The United Way of Dane County, one of the largest sources of private funding for nonprofits in the Madison area, has implemented a shift in how it decides which organizations will receive grants. But several community leaders and nonprofit executives were critical of the change in priorities.

For 2020, 53 organizations operating 118 programs will receive funding from the United Way. The organization announced last week that it will focus on funding services that target families with children from birth to 5-years old and those dedicated to finding permanent housing for families.

United Way announced during an event Thursday morning that it will distribute $19.2 million to Madison-area nonprofits.

Boys and Girls Club of Dane County president and CEO Michael Johnson said he was informed just two weeks before the start of the new fiscal year that United Way would be cutting $76,000 for his organization’s middle school and teenage after-school programs. Johnson said he was forced to scramble in order to figure out what the club will do to maintain the services.