Kevin P. CaseyNot every struggling non-profit can count on a munificent anonymous donor, surely, but a few are stepping up to the plate as the economy squeezes the do-gooder sector like never before. Just as one came to the rescue of the Tenants Union this week (see Damon Agnos’ post below), so one last week helped out the Post-Prison Education Program. The program, which sends former prisoners to college and which we profiled last year as it was facing dire financial straits, received a $40,000 check, with the possibility of more funds later, according to founder Ari Kohn.Nevertheless, Kohn says “the program is still on the brink.” He and his octogenarian mother have up until now kept the program going by digging into their own pockets, and their funds are dwindling. For that reason, he threatened to close the program last year. He didn’t, hopeful that legislative funding might come through. It didn’t happen last session, and so he’s turning to another option: gambling. Well, fantasy gambling. On July 18th, his organization is putting on a fundraiser run by the Fantasy Casino, a division of Events Northwest. Attendees receive $1,000 of play money in exchange for their $20 tickets, and have the option of buying more fake mullah to play craps, roulette, blackjack and Texas hold ’em. Kohn was not at first enthusiastic about the idea. “Gambling sucks in poor people desperate for money,” he says. But others were, and he says research on the Fantasy Casino turned up clients such as the Lake Washington Youth Soccer Association, which made thousands from its event. “Hey, if it’s good enough for youth soccer…” Kohn says. His July 18th fundraiser will be at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center, from 7 to 11 p.m. (Contact ari.kohn@postprisonedu.org)