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A change in the way Cincinnati provides funding for human services agencies is causing many groups to scramble for money. Last year the YWCA Battered Women’s Shelter received $141,000 from the city to help with operating expenses. This year it asked for $225,000. Now the YWCA has been notified it will not receive any city money. Charlene Ventura is the President and CEO of the organization. She says she’s devastated. Ventura says it won’t necessarily shutdown, but everything will have to be re-evulated. The shelter is not alone. More than 100 programs applied for human services dollars from the city, and this year only 26 were funded. That compares with more than 60 last year. This year a grants review team scored the applications and made awards based on priority areas. City Council approved the new system last year after a task force studied the issue. Council Member Chris Bortz supported the overhaul. Bortz says in the past there was no mechanism for determining funding levels, and the amounts were usually based on which groups did the most lobbying. Meanwhile, Council Member Greg Harris is calling for funding to be restored to the Battered Women’s Shelter even if the money has to come from the public safety budget.
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Friday, September 03, 2010 
