And many of the remedies the organization would normally use in such a situation, Fonseca-Sabune said, have not been available.

For instance, in the past PBHA camps have cross-referenced applicants they cannot take to other area camps.

Cross-referencing, she said, is never a perfect solution, since other camps are often far more expensive than PBHA’s, which charge a flat fee of $75 for an entire summer. But this year, with many neighboring camps shut down by budget cuts, it was often not even an option.

Cone said that their own tight financial situation had not let them simply hire more staffers to deal with a heavier camper load.

“We don’t have the funds to hire a lot of additional staff, or any additional staff,” she said.

Instead, Fonseca-Sabune said she was proud that PBHA had not cut any of its programs, and that student organizers had proved so thrifty.

“The camp directors have been really diligent about keeping expenses low,” she said.

Gene A. Corbin, PBHA’s new executive director, echoed this thought, calling students’ fundraising efforts “an incredible job.”

Since taking office this summer, Corbin said he has tried to reduce the fundraising burden of PBHA student volunteers by cultivating individual donors with disposable income and ties to the University’s tradition of service.

“People associated with the Harvard community believe that Harvard should make a difference in the community, that students’ coursework should intersect with actual engagement and with the problems of the world,” he said.

And Corbin said that PBHA had been especially helped by a grant awarded it by Harvard this year “at the last minute.” He called the $50,000 grant—a sizeable chunk of PBHA’s budget for summer camps, which Fonseca-Sabune said was between $500,000 and $600,000—“some vital help.”

No Bandaids

But even with Corbin’s dynamic leadership and Harvard’s generosity, PBHA leaders still said they did not expect the problems surrounding the summer camps to disappear.

Harvard’s grant is a one-time affair, said Fonseca-Sabune, and Corbin said that it was not always easy to find individuals willing to give.

“As the new executive director of PBHA, I’m often amazed at how many people don’t realize that PBHA offers 76 programs including 12 summer camps that impact Cambridge and Boston,” he said. “We have some faithful donors, but I strongly believe there are a lot of people who would support PBHA if they understood the need and all that PBHA is doing.”