COLUMBIA, SC — A bank has donated $50,000 to help a downtown Columbia center for the homeless with its impending deficit.

AgFirst Farm Credit Bank is to present Transitions with the money today at the Main Street and Elmwood Avenue center, according to a statement released by Transitions.

Leaders of the center recently disclosed the facility is facing a $360,000 shortfall by the end of its fiscal year in June.

“This gift could not have come at a better time for us,” Transitions director Craig Currey said. The donation will help ensure the center can continue to help homeless adults through the coldest part of winter.

Transitions is devising a fundraising plan to offset the rest of the deficit, including possible seeking more public money from the city of Columbia, federal grants and private contributions, center leaders have said.

-- Clif LeBlanc