VINE programs impacted by funding cuts

MANKATO — VINE recently discontinued one program and made adjustments to others in response to a funding cut impacting Greater Minnesota.

The Mankato nonprofit detailed the funding decrease in its March newsletter, stating it was in part related to grants received from the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging, or MNRAAA, and partly due to expiring COVID-19 relief funds.

In response VINE ended its Special Access Services program in February, which offered bilingual help to older adults navigating the social services system. In its newsletter VINE expressed gratitude toward Cecil Fountain, Zuleika Abdi and Lourdes Menjivar for their work in the program.

Two other programs impacted by the funding, VINE’s Program to Encourage Active, Rewarding Lives, or PEARLS, and Caregiver Support were preserved under reduced hours.

The PEARLS program supports older adults experiencing depression. Caregiver Support is an educational and guidance program for people caring for family members.

In total the three programs saw a 51% decline in funding this year, said Melinda Wedzina, VINE’s CEO.

When deciding how to respond, she said the nonprofit considered the anticipated demand for programming going forward and whether similar services are available at other organizations. Language services for clients, for example, are available at medical providers and nonprofits serving similar populations.

“Our staff spent these two months at the beginning of the year helping our clients transition over to other providers as best as possible,” she said.

The funding decline was not under MNRAAA’s control, she added. Wedzina described it as coming from a change to an intrastate funding formula used by the Minnesota Board on Aging, which distributes Older Americans Act federal funding to area agencies on aging.

The change shifted more funding to the Twin Cities metro area at the expense of Greater Minnesota, Wedzina said.

“We’re dealing with limited resources already,” she said of Greater Minnesota. “Now it’s an even smaller pot.”

The impact on MNRAAA is about a 20% decrease in funding, said Jason Swanson, MNRAAA executive director. MNRAAA most recently awarded 27 grants in total to organizations in south-central and southwest Minnesota.

Making allocation decisions is a difficult process, Swanson said, and the agency is advocating for more funding from the state in this legislative session.

A fourth VINE program, Caring Connection, is also impacted by the programming changes brought on by funding declines. It will continue to support socially isolated older adults with volunteer visitors, but any new clients or volunteers will be referred to similar programs elsewhere.

The decision came about as a way to reallocate limited resources, Wedzina said.

MNRAAA’s funding, although reduced, remains important in keeping the PEARLS and Caregiver Support programs going, she said. Other sources of program funding include the Greater Mankato Area United Way, private donors and foundations.

The foundation part of the equation isn’t as guaranteed as it once was, Wedzina said, adding more uncertainty about sustainable funding sources for nonprofit programs.

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