LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville nonprofit recently laid off a vast majority of its staff in hopes of preventing a complete shutdown.
The Center for Neighborhoods has been part of Louisville for decades, working to get neighbors invested in their community's future. The organization's executive director, Mikal Forbush, said it first began as the Louisville Community Design Center in 1972.
"The way that we operate currently is we work directly with residents and neighborhood associations, Metro government and other nonprofits to really kind of activate neighborhoods," Forbush said.
Forbush said he previously served as the Center for Neighborhoods' interim executive director and took over the role permanently in August 2023. He said the organization works with neighborhood associations across the city, with a particular focus in areas of Louisville's south and west end.
"Our importance is really kind of rooted in what residents want to see and do in their neighborhoods," he said Friday. "A lot of times, there is a kind of hurdle to figure out, 'Well, we want to see this change, but how do we make it happen?'"
Forbush said since the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been struggles with funding.
"As of last Friday, we made the difficult decision to lay off a vast majority of our staff," Forbush said, adding that it was a board decision. "That is because the funding that we were really hoping for and trying to bring in didn't materialize."
He said the Center for Neighborhoods has searched for local and national funding.
"Metro government was kind enough to really give us some funding as well as the Owsley Brown Foundation, but it wasn't enough for us to maintain a full staff," Forbush said.
In all, he said four people were laid off. That leaves only Forbush and one contracted worker for the Center for Neighborhoods. According to Forbush, outreach will continue at neighborhood associations, but it won't happen as often.
"Other than that, all of our programming has taken a pause until we can get our financial feet under us," he said, noting that he's looking at upcoming funding opportunities.
But he said those opportunities won't "come to fruition" until this spring.
"... and the board decided that they didn't want to take a risk of completely running out of funding and having to shut the doors," Forbush said.
Rachael Brown, a community volunteer, has worked with the Center for Neighborhoods to help bring events to Louisville's Wilder Park Community Center. She's previously participated in the Center for Neighborhoods' education program called Neighborhood Institute.
"Center for Neighborhoods has been basically like the doorway for my community involvement," she said.
Brown said she learned about the lay offs in an email, calling it "heartbreaking," especially after getting to know the staff members.
"It's just really sad, especially for Louisville as a whole city to lose a program or the staffing of people who dedicate so much of their time," she said.
Brown said the Center for Neighborhoods provided her with the connections and tools to be able to do things for her community.
"Our plan is to go to Metro Council, individually, and talk to them about the work that we are doing and see how we can work better with them," Forbush said. "... really ask them what they would like to see from us and how we could fit that need."
The city said it encourages the Center for Neighborhoods and other nonprofits to apply for an external agency fund grant. The link to apply can be found here.
Forbush said he's hopeful the Center for Neighborhoods can be fully staffed again this summer. He said aside from larger funding sources, he's also thankful for individual donors who, over the years, have stepped in to help.
For a direct link to the Center for Neighborhoods website, click here.
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