Syracuse's Dunbar Association - which will lose all of its United Way money - searches for ways to continue services

The Syracuse Post-Standard reported that the Dunbar Association — one of Syracuse’s oldest nonprofits serving the black community – this year will lose $200,000 in United Way annual funding, about a quarter of its yearly revenue.

The group – which operates Dunbar Center at 1453 S. State St. – is working to revamp its operations to try to preserve its services. It serves about 5,500 people annually.

The United Way of Central New York, which provides funding to 39 nonprofit agencies in Onondaga County, cut funding to only two agencies: Dunbar and Liberty Resources, which serves people with developmental disabilities and the mentally ill.

Liberty was excluded because it failed to submit an audit, while Dunbar was dropped because of concerns over its governance and management, said Frank Lazarski, president of the United Way. The United Way did not invite Dunbar to reapply for any money in its next three-year funding cycle which begins in June.

Attendance at Dunbar’s board meetings, the work of the board’s fundraising and finance committees and strategic planning are all areas that need improvement, he said.

“I’m not saying there is anything illegal, immoral or unethical,” Lazarski said. “We are hoping as they go on they look at revamping the board.”

Louella Williams, president of Dunbar’s board, said the action by the United Way has forced her organization to “think outside the box.” It recently formed a group of Dunbar alumni, who benefited from the organization’s programs when they were young, to lead fundraising efforts.

Who was Dunbar?
The Dunbar Center in Syracuse is named after Paul Laurence Dunbar, one of the first African-American to gain national eminence as a poet.
Born in 1872 in Dayton, Ohio, Dunbar was the son of ex-slaves and classmate to Orville Wright of aviation fame. Dunbar, who died when he was 33 years old, was prolific, writing short stories, novels, librettos, plays, songs and essays as well as the poetry. He was popular with black and white readers of his day.
His style encompasses two distinct voices — the standard English of the classical poet and the evocative dialect of the turn-of-the-century black community in America.
Source: University of Dayton

Dunbar — founded 92 years ago as a settlement house named after African-American poet Paul Dunbar — will survive, Williams said

“We have had challenges before and we have overcome them,” she said. “We do what we need to do and get things straightened out. That’s where we find ourselves.”

In its early days, the Dunbar group in Syracuse helped blacks migrating from the South find jobs, housing and other social services. Over the years it evolved into a recreation center and a human services agency providing after-school care, emergency food services and other programs for youth, families and senior citizens. It has 25 employees.

Dunbar is needed more than ever now when Syracuse is seeing more and more of its young people killed in shootings, Williams said.

“Let the police deal with the violence, but we have to look for alternatives that are going to help the youth,” she said.

In recent years Dunbar’s revenues have declined and it has consistently spent more than it brings in, according to annual 990 reports filed with the IRS. Dunbar reported revenue of $1.06 million in 2007. Now its annual revenue is down to about $900,000, Williams said. Between 2006 and 2008, Dunbar reported a cumulative budget deficit of $148,171.

Dunbar has been operating in the red because like many other nonprofits its government and United Way funding have declined while it provides the same level of services, Williams said.

To cut expenses, Dunbar has outsourced its financial operations to Catholic Charities, which handles its payroll and accounting, Williams said.

More than half of Dunbar’s United Way funding pays for its after-school program which serves 60 children.
To preserve that program, Dunbar is partnering with the YWCA, which provides after-school programs at eight elementary schools — six in Syracuse and two others in the Baldwinsville and East Syracuse Minoa school districts. The YWCA will seek United Way funding to provide those services at Dunbar after Dunbar loses its funding, according to Joan Durant, executive director of the YWCA. The YWCA also is working to bring one of its programs that works with teenage girls to Dunbar, she said.

Williams said the YWCA is a perfect partner for Dunbar because they focus on the same issues. “They are empowering families, women and fighting racism,” she said.

Lazarski said it’s important for Dunbar and other organizations to look for ways to collaborate.

“I think there is a real concerted effort among several not-for-profit organizations that want to see Dunbar retool and move ahead,” Lazarski said. “We really want to see the services for the people in that community and that neighborhood continue, however best they can be implemented.”

Williams said what makes Dunbar different from many agencies is the “one to one personal time” it gives to children, families and seniors.

“We’ve been down this road before,” Williams said. “Any organization that has been in existence for a long time doesn’t reach this age without overcoming challenges.”