When South County Senior Center executive director David McNayr makes his daily rounds, he calls out greetings and isn’t shy about checking in on activities.
His mantra is to get up each day, have fun and make at least one person smile.
That kind of optimism bodes well as McNayr is faced with the possibility of losing 100 percent of the funding provided by the city to the center in 2010.
“The rumor is (the center) will close,” he said on April 13. “Is it going to hurt? Yes. Will we close? No. It means we adjust accordingly and that means cutbacks.”
In March, Mayor Gary Haakenson announced service cuts as a result of drastically falling sales tax revenue.
Among the cuts: elimination of $60,000 in 2010 funding for the center. The same amount of funding for 2009 remained unaffected.
The total represents roughly 8 to 9 percent of the center’s total yearly revenue, according to McNayr. The senior center relies on $515,000 annually in revenue, including $60,500 in contributions from Snohomish County, $28,000 from United Way, and $5,000 annually from the city of Lynnwood.
Faced with losing city funding next year, McNayr said he and the center’s board of directors have a responsibility to plan for their own cutbacks and try new fundraising techniques.
“You have to think in that mindset of how we can do things smarter, easier,” he said. “It’d be nice if we could have the funding restored but if that’s not the case, we need to be prepared.”
The center will seek sponsors for community meals and possibly other events, he said, and a fundraising campaign is already underway.
The Young At Heart campaign started in February with a goal of raising $25,000 by the end of April, chair of the development committee Cliff Sanderlin said.
“It’s one of the more challenging fundraising efforts I’ve taken on,” he said. “In this case, it’s a whole new group of people who’ve never worked together and don’t know each other real well.”
Sanderlin will hold several workshops for members of the center’s Board of Directors to share information about fundraising before the end of the month. The overall approach will continue to be very grassroots, he said, with plans to hold a patio sale outside the center’s thrift store in the coming months and host a breakfast or luncheon fundraising event in the fall.
Sanderlin’s professional help is appreciated during a time where fundraising is not easy, Board President Rose Cantwell said.
“He’s giving us some momentum,” she said.
Upon learning about the budget cuts in March, Cantwell addressed city council members.
“What I told them was they could not possibly duplicate the services we provide for the Edmonds senior tax payers at the cost we provide it,” she said.
Just what specific cuts will need to be made to compensate for a reduction of $60,000 in 2010 haven’t been determined, according to McNayr. Still, he remains optimistic.
“Times are challenging for everybody,” he said. “When times get tough, the tough get going.”
Correction
The South County Senior Center relies on $515,000 annually in revenue, including $60,500 from Snohomish County General Revenues, via a contract with Snohomish County Human Services. An earlier version of the story incorrectly attributed the contribution.
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