Ruth Meiers Hospitality House will keep its doors open and programs intact for now after receiving a flood of donations from Bismarck residents and businesses.

The Bismarck homeless shelter and soup kitchen received about $25,000 in contributions, about half of what it needed to compensate for a shortfall in its $500,000 annual budget. Ruth Meiers' fiscal year ends today.

"We are not out of the woods yet," said Sue Martin, Ruth Meiers executive director.

Officials asked the public for its help earlier this month, when they announced the organization was having financial problems. Ruth Meiers operates a clinic that serves about 1,800 homeless and low-income patients, a homeless shelter for more than 300 men and a soup kitchen that serves about 60 meals a day.

Programming is funded through public donations, grants and the United Way. Martin said Ruth Meiers has started to rely more heavily on public contributions to offset a shrinking pool of grant money. Currently, half of its budget - $250,000 - comes from donations.

The agency's programming has been threatened multiple times since it started in 1987 because of its funding sources.

"(Ruth Meiers) kind of runs from fund-raiser to fund-raiser," Martin said. "We are looking at ways we can work with churches and the community and business to avoid this problem in the future."

The organization plans to step up local fund-raising efforts and develop a plan to provide more stability to its budget, Martin said. She wouldn't comment on what that would entail, but said the board of directors will be talking with businesses and churches.

Although Ruth Meiers has only received pledges for about half of the money it needs, Martin said she is confident it will receive the rest in the near future.

"There are people out there working on stuff we don't know about," she said.

Local businesses generated a majority of the money pledged to the agency, and school fund-raisers and private donations have brought in additional funds.

"It's been very heartwarming," Martin said. "It's been wonderful to see people's reactions."

(Reach reporter Sheena Dooley at 250-8225 or sheenadooley@ndonline.com.)