As charities prepare to kick off their annual holiday donation drives next month, many are bracing for dismal earnings even as they're already seeing big increases in need from families struggling to pay bills.

Holiday campaigns often raise the bulk of funds for the following year, so now is a critical time.

"Everyone's worried," said Howard Garval, chief executive officer and president of Child and Family Service, which has seen dozens more people seeking help over the last few months because of the nation's floundering financial system. "When the economy goes south, funding goes south, but the need goes up."

A preview of how donation drives could fare in the winter came today at Hawai'i Public Radio — which for the first time in at least a decade had to continue its semi-annual pledge drive for a full 10th day. In the past, the drive to raise $741,000 has lasted as few as seven days.

Michael Titterton, HPR president and general manager, said the drive has been a "different animal" altogether than any he has ever encountered.

Overall, the number of donations are up, but the amount of each donation is down by about $12 on average. "Obviously, we had no small trepidation going into it (the drive)," said Titterton, adding by this afternoon the station had received about $690,000.

The worries over decreased donations from the public during the holiday season come as charities statewide are also seeing other sources of funding dry up: the amount doled out to charities from state contracts and grants dropped considerably this year as revenues to government decreased; and local and national foundations also are decreasing their funding because of losses in the tanking stock market.

Meanwhile, nonprofits are reporting skyrocketing levels of need from working families, who are struggling to make ends meet as prices rise and paychecks don't. And the situation isn't expected to get much better anytime soon: The downturning state economy is tipping into a recession, according to a recently-released University of Hawai'i economic report, which could trigger more job losses.

The state already has seen a recent string of layoffs at major Hawai'i companies and is weathering increasingly alarming declines in visitor numbers. Nonprofit leaders say working-class families are seeing the brunt of the financial storm, and are struggling even to put food on their tables. Lines for free food pantries are growing, they say, while charities are getting more requests for help to pay rent and bills.

"People are hurting out there," said Daniel de Castro, spokesman for Salvation Army Hawai'i.

So far this year, Helping Hands Hawai'i has assisted more than 2,057 households with emergency checks for rent, bills or other household expenses — providing a total of $209,906 to needy families. The totals represent a 62 percent increase in the amount of money given out, compared to last year over the same period, and a 35 percent increase in the number of families helped, Helping Hands officials said.

The Salvation Army helped about 48 households last month with rental assistance, up from 30 in September 2007. Some 407 people were helped with food assistance, from 261 in September of last year.

And Aloha United Way's "211" telephone services — where residents can call to link up with nonprofits — has seen a big increase in calls for assistance. In the three-month period ending Wednesday, 211 got some 779 calls for food pantries (up from 556 in the same period in 2008), 368 calls for rental assistance, and 171 calls for help filing for welfare, nearly triple the number compared to last year

"Our clients are feeling more squeezed than ever," said Brian Schatz, Helping Hands executive director.

For more on this story, see tomorrow's edition of The Advertiser.