(Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection - Money Matters)

PARKERSBURG – With awareness of the North Star Child Advocacy Center growing in recent years, Executive Director Greg Collins said he wants to make sure people understand the nonprofit’s financial situation.

“There are misconceptions out there that we have an abundance of money in the bank, which is not true,” he said in a news release. “The money that we have been awarded is already spent, minus donations which goes into keeping the center running. We are a nonprofit meaning we have no profit.”

North Star personnel perform forensic interviews of children who may be victims of abuse. The center also offers services including therapy, medical exams, courtroom preparation, victim advocacy and case management.

Probably the biggest misconception about the center’s funding, Collins said, is that the $720,000 awarded to North Star last year by the West Virginia First Foundation is money in the bank.

“Maybe my biggest goal as an executive director was to get North Star its own space so money isn’t being spent on an office lease, but rather our children and programs,” he said. “When the WVFF money was received, as with most grants or foundations, it was only to be used on a specific venture, in this case to purchase and expand our current space. It was not only spent immediately, another $60,000 had to be (obtained) just to complete the building purchase of $780,000.”

The additional money needed for the purchase and other concerns like IT and security came in the form of $35,000 from the Sisters Health Foundation, $19,740 from Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and $100,000 coming from a North Star endowment fund, the release said.

The Victims of Crime Act grant situation at both the state and federal level is always precarious, Collins said.

“The federal grants are our biggest funding source, accounting for 32% of our budget,” he said. “Since the federal shutdown, we have not received a check since September of 2025. Those funds not received amount to $166,193.25.”

Collins said the State of West Virginia has come to the rescue of Child Advocacy Centers the past several years.

“They have been supplying us with level funding to make up for what has been lost during the VOCA collapse. This year, the governor put us in their budget for the first time ever, and it was supported by legislators, which is amazing,” he said, noting the state is responsible for 19% of North Star’s budget.

With grants and foundations covering mostly programming, the daily operation of the center is not seen by public, he said.

“The monthly average cost for North Star over the past 12 months is $63,000. This includes payroll and benefits, utilities, program supplies, insurance, office supplies, training and IT and accounting services among others,” Collins said. “Personnel and operational expenses are 67% and 28% of our budget respectively.”

Collins said donations of any size are important.

“All of our small donations mean something big for us. It is those people that have kept us going through the lean times. Donations at this time account for 21% of our budget, up from around 8% five years ago. It’s these people that are the unsung heroes for our abused children,” he said.

Collins said he hopes the information he provides combats the misconception that the organization is “sitting on an excess of money.”

“That is simply not the case,” he said. “This isn’t a feel-good, nonprofit organization; it is an essential service for our abused children, most of which are in a living Hell. It is an essential service that supports prosecutors, Child Protective Services and law enforcement every day. Our community is making it possible for us to be here for them all for the next 100 years.”

Collins said North Star is trying to attain sustainable funding through local cities and counties. The City of Vienna was the first government entity to put North Star in their budget, and Collins said he hopes others will soon follow.

More information about North Star can be obtained by calling 304-917-4437, emailing nscac@northstarcac.org or visiting northstarcac.org online.