Meyer Memorial Trust

We have had to up our mileage reimbursement to staff by 20%

As a non-proift in the Used Goods Collection Business (revenues support our programs for individuals with developmental disabilities) the high gas prices are dramatically impacting our revenues. There is less revenues for programs and services...all profits are being consumed by high fuel costs.....we have four trucks that pick up used goods in selective neighborhoods.
We hare recently opened a Drop Off Site on the corner of NE 69th and Halsey....Our customers can now drop off their used goods directly .....thus avoiding our trucks having to drive through the neighborhoods.
Bottom line is, we have less revenue to support programs because of higher fuel costs.

Women's Crisis Support Team runs a safe shelter and crisis response for victims of domestic and sexual abuse. Our shelter van fillup costs have just maxed our budget - and we have two more months to go! Mileage costs for staff are also pushing the budget limits now.

Our clients are having a difficult time getting to our center for pregnancy and parenting support services. Our clients are sharing rides and some are coming in less frequently, even though their needs are high. We are providing more coaching and encouragement by phone. As for the center itself, our supply runs are less frequent and we have been running out of items in the interim.

Oregon Children's Theatre brings 70-75,000 students to professional theatre productions on field trips each year. So far we've held our audience numbers, even though schools are very hard-pressed to pay for the school busses needed to transport kids to this introductory theatre experience. We've made the commitment to hold our ticket prices for student performances at $5-7 (for the 3rd year in the row) and are raising more contributed income to cover the "gap" between our production costs and the ticket income. We've also constructed a foundation-funded partnership that underwrites school bus costs for the most disadvantaged rural schools that come from the furthest distance. Next year, though, we don't know what to expect. At some point, the gas prices may make field trips prohibitive for all but the wealthier schools, no matter how low our ticket prices are.

1)From the perspective of planning, and impact on future needs with the impending "baby boomer" retirement years coming up, many non-profit volunteer groups serve Meals-on-Wheels for Loaves and Fishes. This is covered through individual out-of-pocket expenses. This will impact in two ways - impact on retirement income, and increased demand for the service due to impending large retirement demographics.

2)Also, as a non-profit planning for interns doing community outreach, Tri-Met passes are a must! As well as some partial bicycle commuting.
Kathie Minden, People for Parks East Multnomah County

Our domestic violence shelter has reached budget limits for gas and for mileage reimbursements. In addition, we are looking at upping our mileage reimbursement rate due to the high cost of fuel. We have public transportation that only runs 9:00 am- 4:00 pm on weekdays. We purchased passes for our clients (an unexpected cost) and are severely restricting transportation for clients. In addition, supply costs have gone up as well. Food and other household supplies are more expensive. We are tightening the belt in other areas to attempt to make up for the increased costs. Money going to gas is money not going to clients.

Here at Pendleton Academies, in rural Oregon, travel is a neccessity of life. This is especially true for administrators who want to be involved with state system changes that effect our organization. Trips to Salem are frequently made so the cost of gas does indeed impact us. Also, we involve our children in a lot of community based activities, which also involve travel and subsequent gas expense. Any time costs go up, we are squeezed just a little bit tighter in making ends meet. It may hurt are area of service even more than some other businesses because, as most folks know, mental health services to children are underfunded across the nation. Thank you for this opportunity to express ourselves.
Mary

BRING is an enterprise non profit, funding our mission almost entirely with income generated by our deconstruction and used materials sales programs. We've seen our operating margin drop from 10% in 2004-5 f.y. to 4% in the 2005-06 f.y, a drop largely attributable to rising fuel costs. We budgeted a 14% increase in fuel costs last year (compared to 5% for other expenses) and forecast an even bigger increase for this year. The slim margin has caused cash flow issues, and has impacted our ability to give cost of living increases to our employees.

Store to Door shops for and delivers groceries, household items and prescription medications to seniors and people with disabilities in the greater Portland area. There is a small staff and lots of volunteers doing this work every week. People who make deliveries use their own vehicles and are offered mileage reimbursement. Fuel prices were erratic when we created the 2006 budget, so we lowered our expectations and raised the allocation. We have a $360 favorable variance YTD. Two big concerns: volunteer drivers will not be able to afford to help despite reimbursement, and the price of groceries will increase as fuel costs rise. I worry that our frail, low-income clients will not be able to afford to eat well.

We do not have much transportation, but it has affected our YMCA in our gym heating bill. In the past, a month's bill has been around $1,000 in the cold month (Dec - Feb); we had 2 months this past winter that our heating bill was right around $1,500. This is a gym we lease from a Catholic Church to run all our indoor youth and adult sports programs in; plus the American Red Cross utilizes an office space in the gym - their employees have been wearing coats to work!

good to know others care! we are so far coping OK, but it will be an increasing factor as we depend uponn gas to run all of our vehicles with little public service available. A factor is the need for management to frequently make the 700(yes seven hundred) mile round trip to attend to necessary things in Salem. Obviously, that pushes up the cost. at 20 mpg it takes 35 gallons of fuel.. When gas was only(ONLY???) $2 a gallon a trip cost $70 for gas. At $3 a gallon it jumps to $105. Thanks for inquiring! John Hoskins

Eastern Oregon certainly has its challenges. Baker City is .20 cents a gallon higher that LaGrande 30 cents higher than our cloest large city Boise. Since we expanded into John Day we are taking an ever bigger hit as their prices are 15-20 higher than Baker.

Bottom line is we had blown out our transportation budget with a full quarter left in the fiscal year. This has meant reductions that has an adverse effect on our clients who really don't deserve to have their mobility and freedoms effected like this.

We will continue to do the best we can under the circumstances but budget preperation for next year is going to be a nightmare as something is going to have to be cut, when everything we have we truly need.

At Turning Point we give out fuel vouchers to our clients who are stuck and won't be able to get to work, a job interview, DHS appointment or medical appt. because they have no gas money. Since Clatskanie is 36 miles from the DHS offices and at least 25 miles from medical services transportation for low income families is a major issue. Our "public transportation" is minimal and is a "dial a ride" sustem that requires at least a days notice in advance to arrange a trip. Sometimes we pay for the bus ride but more often we are doing a gas voucher. With gas in our town now $2.95 per gallon a $10.00 voucher is barely getting people to one appointment or one interview. If we increase the amount of the vouchers we will only run out of funds sooner and have helped fewer people. Of course, with the rise in fuel prices more people are finding themselves needing the help. A real bad cycle.

We hire many guest artists and have not, in the past, offered mileage reimbursement. We are having to budget that in to the contracts in order hire the artists we need. In addition, I commute from Vancouver, WA and am having to re-consider working for a non-profit where the salaries are low anyway and increased fuel costs place a strain on my personal budget.

Holt International Children's Services is a child welfare/adoption agency based in Eugene, with a branch office in Portland and seven other cities across the country. Due to rising gas prices we have had to increase the mileage allowance, mainly affecting the branch offices where we have social workers traveling to do homestudies. We estimated that the adjustment to the mileage rate will cost Holt and additional $20,000 per year.

The increase in fuel prices has also caused our Family Recruitment Coordinate to cut back his weekly trips to the Eugene office from Portland from once per week to once per month.

We are seeing an increase in cost for air travel affecting management oversight of overseas programs, travel for adoptive families, travel for donor reps, etc., and increased costs from vendors.

All staff are being encouraged to reduce agency travel, including attendance at conferences and trainings.

Home Instruction for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) requires home visitors to visit 12 - 15 parents of preschoolers in the family home every week for 30 weeks. We pay mileage but it doesn't cover the home visitor's costs and as gas prices rise, this will be more of a problem for our home nisitors and for our budget.

The Illinois Valley Family Coalition is a one-stop community service integration and career and training center in Cave Junction, Oregon. Our area has no local public transportation and the ODOT services to Grants Pass do not accomodate work hours. More Illinois Valley residents are requesting donated bus passes for education, services or employment related transportation because of the cost of gas. The requests in the last month have been 4 times greater than in last year's monthly average.

Newberry Habitat for Humanity has not yet started this summer's building project in southern Deschutes County, but once started, the site is 15 miles away. We are making an effort to have our volunteers car-pool to the site, even though we don't reimburse them for mileage or gas. More directly, because of the cost of fuel, we are reluctant to send board members off to training sessions in the Willamette Valley. There is no public transportation to there from Central Oregon.

Since Microfarm Sustainable is located in a rural area and has as its only vehicle, a van 16 years old, getting around 10 mpg on Premium, we have certainly been affected by high fuel costs. Even a simple task such as having seminar handouts printed involves a 30-40 mile round-trip or two. (We have already requested funds from MMT for the purchase of a copier and paper folding machine to trim these trips!) Our seminars on water savings and local food production have in the past drawn people who travel an average of 120 miles one way to attend. Needless to say, we are seeing less people at our seminars and therefore less income to continue our services. And having to transport material to seminars in eastern Oregon, Washington, and California by van has about doubled our fuel costs. When you are dealing with low income rural residents, Native Americans, or others, it is hard to raise prices to justify costs.

Our total costs for fuel in 2005 were $2950. this includes Willamette Shore Trolley and Museum operations at Brooks. Our 2005 net was $3049. Inflation in fuel costs will wipe out any net.

Insurance costs rose 3 times since since 911 to present $17,000.00 per year

Those two costs, essential to continued operation, and controlled by outside interests, present a continuing problem. This is approximately 20% of total expenses, limiting progress in rebuilding Museum.

William H. Binns Jr., Treasurer, Oregon Electric Railway Historical Society.

We are concerned about our summer visitation, rising fuel costs have lowered attendance in the past at Mission Mill Museum and all of our regional attractions. Typically Oregon visits Oregon, hopefully our citizens will travel more in State and be our primary resource. I have two employees that comute. Each has and an hour drive, it cuts into their income. Rising fuel costs affect all of our fixed costs, we have already send a tremendous rise in gas and electiricy add that to rising insurance premiums and it becomes even more difficult to fund general operations. It will also impact our ability to fund living history presenters and speakers.

I am working on two capital campaigns, both having buildings involved. Our concern is the rising cost of construction, equipment and supplies.

The Center for Caring & Community project had an 18th month delay during which time construction costs increased 17%! Now we are facing another significant increase just when we have multiple funding sources together. Construction time is 14 months from demolition to move in. While there is a cost contingency percentage figured into the project, we are very concerned about crippling cost surcharges due to energy and inflation.

Thanks for the opportunity to respond. Gordon Dickey

The Oregon Child Development Coaltion improves the lives of children and families through early childhood education and related opportunities.

In the agency's work with migrant and seasonal farmworker children and families, the cost of running buses have tripled and gas is the #1 problem for families right now.

How do they get to work? How they will migrate to work the fields and orchards? How will it affect the growers who have to ship the crops out of remote area and will this impact the wages paid to families?

Limited transportation = Limited options.

I am a geriatric Nurse practitioner with Housecall Providers, Inc. and I make housecalls for seniors and disabled who are homebound.
My patients are located in Forest Grove, Cornelius, HIllsboro, Aloha, and Beaverton. I am spending so much more on gas than I ever have in the past. I must continue seeing patients b/c they so desperately need our service.
In essence, my practice has not changed, but my savings account sure feels it!! Thank you for the opportunity to respond.

Carolyn Concia, NP

I feel badly about the letter in the
Oregonian that states the trucks
can't afford gasoline to pick up
donated items. Maybe the millionaire CEO of the Fred Meyer
Trust can drive over in his
Jaguar and pick the stuff up.

During a recent survey of our providers we were found that our providers expect to spend $67,000 more than was budgeted on fuel during the current fiscal year. For a Network of organizations operating on fixed budgets this is sad news. Fewer dollars will be available to provide the rides which are critical to the heath and independence of our customers.

Ride Connection coordinates a Network of over 30 community based transportation providers. Our Network serves individuals who have limited or nonexistent transportation options (seniors, people with disabilities, and others). With the assistance of our partner agencies the Ride Connection Network provided over 300,000 rides for more than 11,000 individuals last fiscal year. The increase in fuel prices has a direct impact on how many rides our Network can afford to provide.

Thank you for allowing us to respond.

Julie Wehling
Deputy Director
Ride Connection, Inc.
www.rideconnection.org

The Gospel Rescue Mission of Grants Pass, Oregon is working and collaborating efforts to reduce fule cost with other local organizations that we work with, and it is a start, but not an answer.

I appreciate the collaboration regarding this topic. I hope that it might fule,(sorry) so positive results, one of which I have held for several years and believe it is very doable, especially in the rual areas.

It has do with a two fold system of removal of abandoned vehicles, scrap-yards and some other ideas I wish to hold back at this time in hopes of a response. A idea good for the environment and help for the needy!

It would work on a voucher system for gasoline for those in need with valid licesnes and insurance. And oh did I forget, grant start-up money?

Keep at it!
Chris

The League of Women Voters of Oregon has increased our reimbursement to Board members for travel by car and may have to again. We also are doing more meetings by conference call and making some decisions by email.

We always encourage carpooling, and in fact, our members are very good about this.

For our annual meeting this year and last, we are offering mileage reimbursement for members who are traveling over 300 miles round trip to encourage them to come.

It is surmise on my part that gas prices are a cause, but I see that library users in Coos County seem more and more reluctant to drive to County libraries that are not close to them, so they rely more on intralibrary loan of materials, or obtaining information through the library district web site. We are adjusting the way we provide services as a result. The lack of adequate public transportation here is a factor, I'm sure. Also, I see a downturn in attendance by librarians in our region at professional meetings and training sessions, which may be due to a combination of high gas prices, dwindling library training budgets, and short staffing that makes getting away difficult.

I am just getting to comment because I have been so busy the last month getting the SolWest Fair program ready for press.
I was already curtailing my travel and attending only a few of the many meetings and events I am invited to, almost all 150 to 250 miles each way from John Day. Now I am having to reimburse the long trips at a higher rate (like others, maxing out the budget with time left to go). I donate much of my local travel as "in-kind" donation to my organization. Of course, as one of the founders and Board members, I believe passionately in the "cause" of sustainable energy, and I put my money (and time: my salary is low) where my mouth is.

Although, we are a bicycle organization, the Community Cycling Center is affected by rising petroleum prices. Like other organizations we use a truck to move bikes and supplies for our programs, of course we use bicycles for most transportation. Fuel surcharges our parts suppliers pass on to us have raised the price we pay for many bike products. We also expect to see price increases in bike products made of petroleum: bicycle lubricants, tires, tubes, etc.

Participants in our programs earn bicycles, and thereby reduce their exposure to rising petroleum prices. Children in our Bicycle Safety Clubs and Get Linked programs have fun earning a bicycle, and use this healthy alternative to parental car rides. We continue to offer our Create-A-Commuter program providing free bike safety training, helmets and bicycles to low-income adults. For more information about our programs, please visit us at www.CommunityCyclingCenter.org.

At HOST Development, a non profit homebuilder, we have seen the rising costs of gas and oil mainly effect the cost of materials. Roofing, in particular, has increased considerably. Also, almost everything we use to build a house travels on a truck at some point, and we have seen fuel surcharges on just about everything we buy for home construction. These charges have increased our overall costs by about 1 - 2% (rough estimate). In all we have seen construction costs go from $62/sf to almost $70/sf. Some of that increase can be attributed to fuel, some not. Needless to say, it certainly is not helping the effort to provide affordable homes to our buyers.