5:26 p.m.: Wilson club struggles with debt; United Way may place club on one-year probation

By Barrett Newkirk

December 08, 2007 05:26 pm

— barrett.newkirk@heraldbulletin.com
The Wilson Boys & Girls Club is facing tough scrutiny from a high-profile funding source while it struggles to pay mounting debts and replace failing equipment.
The United Way of Madison County has recommended that the west-side youth agency be placed on a one-year probation, because it no longer meets United Way certification standards, president Nancy Vaughan said.
“They don’t have a plan to watch their finances,” she said. “They have a lot of debt. And how did they get in that debt? They got in debt by not thinking in the ‘big picture.’”
Vaughan also said inconsistencies with the nonprofit’s roster of board members was “a big red flag.”
The United Way has asked Wilson Boys & Girls Club to provide updated budgets, programming specifics and a board list by Wednesday.
Rodney Nichols, director of the Wilson Boys & Girls Club, said he would comply with the request.
“We have everything in place,” he said. “It has just been an issue in the way we’ve been reporting.”
Nichols said the United Way was too concerned with finances and doesn’t care that the Boys & Girls Club has increased services.
“Even though our funding has gone down, our programming has gone up,” he said. And an average of more than 60 children visit the club daily, despite problems with the building’s heat until last week.
“We do have heat right now,” Nichols said. “Wells Boiler Company has made repairs to one of the existing boilers to give us temporary heat at a reduced rate.”
While programs have remained strong, Nichols said, the club has not been able to pay down debt, largely because of declining contributions.
The debt has accumulated over the past few years to more than $176,000, Nichols said. It includes a mortgage of about $65,000, about $50,000 owed to Vectren gas company and about $28,000 in utility bills to the city. Other debts are owned for insurance, accounting and maintenance.
Wilson Boys & Girls Club also wants to replace its dilapidated heating system at an estimated cost of $135,000.
While in-kind gifts of equipment and volunteer hours have been strong, Nichols said, corporate gifts, individual donations and grants – including annual gifts from the United Way – have all declined in recent years.
Nichols said the Boys & Girls Club’s annual budget is about $250,000. This year the organization received $12,000 from the United Way, down from about $20,000 the year before, he said.
But recently some surprise donations have started to come in.
Tia Keffer and Joann Verdin, two secretaries at the Anderson Meijer store, asked their corporation to donate $2,000 after learning about the problems facing the Boys & Girls Club.
“I know they need it,” Keffer said. “We just thought it was a good program to put money in since it has to do with the children.”
Other companies have also responded with donations or pledges, Nichols said, and he is awaiting the outcome of a grant proposal to the county for $40,000 for drug education programs.
Max Howard, a long-time Wilson Boys & Girls Club board member, said decreased funding has in the past impacted staffing and services, but right now demand is at a critical level.
“As the local economy has gone down, the needs for what we provide over there has gone up,” he said.
The United Way, however, believes funding dictates services.
“If you don’t have the money to do it, then you can’t do it,” Nancy Vaughan said.
Because the Boys and Girls Club of America has agreed to work with the local chapter and help it reorganize, Vaughan said the United Way made an unprecedented recommendation of the one-year probation, rather than give a 30-day warning before deciding to cease donations.
For now the Wilson Boys & Girls Club’s United Way funds remain in tact and it has time to strengthen its financial reports.
“This is a long-term issue,” Vaughan said. “It didn’t happen overnight. It’s not going to be fixed overnight.”

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.