Times are tough, but Utahns are still giving

Utahns are pinching their own pennies while pouring them into the hands of others.

Despite dinged wallets due to high gas and food prices, Utah residents are giving more to at least some charities. Crossroads Urban Center got more food donations last month alone than it usually gets all summer. Salt Lake's American Cancer Society fundraising is up 6 percent. And Primary Children's Medical Center took in more than a half-million extra dollars so far this year.

The giving surge seems to defy common sense. Utah's unemployment is rising, food prices have jumped 5 percent in the past five months, and a gallon of gas has soared above the $4 mark, taking its sweet time in coming back down. In addition, a national poll last May found that half of the respondents had cut charitable giving, along with other parts of their budgets.

But a boost in benevolence doesn't shock Boston College's Center on Wealth and Philanthropy, which a couple of years ago ranked Utah the nation's third-most-generous state.

"The economic downturn doesn't immediately affect people's giving," said Bob Kenny, the center's associate director. "There's usually a bit of a lag in there, and it just doesn't translate as dramatically as people think it might."

Even so, the state of the economy is making some nonprofits nervous.

Utah's unemployment rate last month hit 3.5 percent, up from 2.7 percent reported a year ago, according to the state Department of Workforce Services. That's 48,900 Utahns who were considered unemployed last month, versus 37,000 a year ago.

The jobless rate, combined with food and energy inflation, can affect how much money there is to go around for nonprofits and other public programs. State legislative leaders this week are expected to hear how tax revenues are doing this fiscal year, which started a month ago. Some lawmakers worry that revenues for programs will fall short.

That worries The Road Home, whose homeless services are in bigger demand these days.

"What we are forecasting is government sources are going to be challenged with restricted revenues this year. That will definitely be a challenge that is passed on to nonprofit agencies that have government partnerships," Road Home executive director Matthew M. Minkevitch said. "We hope we have enough contributions to meet the (increased) demand for our services."

Some charities across the nation also are feeling the pinch. The Chicago-based Center for Cultural Interchange has issued a national call for families, Utahns included, to host foreign exchange students. The center says it has been hurt for the first timeIn March, the food pantry served 44 percent more people than it did in February.