Senior center working to boost revenue

SANDPOINT — The Sandpoint Senior Center’s budget has seen better days.

With several factors combining to limit the senior center revenue, the board is working diligently on increasing revenue to maintain operations. According to board member Esther Gilchrist, the center or its affiliated services aren’t in danger of shutting down as some have speculated. However, donations, grants and other income are much reduced from previous years.

“It’s all because of one word: the economy,” Gilchrist said. “Fundraisers just aren’t bringing in as much money as they used to.”

The slow economic recovery from the 2008 recession, and the subsequent drop in benefit attendance and donations, have hit the senior center, according to board members. To make matters worse, a mistaken payment from Molina, a certified biller for Medicaid, is currently absorbing the center’s incoming Medicaid payments. Gilchrist said the Medicaid issue is still ongoing and that both parties are working toward a resolution.    

Beyond those factors, the sequestration of the federal budget that occurred earlier this year hit grant funding and food programs particularly hard. And because seniors on a fixed income don’t receive any cost-of-living increases, their ability to contribute financially is limited even further, Gilchrist said.

“The government sequestration is hitting all social programs very badly,” she added.

 To maintain all its services, which include meal deliveries to shut-ins, public meals and recreational activities at the center, operation of the Daybreak Center for those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, the center requires a budget of about $100,000 a year. That total is derived from donations, fundraisers and grants. Unlike the vast majority of senior centers, Gilchrist said the Sandpoint and Clark Fork nonprofit receives no assistance from taxpayers.

To recover from the setbacks of recent months, board members estimated they need to raise $15,000.

However, board members are optimistic about the future. They said with the help of staff members and volunteers, they aim to work hard on their goals in the coming months.