A series of failed fund-raisers has forced the Ypsilanti-Willow Run branch of the NAACP into debt, leaving the agency hoping for sufficient donations to avoid bankruptcy.
Raymond Mullins, president of the local NAACP branch, said people sometimes forget that the civil rights organization must operate like a business.
"We have to heighten awareness in the members of our community," Mullins said. "They tend to think you can do things without money. We're about civil rights, but it takes money."
Mullins said part of the agency's financial troubles stem from local members' inexperience at maintaining an office, which was acquired two years ago, but said he is particularly frustrated by affluent blacks not sharing their success with the NAACP.
"Some people who have jobs making five or six figures haven't supported us like you'd think - they forget the group that fought the battles," he said. "We need to call on this segment of society for their brainpower as well as their donations."
To bring in the badly needed donations, the branch will be holding the C. Eugene Beatty 18-hole golf tournament Sept. 23 at the Huron Hills Golf Course. And on Oct. 25, the branch will have its annual Freedom Fund dinner.
Mullins emphasized the difficulty of raising money in the black community.
"We haven't operated on a level with majority organizations in the community," he said. "If we had a white budget it would be four or five times what it is now. That's one aspect of being an African American in this country: less job opportunities and chances for promotions."
Mullins, who has been president of his branch for eight years, said the office has received generous donations from non-blacks in the past, but support is still thin.
"We get donations from all people who believe in what we're trying to do - battling for civil rights, equality and equal opportunity in terms of job availability," he said. "There are some good people who support our mission, but we do need more support."
Nationally, the NAACP has also suffered severe financial troubles. Mullins said the NAACP - the nation's oldest civil rights organization, founded in 1910 - was $3.5 million in debt only a few years ago. But organizers announced at this year's conference in Charlotte, N.C., that the debt had been nearly eliminated.
The Ypsilanti-Willow Run branch, founded in 1918, has 550 members, most of whom live in eastern Washtenaw county. Ninety of the group's members live in Ann Arbor.
Mullins said future donations will go toward paying rent, utilities and dues to the national NAACP. The branch also hopes to hire a secretary.
For more information regarding the golf tournament, dinner or general donations, contact the Ypsilanti-Willow Run branch of the NAACP at (313) 480-9654.