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Central Iowa charitable organizations had trouble finding the money to handle an increased demand for their services in 2009, according to a recent survey.

For the second January in a row, the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines conducted a Survey of Nonprofits and the Economy to gauge the economic health of local nonprofits. More than 80 organizations representing the arts, health, human services, housing, community betterment, education and environmental causes completed the survey, according to the foundation.

Here are some of the results:

Sixty-eight percent of the respondents said obtaining funding was a major challenge. Seventy percent said recruiting new donors was a major challenge, and 22 percent said retaining donors was a challenge. These numbers are virtually unchanged from the 2009 survey.

Fifty-two percent of the respondents said providing employee benefits and insurance was a major challenge, an increase of 14 percentage points compared with the previous year.

Asked about their financial health, 20 percent of the organizations said they are healthy and not vulnerable; 58 percent said they are healthy but vulnerable; 21 percent reported chronic financial problems but expect to survive, an increase of 5 percentage points since the previous survey; and 1 percent said they do not expect to survive through 2010.

Sixty percent reported increased expenses, but 34 percent said they took in less revenue last year.

This translated into increasing financial problems for some, and 16 percent of the organizations reported having no cash reserves.

In response to the economic stress, 45 percent of the organizations reduced spending on travel and training; 26 percent reduced or changed health or retirement benefits; and 14 percent reduced staff salaries. Half of the respondents maintained their existing staffing levels.