Nonprofits in Prince George’s County would see their funding slashed by one-third in County Executive Rushern Baker’s proposed fiscal 2012 budget. “Some of the nonprofit groups who have received some rather large grants over the last couple years, there’s a reduction in those,” said Thomas Himler, the county’s budget director.
Scott Peterson, a spokesman for Baker, said the proposed budget contains $4 million in county grants for nonprofits, down from the $6 million in grants awarded in fiscal 2011, he said.
Himler said the county will work with any nonprofits losing funding to identify federal and state grants that could help offset reductions.
Peterson said county officials have not decided yet which organizations will face the brunt of cuts. “If we get less money, we’re going to have more kids in gangs, we’re going to have more people showing up at food banks who go away hungry and more homeless people because the foreclosure rate is not slowing down in this county,” said Jerry Adams, the executive director of the Prince George’s Human Services Coalition.
Adams, whose coalition includes more than 100 Prince George’s nonprofits, said the group plans to lobby the county to restore the money.
The County Council has to approve Baker’s budget. Council Chairwoman Ingrid Turner, D-Bowie, acknowledged that cuts are necessary with it being a “tough budgetary year.” But she said the council will spend time examining whether the appropriate amount is being given to nonprofits.
“We’ll be looking at that because it’s important that our citizens get the services that they need,” she said.
Nonprofits hoping for county grants can apply for them after the budget is approved by the County Council, Peterson said. The council must approve the budget by June 1.
One nonprofit that wins in Baker’s budget, however, is the Alice Ferguson Foundation, an Accokeek group that focuses on K-12 environmental education. Peterson said a one-time investment of $3 million is going toward the construction of a new environmental education facility.
That money comes from $67 million leftover in the current budget year’s general fund that’s also paying for one-time school and economic development investments.
