Pontiac’s Baldwin Center fears potential closure amid high demand and higher costs

Every week, hundreds of people are served by Pontiac’s Baldwin Center, which distributes food bags and keeps individuals who are having difficulty surviving supplied. However, things have become difficult for the nonprofit, which is struggling to cover expenses.

• • 
    The Baldwin Center in Pontiac helps keep people fed with warm meals that it hands out every week to hundreds of people
    
  • 
    But times are also tough for the nonprofit, which is struggling to keep up with costs as demand remains
    
  • 
    Without additional support, its executive director fears they will have to shut down
    

• 
  The Baldwin Center in Pontiac helps keep people fed with warm meals that it hands out every week to hundreds of people
  
• 
  But times are also tough for the nonprofit, which is struggling to keep up with costs as demand remains
  
• 
  Without additional support, its executive director fears they will have to shut down
  

FOX 2, Pontiac, Mich.A nonprofit organization in Pontiac is concerned that it might have to close due to strong demand and steadily rising operating expenses.

However, for some, the Baldwin Center is an essential source of reasonably priced food and resources in an era when costs are rising in the United States, and closing it will only make matters worse.

Overview:

In 2025, running a nonprofit is difficult due to the growing expense of food and the decline in donations.

Because of the dollar’s depreciation due to inflation and the increased demand from those who are unable to keep up, organizations like Pontiac’s Baldwin Center play a crucial role in helping those in need.

Nonprofits, meanwhile, are also having difficulties these days.

“We are struggling,” Elizabeth Longley, executive director, stated. “Donations to nonprofits around the country have decreased by roughly 10%. We have discovered that we are having difficulties.

Nonprofits have seen a decline in individual donations as churches have seen a decline in church attendance.

In the meantime, for the last six months, Longley has seen 50 more patients every day as they open up. Meanwhile, it costs tens of thousands of dollars to stay open.

“Salaries, utilities, and food expenses totaled $50,000 a month for our operations. In other words, we have trimmed more than $200,000 from the budget since I took office,” Longley added.

Local viewpoint:

Gabrielle Richardson is one of the people who would be affected if the center closed.

In addition to having to feed herself and her 2-year-old kid, she has watched her expenses and grocery prices grow. She was grateful for the services provided by the Baldwin Center on Monday as she stood outside of it.

“It’s incredible. Homeless people have benefited greatly from it. “And everyone is attempting to regain their footing,” she stated.

The nonprofit will require more donations to remain open, even though it has been able to function for the last ten years.

“After ten years here, this is difficult for me. We’re having a lot of trouble. It can’t get any scarier, I hate to say, but who knows? “I mean, the future is uncertain,” Longley remarked.

What you are able to do:

To learn more about how you can support the nonprofit, visit baldwincenter.networkforgood.com.