Less charity beginning at home

Less charity beginning at home: "Less charity beginning at home
Local nonprofits losing cash to national causes
Friday, February 10, 2006
BY LIZ COBBS

Local affiliates of three major national charities are now feeling the financial pinch from local charitable dollars going to assist victims of the Gulf Coast hurricanes and Indian Ocean tsunami last year.

Officials at the Washtenaw County and Livingston County offices of the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity and the Salvation Army say the state's faltering economy also is likely a factor in the decline in local donations.

The nonprofits say they are not cutting back on services, at least not yet. Instead, they are redoubling their fundraising efforts and, in one case, resorting to a reorganization that eliminates a couple of paid staff positions."