BY COLIN HICKEY

Staff Writer

Waterville Main Street Program's 3-on-3 basketball tournament won't happen this summer, a victim in part of past sponsors that are no-shows this time.

Executive Director Shannon Haines said the Maine International Film Festival, although in no danger of being scrapped, has also seen a significant reduction in sponsors this year.

Such reports are particularly disturbing in the wake of Good Will-Hinckley's announcement last week of a major reduction of its mission, a move that includes laying off 110 employees and reducing the number of children it serves by nearly four dozen.

Officials at the school, which serves troubled youth, cited a dramatic reduction in funding as the primary reason for scaling back its operation.

Taken together, these events point to a nonprofit sector in a financial free-fall.

But Haines and others in the front lines of that sector caution that such a conclusion is at best a leap and at worst a dangerous distortion.

Bright spots

The Waterville Intown Arts Fest -- another Waterville Main Street event -- is experiencing a surge in sponsors this year, Haines said.

That the festival is celebrating its 40th year may be a factor in that increased support, but the fact is the event is healthier than ever, Haines said.

Even the film festival, despite the drop in support, could be viewed in a positive light, given that it has secured enough sponsors to be financially viable during an economic downfall many are calling the worst since the Great Depression.

"I think it is about building relationships," Haines said. "The film festival has built some really good relationships with sponsors over the years, and so this year many of them are staying on, but at reduced levels (of funding)."

Tina Chapman, United Way of Mid-Maine president, gives a similar description of the nonprofit sector in central Maine: concerns about the recession, yes, but overall a sense of encouragement over the commitment companies and individuals have to support their local charities.

"We increased our campaign by $30,000 last year," Chapman said of United Way of Mid-Maine's $758,670 objective, "and we are at 98 percent of that goal right now. We are incredibly excited about that."

Scott Schnapp, executive director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits, acknowledges the recession represents a formidable challenge to charitable organizations that rely on government funding, grants and general contributions for their survival.

"It is a real concern," he said, "but it also is sort of an individual organization situation. In a macro way the climate has changed pretty drastically, just as it has for all entities. That is the reality of the external environment. But it's dangerous to make blanket statements about the state of the (nonprofit) sector in general."

In some respects, he said, the current fiscal climate is leading many in the nonprofit world to make changes that will strengthen them in the future.

"We're hearing as many good stories as we are challenging ones," Schnapp said. "This sort of environment is forcing board meetings on efficiency and collaboration, so it is not all gloom and doom by any stretch."

Survival strategies

Ken Walsh, chief executive officer of the Alfond Youth Center in Waterville, said his organization has taken numerous steps to deal with the fiscal crisis hitting the country.

"You need to be more efficient," he said, "but better yet you have to partner and collaborate with other organizations. For example, we work famously with the Waterville Parks and Rec Department. Two of our (aquatics program) people manage their outdoor pool during the summer, so they don't have to go out to hire people for those positions. We are in the pool business all year long, so it makes all the sense in the world for that to happen."

In the efficiency department, Alfond Center consolidated its summer camps, merging Camp Wow, which was based in Waterville, into Camp Tracy, which is based at McGrath Pond in Oakland.

That is part of an effort that enabled Walsh and his board to reduce this year's budget by about $150,000 -- dropping from $2.2 million to $2.05 million.

At the same time, Walsh said, he is searching for new donors and grant opportunities, including a pursuit of about $500,000 in economic stimulus money that Alfond Center hopes to use to retrofit its building to take advantage of geothermal and solar energy -- a move that could cut costs in a fundamental way for the long term.

Organizations that rely on charitable dollars, he said, have to be willing to adapt to economic downturns, especially ones as severe as the current recession.

United Way of Mid-Maine's Chapman said she learned recently that one of her most generous corporate accounts is unable to provide her a loan executive this year.

That is no small loss.

Chapman said a loan executive is an employee a corporation loans full time to United Way for the annual campaign for 12 weeks -- at no cost to United Way of Mid-Maine.

Chapman said those loan executives play a critical role in organizing and energizing the fundraising drive.

Yet she understands the plight of this particular corporate backer.

"This organization just can't do that (program) for us this year," she said, "because the economy is impacting them just as much as it is everybody else."

Nonetheless, Chapman said United Way of Mid-Maine has no plans to scale back its campaign goal this year.

On the contrary, she said, the need of most of her partner agencies is greater than ever given the tougher times many of their clients are facing.

United Way of Mid-Maine's mission is to help meet that need to the best of its ability. Chapman said that mission will not be compromised.

"If we don't ask what we need on behalf of our agencies," she said, "then we aren't going to get it."

Colin Hickey -- 861-9205

chickey@centralmaine.com