Humanitarian agency CARE lays off 54

CARE, the international humanitarian agency headquartered in Atlanta, is cutting domestic staff and salaries in the face of dwindling donations.

It laid off 54 workers Tuesday, 43 in Atlanta. It slashed top management salaries by 10 percent and staff salaries by 4 percent this week.

Donations from individuals and foundations during the first quarter of 2009 are down by 8 percent compared to last year, said Adam Hicks, Vice President for Communications and Marketing. He declined to attach a dollar figure to that percentage.

CARE brought in $297 million from non-governmental sources in fiscal year 2008, according to its annual report. After the layoffs, it has 255 workers in Atlanta.

“The economic crisis has been hard on us in the U.S., but it’s hitting poor people overseas even harder,” Hicks said.

“We are trying hard not to reduce our services overseas,” he said.

Many nonprofits are reporting economic stress. A recent survey by the Georgia Center for Nonprofits shows that 60 percent of metro Atlanta nonprofits reported reduced giving in the last quarter of 2008 compared to 2007. Nearly one-third had laid off staff.

A study from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University shows that nationally, gifts of $1 million or more in late 2008 fell by 30 percent compared to 2007.