this organization as there is no money available at the local or state level to refund the $8 million.

Stimulus funds were intended to create jobs and spur economic growth.  I take that to mean that it should be used to fund a capital project for a self-sustaining business or organization that can survive on its own after the money has been spent.  Temporarily funding non-profit jobs that will just go away after the money is gone is not only the wrong use for these funds, but a waste as the group will not be able to pick up the slack as by their very nature ABC does not generate profit to put back into the organization.

Once again I mean in no way to downplay the good that this group does.

I simply think this is just another example of “be careful what you ask for because you just might get it.”

I sincerely worry that we’ll have nothing to show for this $8 million expenditure and that a worthy non-profit will have to close its doors once they can no longer fund this expansion.