Ephrata Senior Center gets funding help after request
EPHRATA – The Ephrata Senior Center has gotten a positive response to an urgent fundraising request mailed to members last week.
Since then, the center has received slightly over $19,000 from donors. One member offered to match donations up to a maximum of $10,000, ESC manager Kathy Anderson said on Friday. And she said that Ephrata-based Columbia Basin Foundation is helping with an outreach effort to contact other potential donors.
“It’s been a good response,” said Anderson. “We’ve got a better outlook now since the letter went out.”
Staffing costs, a lack of timely bookkeeping updates of the center’s financial accounts, and an unforeseen $1,900 bill to repair a walk-in refrigerator last month led to the fiscal woes, Anderson and ESC board chairman Mike Donovan explained in the letter sent to the center’s 250 members.
“With there being very little in savings, the situation is dire,” Anderson and Donovan wrote, indicating the center – incorporated in 1967 -- faced possible closure by the end of this year without additional revenue.
But the subsequent influx of donations has brightened the outlook, said Anderson. “We’ll get through this month and see where we stand. Hopefully, we’ll get things stabilized.”
Located at 124 C St. N.W., the senior center is an established 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that also operates a retail thrift store on North Basin Street.
The biggest expense has been payroll costs for both facilities, said Anderson, due in part to Washington state’s escalating minimum wage.
To save money, Anderson said the number of paid positions at the thrift store has been cut from five to four, and paid staff at the senior center has been reduced from six to three workers. The reductions have lowered payroll expenses by $7,000 a month, she said.
The letter sent to members also referred to prior bookkeeping missteps that included failure to keep accounts up to date and late filings to the Internal Revenue Service and elsewhere which resulted in fees and penalties.
Those lapses were consequential, but ESC has since hired a new bookkeeper, Anderson and Donovan wrote. On Friday, Anderson also clarified there were no indications that any ESC money was unaccounted for or misappropriated.
“There’s no missing money,” she emphasized.
The senior center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and serves a daily lunch meal. Additionally, the facility provides space for a number of activities and gatherings including physical fitness classes, crafts, card games, a monthly movie night, bus excursions, and holiday dinners.
Annual membership dues are $30 for individuals, $50 for couples, and $200 for a lifetime membership. The center also charges for its daily meals, but that money only covers the cost of food, said Anderson.
The retail thrift store is the primary source of revenue for ESC operations, including payroll, insurance, utilities, and supplies. “All proceeds go to them,” said store manager Tandra Harrington, adding, “We’re very grateful for the good community support.”
That includes 28 volunteers who provide 500 hours of service per month at the store, noted Harrington. “Without those volunteers and donations, we couldn’t operate.”
Harrington said the store is currently in the process of adjusting its merchandise pricing to “better accommodate the revenue stream” and bolster the fundraising effort. “We’re here for the community and our prices are reasonable,” she said.
The thrift store is open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Drop-off donations of merchandise are accepted Mondays from 8 a.m. to noon and Tuesdays through Sundays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
It’s hoped the operational changes and recent financial contributions will enable the center to continue serving the community, including both active senior citizens and “the needy and the forsaken,” Anderson and Donovan stated.
