COLUMBUS — The central Ohio Meals on Wheels Program has received an anonymous $5 million donation.
LifeCare Alliance received the donation in the form of a challenge grant. This means the donor will match new or increased gifts to the group’s endowment fund up to $5 million, President and CEO Chuck Gehring said in an interview for “Perspective” on March 18.
Hear the full interview with Chuck Gehring
The funding is much needed, as LifeCare’s government funding has decreased about 20 percent since 2001 while its clients increased from 7,500 to about 20,000 in the same period.
Non-profit groups who struggled during the recession began to see some value in having a “rainy day fund,” Gehring said.
“Maybe we need, as agencies, to have a little money in the bank. Not a huge amount, but a cushion,” he said.
Gehring says the group has about $6 million in endowment funds today. The campaign has collected $300,000 as of Sunday evening, according to a report in The Columbus Dispatch.
Gehring says the group provides 5,000 meals daily to the elderly and chronically ill in central Ohio.