Should Elgin nonprofits give up? Consolidate? Tough choices pitched at summit

Combine efficiencies. Consolidate services. And most importantly, admit your fiscal model isn't working before it's too late.

Those were among the ideas presented by participants of a human services summit Tuesday by the city of Elgin, which is concerned about the effects of a breakdown in social services as nonprofits grapple with program cuts and staff reductions due the state's budget impasse.

Nonprofits must take a hard look at themselves, said Dennis Graf, former executive director of the Larkin Center in Elgin, which closed two years ago. "If I could have, I would have faced the reality that our data said our model was not sustainable a lot sooner."

Agencies must consider mergers, cooperatives and other cost-savings measures, Graf said. "I truly believe that hanging on is not the answer. Funding-wise what we see now is the reality - and it's only getting worse."

Denise Barreto, managing partner of Relationships Matter Now, facilitated the conversation among about 200 agency leaders, volunteers and donors. The goal was to come up with "fundamental changes" marked by 30-, 60- and 90-day solutions, said Mayor David Kaptain, who organized the summit.

That proved to be an ambitious task to accomplish in just three hours, which included an appearance by state Comptroller Leslie Munger. Still, participants agreed, the summit was a great first step in getting a vital conversation going and might give way to the creation of an Elgin nonprofit council.

Elgin's nonprofits already cooperate well, and the city needs all its food pantries and shelters, said Gretchen Vapnar, executive director of the Community Crisis Center in Elgin. "We are the experts. We know what we do."

But others said it's time for tough choices. "We have to be realistic about how much we are duplicating services," said Theresa Forthofer, president and CEO of Easter Seals DuPage & Fox Valley. "If we worked collaboratively, we could use our resources more effectively."

Gail Borden Public Library Foundation board member Toya Randall agreed. "This thing is broken, and we need to make some decisions about how we are going to behave differently," she said. "Are there organizations that want to talk about mergers? Consolidate services to achieve cost savings?"

Nonprofits could join forces for administrative operations such as reception, human resources and billing, consultant Danise Habun said. "There's also the idea of a tax increase. No one wants to talk about it, but that's an option."

Other ideas are making YouTube videos about people who've been affected by the cuts, reaching out to wealthy communities for temporary help, and using old-fashioned collection jars, said Danielle Henson, of Gail Borden.

Elgin informally surveyed nonprofits earlier this month, and three of 12 respondents said they have less than one month's worth of reserves.

Similarly in dire straits is It's About Change Sober Living, which provides a halfway house and substance abuse treatment, said case manager/counselor Beverly Johnson. Staff members have not been paid for two months and the organization - which contracts with the state - is $200,000 in the red, she said. "We keep coming to work because what else is there to do?" she said.

Elgin is looking into disbursing federal Community Block Development Grant money as emergency loans for nonprofits. The city is conducting another survey to determine, among other things, which agencies are funded by grants versus contracts, the latter more reliable, Councilwoman Tish Powell said.

Elgin is looking into whether it can provide phone answering services through its 311 system for the Elgin Partnership for Early Learning, which had inquired about that. Whether that's feasible or not, the city needs to consider whether that would open the doors "to an avalanche" of similar requests, Kaptain said.

The state is under court orders to fund more than 90 percent of services but has a backlog of bills totaling $7.3 billion - and growing, Munger said. Still, her office is committed to trying to help.

"If you literally are at risk of shutting your doors ... reach out to us and let us know," she said.

The YWCA Elgin is launching a campaign with the hashtag "#ImAffected" to show the effect of the state's budget crisis on the most vulnerable, CEO Julia McClendon said.