Nonprofits Bracing As State Cuts Loom, Services Threatened
By Harold Sparrow | February 26, 2017
HARTFORD – Connecticut’s not-for-profit organizations are bracing themselves for a double-whammy of budget cuts and increased need for services.
With a $1.5 billion state budget deficit looming in the next fiscal year, state and municipal government leaders are rethinking and restructuring the way they fund what most consider basic services, like education and care for the disabled. As they work toward developing a sustainable long-term budget for Connecticut’s fiscal health, reductions in the workforce that care for and protect our state’s most vulnerable residents are sure to come.
The YMCA of Greater Hartford, and other not-for-profits, will be there to pick up where public entities leave off, but we are not immune to budget cuts. While the generosity of corporate, foundation and individual donors fund the lion’s share of our work, we also receive government grants to administer our programs. When we leverage funding from the state, the YMCA of Greater Hartford is able to serve more than 120,000 people, including 66,000 children, in 52 towns and cities throughout the Capitol Region.