Roanoke customers of Wachovia Corp. and area charities who depend on the bank holding company's generosity sounded nervous on Monday as news of the financial giant's sale spread.

"Poor Wachovia," said Julie Jennings, a clinical psychologist who visited the bank's ornate downtown lobby for a transaction that she said wasn't a hurried withdrawal. "I'm not panicked," said Jennings, who nevertheless described herself as concerned. She vowed to remain a loyal Wachovia customer.

"It's terrible that banks are having problems, but I think the general feeling is that we'll get through this," Jennings added.

Peter Castaldi, an opera singer from New York who is scheduled to play Falstaff in the Roanoke Opera's performances of Verdi's "Falstaff" on Friday and Sunday, said he isn't rich enough to worry about the safety of his deposits. "They're insured up to $100,000, right?"

Unlike the operatic character the baritone is playing -- a comedic knight who tries to solve his financial problems through marriage -- Castaldi isn't planning any extreme reactions to Wachovia's difficulties. After all, Wachovia is hoping its suitor, Citigroup, brings a capital rescue.

"It's changing hands. It's just another name," Castaldi said. And now his bank, which was based in Charlotte, N.C., will be based in his hometown of New York. "I don't see a big difference," he said.

But for organizations such as the Art Museum of Western Virginia, the sale raises doubts about future contributions by the long-generous Wachovia Foundation, based in the company's Charlotte headquarters. Wachovia donated $267,000 to the museum during its fiscal year of 2004-2005 -- when the fund drive for the $66 million new building to open in November was picking up steam.

Fortunately for the recipients of Wachovia's donations, they were usually made in cash or in the form of purchased sponsorships, rather than the company's stock, which has sharply shriveled in value.

Jim Sears, president of Center in the Square in downtown Roanoke, said the facility has typically received $5,000 to $10,000 annually from the company.

But both the museum and Center in the Square had been told by Wachovia well before the announced sale that they couldn't expect its donations this year. Sears said Wachovia officials said the bank "would have difficulty in providing any kind of significant contribution for this year" in the wake of its declining financial results.

The art museum isn't looking forward to a Wachovia gift this year either, said Kimberly Templeton, director of external affairs. She said Wachovia hasn't given to the operating budget since the museum's current fiscal year began July 1, "and right now, based on all that's happening, we're not expecting them to contribute."

The expectations of Roanoke arts communities are usually in doubt when a business contributor changes ownership, Sears said. For example, Wachovia's gifts to Center in the Square were more substantial in its earlier incarnations.

"Dominion Bankshares was more generous than First Union [which acquired the home-grown bank in 1993], and First Union was more generous than Wachovia," he said.

The change in ownership may be good for Wachovia's customers and employees, said Linda Lyon, a property manager who said she has both business and personal accounts there. "They're being bought by a bigger bank with more assets. It should be win-win for everyone," she said.

Lyon said she isn't concerned about whether there's a corporate name change. She has a Wachovia credit card and checks. "You'll still be able to use them," she said.

But will some people avoid using Wachovia credit cards and checks for fear that there will be stigma surrounding a bank whose common stock value collapsed? Jennings, the psychologist, said she doesn't think so. Yet she reasoned that if her Wachovia credit card falls into disrepute, "I have others."