In a move that could have big repercussions in L.A.’s world of philanthropy, one of the area’s largest charitable foundations is departing from tradition by giving grants , not for programs but for operating expenses , to financially battered nonprofits.

The Los Angeles-based Weingart Foundation, which distributes about $45 million annually in Southern California, is expected to announce Monday that it will offer unusual “core support” to underwrite administrative costs for social service agencies that provide necessities such as food, shelter and health care to the region’s poor, unemployed and sick.

Most philanthropic foundations traditionally give large grants that pay the costs of specific programs but do not underwrite non-profits’ operating costs, such as staff salaries and rent. Many non-profits get their operating cash typically from their own fund raisers or from direct donations.

Weingart’s move is being hailed by some potential recipients as a “fundamental shift” in charitable giving as nonprofits nationwide report unprecedented drops in donations as the economy deteriorates.

“This certainly reflects the exceptional times,” said Steve Lawrence, senior director of research at the New York City-based Foundation Center, which tracks grant-making foundations and philanthropic institutions.

Though a minority of foundations offer operational support, Lawrence said Weingart is the first U.S. foundation he knows of to lift restrictions on the use of grant money since the current economic crisis began. He expects others to follow.

Fred Ali, chief executive of Weingart, said the foundation’s decision to offer the one-year grants of up to $150,000 to “well-managed” nonprofit organizations providing essential human services was made in recognition of their urgent needs.

“What this says to the Southern California nonprofit community is that we are in absolutely unprecedented times,” he said. “What we are essentially saying to nonprofit organizations is that ‘You are no longer coming to us with expanded programs; you are in a situation where you are trying to keep your doors open.'”

As the country’s economy darkens and stock market losses mount, many donors are dramatically scaling back their contributions in a period the year-end holiday season when charities typically receive a large portion of their budgets for the year.

Major corporate donors are reneging on commitments or downsizing the size of their pledges. Some philanthropic leaders, including Bear Stearns Cos., Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. have gone out of business or changed hands. Even the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, one of the country’s titans of philanthropy, recently slowed the pace of its grants.

Indeed, Weingart took its step even though the foundation itself is facing potential financial shortfalls due to big investment losses. (Weingart was the 10th largest charitable foundation in Los Angeles County with $934 million in assets, according to the Business Journal’s ranking in May.)

“Our drop in assets has been in the multi-million dollar category, but we are taking a long approach to investing,” Ali said. “Part of this announcement is to reassure our grantees that, despite that drop, we are going to remain active and aggressive in our grant making.”

Experts say that charitable donations are typically resistant to economic turmoil, falling by only an average of 1 percent during tough times. But this year the fall off is far steeper.

The situation extends to Southern California, where some charities are reporting financial downturns in the neighborhood of 25 percent. One of them is Midnight Mission, which spends $6.5 million annually for homeless people on Skid Row. It’s now facing the prospect of laying off workers and turning would-be clients away.

“We’re a 95-year-old charity and we’ve never had to do that except perhaps during the Great Depression,” said Larry Adamson, the program’s chief executive.

His reaction to the Weingart announcement: “hallelujah!”

Mission critical

Para Los Ninos, a program providing $25 million in educational and social services for 5,000 Los Angeles families each year, recently saw as much as a 25 percent decline in revenues from an annual fundraising event held at Dodger Stadium.

As a result of that and other economic woes, the agency is filling only mission-critical positions, has cut back on discretionary expenses such as conferences and travel, and last month closed a pre-school in Ontario, relocating 72 students and laying off about seven staffers.

Gisselle Acevedo, the agency’s chief executive, described the Weingart Foundation’s funding decision as “revolutionary. It’s going to make a huge difference,” she said.

It’s not the first time chartable foundations in the area have changed the way they do business.

In Southern California, in fact, such operational grants were pioneered by the California Wellness Foundation, which began handing them out in 2001, before 9/11 and the dot.com bubble burst. The decision was made, Chief Executive Gary Yates said, because applicants and grantees began asking for that kind of help.

“With general operational support organizations are able to keep their doors open, the lights on and the services going,” he said. “For us it’s worked tremendously.”

Though only a handful of grant makers followed his organization’s lead, Yates said, the Weingart Foundation’s announcement could be a “turning point” raising a flag “that others will see” all of which has left most nonprofit professionals applauding.

Maura Harrington, director of consulting for the Los Angeles-based Center for Nonprofit Management, called the foundation’s decision “a very bold move. The core operating support is what most nonprofits struggle with,” she said. “I think this will open people’s eyes.”

And Sushma Raman, president of Southern California Grantmakers, an association of 145 Southern California-based foundations and corporations whose board Ali chairs, predicted a ripple effect.

“This will have a major impact,” she said, “as members of the philanthropic community observe one of their largest leaders finding a new way of doing business based on the values of partnership and trust.”