“We definitely listen to the nonprofits,” she said. “And I’m getting calls every day.”

Catch 22

At the Mankato Foundation, which recently announced a series of grant awards, times are getting tight.

The group’s committee that hashes through grant requests and forwards recommendations to the board did so only after reducing its usual amount of grant money. When that amount went to the full board, it cut the amount in half.

Rachel Schott, executive director of the Mankato Foundation, said pulling back on how much is given is hard for a group that wants to be there for so many worthy grant recipients.

But part of “being there” means living within means.

“We want to make sure we’re here for the long term and that we support the community for the long term,” Schott said. “These are difficult decisions. We want to support the organizations that are here, but at the same time, we want to make sure we’re here.”

Some positive signs

Many nonprofits in the region live and die by the health of the Mankato Area United Way. Director Laura Bowman said the annual fundraising campaign is a little ahead of schedule so far. They’re up about 1 percent over last year.

“To me that’s a sign that generosity is continuing,” Bowman said.

About 75 percent of the money the United Way uses comes from individual contributions through payroll deduction.

“That’s our bread and butter,” Bowman said.

But being ahead of schedule doesn’t change the fact more of the organizations that look to the United Way for help are going to be asking for more this year.

“They’ve seen an increase in people who need their services, which ultimately means they need more funding,” Bowman said. “And most of them are running on a shoestring budget anyway.”

Bowman said the economy has resulted, in some cases, to job losses for people who never needed help before. She fears a time when groups such as the United Way and others become merely reactive, helping people struggling right now instead of also providing programs for children or programs that help people learn to stay self-sufficient.