Lee M. Hampton '01, outgoing PBHA treasurer, chairs the budget committee that supervises all of the program's financial transactions. He says that PBHA often finds it difficult to raise enough money for its programs, but that raising money for summer programs is especially demanding.

Last year, PBHA spent a total of $495,000 on the summer programs.

"PBHA's finances are always teetering on the brink," Hampton says. "Donors don't want a surplus: they could take some of their money and give it to someone else. Non-profits very rarely have large cash reserves."

This year, PBHA finds itself in a particularly precarious financial position.

Last year, PBHA used a $66,000 grant from the Boston Youth Foundation for its summer programs, but this year, the foundation turned down PBHA's request for a grant.

In addition, last year PBHA spent $100,000 of a bequest from the Margaret Rey Estate on the summer programs. This year, however, Hampton says the organization can only afford to spent $50,000 of the Estate's gift on summer programs.

Those numbers leave PBHA with $116,000 less than the group says it had last year. And, because of a deficit rollover, Hampton estimates that PBHA is short $147,000 of what it needs for the summer programs, assuming PBHA does not get any more grant money.

Hampton says that PBHA's Centennial Campaign, which aims to raise $7.25 million over three years, should ease these financial worries in the long-term, but will not fund programs in the near future.