Nonprofit groups from across southwestern Connecticut who depend heavily on funding from General Electric held an emergency summit Saturday to address the company's decision to leave the state.

The nonprofits say when GE relocates to Boston, the company will take millions of dollars in funding with it for urgently needed social service programs.

"To lose someone like General Electric, which has been a leader in involvement in the community, is tragic," says Terry Wilcox, executive director of the Bridgeport Rescue Mission. Seventeen percent of the Mission's annual funding comes from General Electric.

Sen. Tony Hwang organized the forum, which brought leaders of local nonprofits together. Hwang says the state needs to work with them in order to deal with the loss of General Electric.

"At the end of the day, when the nonprofits suffer, it's truly the most vulnerable and those most at need that suffer," Hwang says.

Hwang says he will continue meeting with local nonprofit groups to develop a plan to seek alternate funding for all of the programs affected by the GE relocation. He says he has faith in the region's corporate community "to step up and help with private investment."