ATLANTA — From gas prices to sticker shock in the grocery store, we've all been dealing with record-high inflation. In fact, the country hasn't seen inflation at this level in 40 years.
This leaves many nonprofit organizations dealing with increasing demand for services and declining donations.
“We can't really pass those rising cost on to our consumers," said Dan Jernigan, CEO and president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta.
For some nonprofits, such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta, the pinch is making it harder to serve the people who need it the most.
“We serve predominantly in lower income communities, and we pride ourselves on creating a very affordable service to families," said Jernigan.
Jernigan said the organization charges parents about $100 a year for a membership. The club has to absorb the cost of inflation even with declining donations.
“We have to keep that affordable as our parents are seeing their costs going up with inflation, the grocery bill prices going up," said Jernigan. "They can't afford to shell out more money for after school care and out-of-school care, which means we are having to make up for our rising cost.”
“Family recruitment is down. There's a dire need," said Lee Ann Else with Wellroot Family Services, a non-profit serving children and families in foster care.
Else said the non-profit's recruitment numbers are down by 50%.
“We also have a foster care crisis in Georgia. We do not have enough families to take care of the over 12,000 children in the foster care system," said Else.
However, it's not a struggle for all metro Atlanta non-profits.
“Thankfully, we here at Faith Covenant as a nonprofit have seen very little impact as it pertains to giving," said Pastor Mark Moore Jr. with Faith Covenant Church.
The church has been able to give back to the community for the holiday season.
“Over the Thanksgiving holiday, our little church, we fed over 700 people for Thanksgiving dinner," said Moore. "When Christmas time came around, we went to the cancer unit at the Children of Atlanta and we donated $1,000, as well as 100 brand new toys.”
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices went up a whopping 9.1% in 2022. The agency's data also shows Atlanta has the second-highest inflation rate out of any major metropolitan city.