Photo: Mamas for Mamas Instagram

FILE- Shannon Christensen at Mamas for Mamas.

A well loved Okanagan-based charity is adjusting operations as they “figure out how to navigate this new economic normal.”

Shannon Christensen, founder of Mamas for Mamas, said the non profit that helps struggling mothers will be closing out some services and trimming staffing to address ongoing funding shortfalls.

“It’s kind of like any mom who's trying to work their budget,” Christensen said.

“They're going to start trimming the fat wherever they can, getting rid of the extras. We're run by the community, for the community, so we can only provide what community is able to assist with.”

The Karma Market, which provides diapers, wipes, formula and other necessities to struggling moms is still going to be open, as are many services.

But one area that will be cut back is internal subsidies.

In the past, for example, when they were trying to find a woman housing, and there was disparity between what they found and the amount of money needed, Mamas for Mamas could do a top up of several hundred dollars for an extended period of time.

“Now we just don't have any direct cash to put towards any specific poverty relief cases,” she said.

The reason for that is that donors who have supported the non profit for years are also struggling. Recurrent donors who once were able to give $300 a month, or $1,000 a month, are no longer there.

Companies they’ve been working with for years have also greatly reduced yearly donations and where some used to offer an annual donation of $150,000 there’s now $25,000.

“Basically they have had to do the same thing with their families and their companies — they're scaling back,” she said.

“Just about every single person I know that owns a company is either scaling back or reducing their workforce, and the last thing that they usually allocate money to is charity.”

These cutbacks, unfortunately, tend to happen when the help is needed most.

“People who are really struggling the most at the marginalized level get hit the hardest,” she said.

It’s not just Mamas for Mamas seeing rising need and dwindling resources, she said. Other organizations that offer similar supports are feeling the same strain.

Christensen, however, is undeterred.

“I see it as a temporary issue … it feels, economically, that everybody's just unsure,” she said.

“I think the uncertainty is what really sends people into a space of scarcity. If they're not sure what's going to happen with their company because of tariffs or changes to their trade partnership, they've had to pivot.”

That “North American rift” is really affecting a lot of people who are in small business and, in turn, charities are getting hit really hard.

“I noticed right around the beginning of this year it just kind of it felt like everyone was walking on eggshells, pins and needles, kind of stuff. And so we've been, you know, working with a lot of the same donors."

Going forward, she’s hoping to make adjustments so these kinds of ebbs and flows in consumer confidence are less impactful, but the Mamas for Mamas is still relatively new, as far as charities go.

“We’re not like most charities where we are government funded … we're still new as of eight years ago,” she said, adding that a long term reserve base takes time to build.

“It’s like being a low income single mom saving for your retirement,” she said,

“You're obviously going to do your best but we have one kind of income stream (donors) and I would say a lot of charities are a dual income family.”

With that in mind, Christensen said she’d like to see people continue to work with the charities they work with, if they’re able.

“If it's Mama’s, great,” she said. “If it's another organization that's doing good that's great, too, because we're all doing our best right now the non government funded ones are having the hardest time, because we're donor based.”

In the meantime, they're still open for donations to redisperse to those in need.

They are accepting donations of everything from non-perishable food and snacks, baby formula to clothes, tampons, diapers and cash. Go online to see where and how to donate.

"We're here in service, and we're asking those who can be of service to come with us on that journey and help us help these mamas, because it's brutal out there," Christensen said.