CHAMPAIGN – For the fourth time this decade, the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club is appealing for community help to keep its doors open.

The club won't be able to offer its popular summer program for children and teens unless it raises about $175,000 by June 1, and another $173,000 by July 1, board President Toney Tomaso said Friday.

"We're in a cash crunch," said Executive Director Andre Arrington. "The club could be closing if we do not get more support."

The club sent out mailings Friday to 3,000 homes and businesses seeking financial help.

It has relied increasingly on fundraising to pay for its operations in recent years, but donations have been "sluggish" the last few months, Arrington said.

Overall income is 9 percent behind projections, or 14 percent if grants and other restricted funds aren't counted, he said. Expenses are also down 13 percent, to about $897,000.

The club's special fundraising events – a Bags Tournament, Bids for Kids auction and the Steak and Burger dinner – made more money than projected this year, a total of $114,000 compared to the $80,000 budgeted. But that only makes up about 13 percent of the club's revenue.

The "Achilles' heel" is the Youth Investment Fund, its primary fundraising effort, which is 55 percent behind target, he said. The fund was created in 2001, but the club began pitching it seriously in late 2008 when it ran into another financial crisis.

The idea was to move away from temporary grants and labor-intensive special events and find sustained investors to fund the club's ongoing operations. Grants had become more restrictive and targeted at new programs, and some events, such as the Crystal Lake duck race, became too costly or labor intensive to operate.

In 2009, churches and community donors came up with more than $350,000 for the Youth Investment Fund, agreeing to sponsor a child for $558 a year (the cost of the club's operations divided by the number of children served).

This year's goal was about $500,000, but less than half of that has been raised, Arrington said.

The state also owes Don Moyer $15,000 of reimbursements from a $62,000 program grant. The club hasn't received a payment from the state since December, Tomaso said.

The club has faced similar problems before, in 2003, 2005 and 2008. Tomaso said the club relies heavily on community support, including $157,000 from the United Way. The recession, state budget woes and competition from the Champaign County YMCA's capital-fund drive have made funding scarce, he said. Meanwhile, demand for the club's programs continues to rise, with attendance doubling in the last five or six years.