The Mower County Salvation Army is still awaiting word from the regional Salvation Army office on whether they can purchase a larger building for its store.

The store is one of the group's options to compensate what it forsees as a $37,000 debt in the coming year.

"We're going to have to make larger cuts," said Major Doug Yeck said. "But we don't want it to affect outreach programming."

Part of the reason for the debt is that the Salvation Army received $20,000 less than they had requested from the United Way. Although thrift store revenue and holiday fund-raising is the main source of its revenue, Yeck said United Way funding is also important.

The Salvation Army requested $73,650 for 2003 from the United Way, but received $50,801. Last year the Salvation Army received $63,400.

The Salvation Army programs provided services for people with economic hardships, such as food, health and child care assistance. It also helps disaster victims and provides activities for people of all ages.

The United Way funds programs within the Salvation Army, which are part of the 72 programs in 29 agencies the United Way funds, said Amy Baskin, of the United Way. United Way funds go toward programs that directly benefit the community, she said.

Recently, there has been a 15 percent jump in requests for United Way funding by groups in Mower County.

"We have more requests than we can fund," Baskin said.

Baskin said many groups are struggling to meet costs in this economy.

This year the United Way received requests from those 29

agencies, one request exceeding more than $830,000. The United Way is not able to meet all of the requests and groups rarely receive all that they request, Baskin said.

The United Way volunteers use a formula to determine what programs receive funding and how much. This past year was the first time the United Way had used that formula, Baskin said.

"It's how if falls out in the criteria," Baskin said.

The United Way supports about eight programs in the Salvation Army and it realizes its importances in the community, she said.

"We think the Salvation Army is a wonderful organization," Baskin said.

The Salvation Army is also the United Way's second-largest recipient of funding, she said. The group not only gives funding to some programs, but also helps with other projects. The United Way recently helped the Salvation Army purchase a new refrigerator for the food shelf.

The kick-off for United Way's fund-raiser begins Sept. 10, where the group will raise money to help organizations that benefit the community.

A larger store would bring in more revenue because the Salvation Army could put more merchandise on the store's floor. Currently the army has $17,000 in cash reserves to offset its potential debt.

"It's kind of tight right now and it's going to be tight until Christmas," Yeck said. "But we're doing the job."

The Salvation Army Board met with Baskin to discuss the funding.

Board president David Reynen said the meeting was to clarify the United Way allocation process.

"It was helpful for us to see what they are trying to do," Reynen said. "I think both sides felt good about the dialogue."

Unlike previous years, the Salvation Army cannot use United Way funding for Salvation Army transient programs because the United Way wants the money to remain local. Money also cannot go to prescription drugs.

"There are programs the United Way decided not to fund this year," Reynen said.

Currently the board is going over logistics with the store, which still needs approval from the regional office.

"We're going to have to find a way to keep the kitty alive enough," Yeck said.