Cedar Rapids office lays off one as Red Cross reorganizes

They aren't seeing the wholesale office closings and layoffs happening elsewhere across the country, but Eastern Iowa Red Cross chapters are feeling the effects of a national reorganization effort.

"It is happening all over the country," said Angela Jordan, executive director of the Red Cross' Grant Wood Area Chapter based in Cedar Rapids. "Our units are working together for greater efficiencies, to try and make sure we're even better stewards of our donated dollars."

The effort has brought major changes to regional offices in other states, but the less drastic changes outlined by Jordan call for an alignment between Grant Wood and Waterloo-based Hawkeye Chapter, with each office losing one staff position.

"There's no change in our services," Jordan said. "We hope in fact we'll be able to enhance those, and focus on enhancing our fundraising efforts."

Jordan said Grant Wood and Hawkeye each used to administer operations in smaller communities in their service areas, but much of that work is being shifted to the state office in Des Moines.

"Now it's not just on a local geographical basis, but on a broader geographical basis," Jordan said.

The Red Cross maintains 10 offices in Iowa serving 78 counties, Jordan said. Many border counties are served through offices in neighboring states.

No Iowa office will be closed, said Tammie Pech, state Red Cross spokeswoman based in Sioux City. She said it's the first Red Cross reorganization in Iowa since 1917.

"Every region is taking a look at what they were doing and every region is doing it a bit differently," Pech said.

The moves are expected to save about $200,000, or 8 percent, of the Red Cross' statewide budget, Jordan said. The Des Moines office will now manage a single budget for all Iowa chapters.

Grant Wood reported $3,392,897 in assets and $1.3 million in donations and revenues for the year ending June 30, 2010, the most recent available figures.

The Cedar Rapids office is staffed by 7.5 full-time-equivalent workers, Waterloo by 1.5, Jordan said. The offices manage about 600 volunteers and operations in the area extending roughly from Washington County to the Mason City area.

The changes are being managed to have little direct impact on local volunteers, Jordan said.

"They live and work in a community, and that's where they want to serve," she said.