Hawaii Nonprofit Groups Face Financial Strains

Charities in Hawaii face shrinking government support and dwindling private donations and grants from foundations, The Honolulu Advertiser reports.

As a result, some nonprofit groups in the Aloha state have started to consider cutbacks or hiring freezes. Aloha United Way, in Honolulu, laid off four people last month and cut the hours of its “211” telephone service, which links people in need with other charities.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Human Services, which runs two emergency shelters in Honolulu and provides other services to homeless people, plans to slash at least five vacant positions by training existing employees to do more than one job.

Leaders of nonprofit groups say recent news about big layoffs at Aloha Airlines and other companies in Hawaii will only serve to curtail giving as people worry more about the future and their economic well-being.

“Hawaii is still pretty much in denial. But it’s become more and more difficult to deny there’s a change” in the economy, said John Flanagan, the president of Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations. “There has to be some forward thinking.”