Funds sought to sustain services for abused

BANGOR – Spruce Run kicked off an endowment campaign Thursday morning that would allow the agency to continue its mission of serving those affected by domestic abuse uninterrupted.

The campaign’s launch marks the 30th anniversary of one of the nation’s oldest domestic violence prevention organizations, which began in 1973 as a support group for divorced women.

“The 30th anniversary is bittersweet,” Francine Stark, Spruce Run’s community response coordinator, said. “On the one hand, we are celebrating how much has been accomplished. However, we have not made the problem go away. Our services are still very much in demand.”

Money to support the center’s $820,000 annual operating budget is getting harder to come by, according to Ann Schonberger, co-chairwoman of the endowment trust campaign and 25-year member of Spruce Run’s steering committee. Grants have more time limitations and money for social services is being cut from state budgets, she said.

“We have to work harder for the money we are getting,” Schonberger said.

The money earned from the endowment would be used primarily to fund operations between grant periods and when state financing was unavailable so that programs can continue and staff can be retained, Schonberger said.

Spruce Run recently cut back its expanded outreach program at Eastern Maine Medical Center and eliminated two staff positions after losing an $80,000 federal grant and state funding was reduced, said Stark.

Schonberger said the group hopes to raise $500,000 to be invested in the endowment. The Maren Foundation kicked off the fund-raising with a leadership donation of $50,000 and pledged to match the first $50,000 raised by Spruce Run. A gift from an individual donor will cover all campaign expenses.

Spruce Run’s current endowment trust is worth $265,000, which provides up to $13,000 in yearly revenue.

“By carefully utilizing income from the endowment trust, we will be less vulnerable to the changing tide of federal, state and local grant availability,” according to Spruce Run campaign material.

Spruce Run currently receives 75 percent of its operating budget from long-term contracts with the state and federal governments, 7 percent from federal grants, 8 percent from the United Way of Eastern Maine and 10 percent from other grants, fund-raising and donations.

During its 30-year history, Spruce Run has provided services to 10,000 people affected by domestic violence in communities throughout Penobscot County. The agency currently employs 17 people.