Nonprofit agencies sometimes can overcome the risks of serving people who don't attract much public sympathy by including them in a much larger group that gets a wide range of services.

That's the approach taken by two successful programs, one suburban and one urban.

North Hills Community Outreach, Inc. in Hampton helps people struggling with poverty and family crises, and stays successful by relying heavily on volunteers.

Hosanna House Inc. in Wilkinsburg has mastered the art of fund-raising, so much so that it finished 2002 with a surplus of nearly $1 million.

Fay Morgan, the executive director of North Hills Community Outreach, uses a network of 1,000 volunteers -- including all of the group's secretaries -- and a mailing list of 12,000 North Hills residents to run the faith-based human services organization, which is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. That allows the group to oversee all its programs with a full-time paid staff of just 22 people.

More than 40 percent of the organization's budget comes from private donations, which Morgan cites as the key reason for its stable year-to-year funding. Government funding accounts for 14 percent.

"That's on purpose," Morgan says. "We want to have the ability to design our program and delivery system with a great deal of compassion, without government dependence."

Their newsletter mailing list comprises people who have given before, as well as people whom volunteers have met through church or other activities.

"That's part of our responsibility to the community, to communicate that these are their neighbors in need," Morgan says.

Occasionally, the favor is returned. As North Hills volunteers were helping victims of last September's floods, the Rotary Club of McCandless pitched in on weekends to renovate the community outreach group's own flood-damaged Millvale office.

Non-monetary donations also are important. The group spent $11,000 last year on food, Morgan says, but gave away $300,000 worth -- the remainder of which was donated by groups as diverse as postal workers, scout troops, churches, clubs and schools. Expenditures on furnishings for their six sites amounted to $8. "Everything else is donated."

And they're not shy about asking. The group's Web site includes a "wish list" of office furniture, bus passes, vans and other items they hope someone will donate to them.

"A lot of these things don't take money. They really don't." The key, she says, is making people care. That's why they emphasize their geographic area -- making the point that these are neighbors in need -- rather than a particular social service. "When you get to be issue-based, it's harder to find people who are going to care."

In poverty-stricken Wilkinsburg, Hosanna House Inc., whose yearly revenues exceed expenses by nearly $1 million, appears to be the picture of success.

But long-time Executive Director Leon Haynes III says he had to cut programs in the past year when funding for specific services ended, and more trimming may be necessary once the 2005-06 budget picture becomes clearer.

The most recent reduction was in Hosanna's youth programs, where the staff of seven was pared to four. The program offers tutoring, work experience and other help. "We're still working with the same number of kids, we just can't do as much as often," Haynes says.

Project manager Steve Hellner-Burris said restrictions placed by donors on how money can be spent -- limiting it to early childhood care or addiction recovery, for instance -- often prevent the organization from simply shifting money from its reserves to a program that runs short.

More than 60 percent of the $5 million Hosanna House gets comes from private support, such as foundation money and donations, so cuts in federal and state funding pose less of a threat. On the other hand, Haynes says he must constantly look for new revenue sources.

Especially since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and ensuing economic downturn, "we have to do a lot more strategic planning, so you're not overdoing programs. You need to know what's working, what has the greatest impact and what shows good outcomes."

Outcomes are a mantra for Haynes.

When he asks for money to fund a program, he tells potential donors that he expects a certain percentage of enrolled teens to make the honor roll, or wants to be able to show how many in job training were employed six months later.

"I consider people who give us money investors, so they should be expecting a return on their investment."

While Pittsburgh is fortunate to have such strong foundation support, "we can't count on foundations to bail us out," Haynes says.

"I have to be able to tell people why they should donate to my organization versus another organization, and it can't be a gimmick. It has to show value."