Tough times call for tough decisions.

The Douglas County Community Foundation an-nounced Tuesday the nonprofit, local agencies that would receive funding this year.

Forty-seven agencies asked for a piece of the $100,000 available in funding; only 30 made the cut.

“It is difficult for our board of directors to have to make those kind of decisions where agencies either don’t get funded at all or get only partial funding for these important projects,” said Chip Blaser, executive director.

To make it even tougher, the amount of available funding declined 31 percent from last year’s $146,000 because of the economic downturn. The funding comes from private donations. Last year, they were able to help 35 organizations.

“They are all very important to the fabric of Douglas County. Things from human services to education to health care — all those types of issues certainly are very important more now than ever,” Blaser said.

Judy Culley, executive director of The Shelter Inc., said the agency’s mission is to improve the lives of children and families from all over the state. Culley said more families are needing assistance to provide basic care for their children, including shelter, heat, water and clothes.

The Shelter will use the $2,000 foundation grant to buy shoes for children.

“We see kids who have shoes that are, honestly, too small or really worn. It just breaks your heart to think that they aren’t able to get that kind of a basic thing,” Culley said.

Douglas County Senior Services and Meals on Wheels are also receiving funding. Douglas County Senior Services will use the grant to upgrade the communications systems that support the Senior Wheels program. Meals on Wheels will provide “blizzard bags” containing shelf-stable meals to clients so they will have something to eat if bad weather prevents delivery of meals.

Other grants went to the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center for anxiety treatment programs; St. Luke AME Second Century Fund to preserve the structural integrity of the landmark church; and to the Lumberyard Arts Center project, which is creating a home for the arts in Baldwin City.

— Visit health and environment reporter Karrey Britt’s health beat blog and follow her at Twitter.com.