Marbles Kids Museum, NC Symphony and others lose out in proposed Wake County budget
Area nonprofits are calling on their supporters to fight for money cut from Wake County’s proposed budget.
Wake County Manager David Ellis cut more than $1.8 million from his recommended budget that would normally go to nonprofits like Marbles Kids Museum, Interfaith Food Shuttle and the United Arts Council of Wake County, among others.
All told, his budget included more than $17 million in cuts or savings to help make up for revenue lost to the coronavirus and state shutdown. More than 100 positions are set to be cut in the proposed budget though most are currently vacant.
Now there’s only $500,000 in the plan for nonprofits, and the Wake County Board of Commissioners will decide who gets what.
The Wake County Board of Commissioners changed how it funds nonprofits earlier this year and “legacy” nonprofits were told they weren’t guaranteed to get the same amount of funding, said Wake County Commissioner Chair Greg Ford.
“Now significant county revenue shortfalls are forcing difficult choices about funding for across all WakeGov programs, services and local appropriations,” he said.
In a call to action, Marbles told its patrons that without the county money it won’t be able to restart some of its community programs for months and maybe a year.
It’s an “essential service that makes a real difference in the lives of Wake County’s vulnerable citizens,” according to Marbles website.
How much did Wake nonprofits get this year?
Here’s how much nonprofits got in this year’s Wake County budget, which ends June 30:
- Marbles Kids Museum: $650,000
United Arts Council of Wake County: $511,000
Universal School Breakfast Program: $258,000
- North Carolina Symphony: $100,000
- Communities in Schools: $100,000
InterAct: $100,000
East Wake Education Foundation: $50,000
- Interfaith Food Shuttle: $25,000
- Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC: $12,000
Marbles reported $7.7 million in total revenue including grants and ticket sales in 2017, according to its most recently available tax documents. Wake County also owns Marbles building and covers the utilities and maintenance out of its budget. About $585,000 is included for Marbles this year for maintenance.
A public hearing for the county budget will be held at 5 p.m. June 1.
This story was originally published May 27, 2020 at 11:32 AM.
