Council's Appropriations Committee claims it is not defunding Madison House, but rather, declaring the organization self-sufficient. But this policy actually leaves Madison House with a catch-22. Their first option is to continue to withdraw up to 6 percent interest from the U.Va. But without SAF funding to supplement their finances, they would have to cut possibly half of their programs, severely diminishing the number of volunteers in the Charlottesville community. Madison House is expanding many programs.
Boosters is one such program.
It is so popular that the organization actually had to turn away over 100 potential volunteers. Madison House's claim that they could lose up to half of their programs is not a scare tactic, but potential underestimation. The majority of Madison House's funds are spent on fixed costs rather than variable costs such as programs. Cutting even half of their programs, therefore, may not sufficiently compensate for the loss of SAF funds. A second possibility is that Madison House could choose to withdraw more than 6 percent of its endowment revenues so they do not need to cut any of their programs.