Seeing black - for now
Bill Tosh, 80, plays bingo at the Post Falls Senior Center Friday afternoon. He has been playing the game for a decade, at both the senior center and the American Legion. (JUDD WILSON/Press)
JUDD WILSON/Press Phyllis Harley has called bingo games at the Post Falls Senior Center for three years. She said she enjoys the volunteer position.
Donna Koch checks the board while LaVelle Castillo, left, and Millie Sutton, right, mark their sheets during the Post Falls Senior Center’s bingo game Friday. (JUDD WILSON/Press)
By BRIAN WALKER
Staff Writer
POST FALLS — After paying off about $200,000 in debt owed to the IRS and vendors, the Post Falls Senior Center is seeing black.
For the time being, anyway.
The nonprofit has completed the $275,000 sale of its thrift store next door, which will expand its indoor recreational activities and classes in the building.
The deal, along with belt-tightening that has included cutting the Monday on-site lunch, not hiring a new executive director and fundraising that has included bringing bingo back, has allowed the center to have about $23,000 in its bank account, said Greg McLean, board president.
McLean said the total debt included $98,588 owed to the IRS because employee withholding had not been paid since 2014.
"We were struggling tremendously, working from check to check," he said.
However, the nonprofit's financial hurdles are far from over. Volunteers learned that federal reimbursement funding is being trimmed to meals on Wednesdays and Fridays and the Meals on Wheels program, which serves seniors who can't leave their homes.
The reimbursement rate was dropped from $4.25 per meal to $3.97, and the total meals covered per year has also decreased.
"We'll have to come up with about $11,000 more per year to maintain the level of meals seniors are getting now," McLean said.
The center serves about 4,500 meals a month.
The suggested donation per meal is $4, but McLean said the board is looking into increasing that amount to $5 due to the federal cut.
"And we're keeping our fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong with the facility in the meantime," McLean said.
McLean said the center is holding off on hiring a new executive director since the nonprofit and former executive director Alison McArthur parted ways in December. Duties have been temporarily shifted to the three paid staff members and board members. A decision on whether to hire an executive director in the future has not been determined.
McLean said some vendors, including Sysco, worked with the center during the financial crisis on a payment plan. Efforts such as a community garden, donations from residents and rentals have also helped.
Bingo returned in April after the Idaho Lottery Commission three years ago revoked the center's license over violation of record-keeping laws. Bingo is held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
McLean said the number of players isn’t what it used to be, but maybe that's because some people aren't aware it has returned.
But, while the center has climbed out of debt for now, it is still in survival mode, especially when donations can be sporadic, McLean said.
"I've had sleepless nights on how we're going to get food to seniors who rely on us," he said. "If we don't bring them food, who will? We need donations to keep moving forward."