Declining donations drive MADD to trim staff

Citing a nearly 20 percent drop in donations, Mothers Against Drunk Driving is cutting staff at its national office and in 11 states, including West Virginia.

Private donations, government grants and corporate sponsorships to MADD National dropped between 15 percent and 20 percent to $43 million last year, said MADD National Chief Operating Officer Debbie Weir.

Though staffing cuts will vary from state to state, two of West Virginia's three paid positions were eliminated, including its executive director and development officer in charge of fundraising. The employee who deals most directly with victims and survivors of drunken driving crashes was spared.

"In West Virginia, the core focus is to be there for the victims, so we kept the staff victim advocate in place," Weir said.

Notifications to 23 employees in Arkansas, California, Delaware, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Oregon, Oklahoma, Virginia and Washington as well as at MADD's national headquarters in Texas, should conclude this week.

Weir said staffing decisions were made based on available funding versus expenses. In some states, including California, the cuts will be relatively minor. One of California's 33 paid positions was cut.

It's a different story in Delaware, Oregon and Washington where the only paid position in each state was eliminated.

"It's a very hard, very painful process," Weir said. "Many of the staff that are being laid off are stellar employees that unfortunately live in markets that are suffering from the economic shift taking place."

MADD started the year with 397 employees nationwide. Since then it has eliminated 55 staff positions, or nearly 14 percent of its work force.

Weir said that MADD will continue to serve people in all 50 states regardless of whether states have paid employees.

Volunteers will pick up the slack in the affected states, helping to push an agenda that includes targeting underage drinking and stronger seat belt laws, she said.

Last year, MADD provided grief counseling, court counseling and financial counseling to more than 55,000 people and their families.

The lagging economy has forced hundreds of nonprofits, including the American Lung Association and breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure, to cut staff over the past year as corporate and private donations dwindled along with endowments and foundation giving.

About of third of the 1.8 million nonprofits operating in the United States have cut their operations, according to an August report by the National Council of Nonprofits.

Jennifer Chandler, the council's vice president and director of network support, said the funding crunch comes at a time of increased demand for services.

"Many nonprofits are being caught in a real vice," she said.

While the economy may be showing signs of improving, Chandler said nonprofits' recovery will likely lag by nine to 12 months.

Weir said the current economy has made it especially difficult to raise money for MADD, especially in states with high unemployment rates. "Donors really have to look at their disposable income and as a result, giving is less."

With advocates in more than 300 communities, MADD lobbies against drinking and driving to save lives. It helped persuade Congress to raise the drinking age to 21 and helped reduce the number of traffic fatalities attributed to drunken driving. It also claims to have helped save more than 300,000 lives.

MADD celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2005.

Weir said the nonprofit hopes the cuts will help secure MADD's future so it can continue its mission of savings lives by lobbying against drinking and driving.

"As the economy rebuilds, we will rebuild as well," she said.

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