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Fundraising for capital projects suffering

Library-museum project under review By Alison Taylor and Clare Ogilvie Community organizations in Whistler are struggling to raise funds in an economic climate hostile to charity donations.

Library-museum project under review

By Alison Taylor and Clare Ogilvie

Community organizations in Whistler are struggling to raise funds in an economic climate hostile to charity donations.

This month the fundraising committee working on the Whistler library/museum project was forced to revisit its plans for a $10 million facility due to fundraising woes.

And Whistler’s largest capital project to date, Maurice Young Millennium Place, is being challenged to meet its fundraising obligations in these tough times.

It’s been one year since the capital campaign for the new library/museum building kicked off, amid great excitement and anticipation.

At its start the fund was already at the halfway mark thanks to a $5 million contribution from the municipality, which will own the building.

The challenge for fundraisers was to deliver $5 million, including at least $3 million one year before construction was due to begin.

It was a challenge money-seekers found impossible to meet.

"The fundraising has not gone as well as we had expected it to go," said Anne Fenwick, chair of the Capital Campaign Steering Committee.

"We had anticipated having our $3 million goal for construction by now and it hasn’t happened and we’re nowhere close to it."

Over the course of the year the capital campaign has managed to raise $600,000.

In light of this, earlier this month Fenwick approached council to ask for input on the crisis.

"We’re revisiting the project and seeing where we go from here," she said, adding that they are investigating every aspect of the project, not just the fundraising difficulties.

Fenwick said there are several reasons why it has been so hard to raise the $3 million needed to get started.

"The economic times are very different than what they were when we did our fundraising feasibility study three years ago," she said.

"That study came back and said, ‘Yes, the community will support a $4 to $5-million capital campaign for a joint library/museum project.

"(But) with all the various economic turndowns, with 9/11, we’re finding that’s not the case anymore."

On top of the tightening economy, Fenwick said the capital campaign has also had to compete with fundraising for Millennium Place. The competition for community funds had more impact on library/museum fundraising than had originally been anticipated.

And there has been waning support in the community for spending $10 million on a library/musuem.

"We’re hearing a lot of concern from the community and we’re trying to respond to the community as well and listen to their concerns," said Fenwick.

The municipality, while committed to the project, plans to look into the situation as Fenwick has asked.

"We’re now meeting and saying, ‘Let’s check the pulse of what’s going on. What’s the reality out there, and what are the challenges we’re facing with fundraising," said Mayor Hugh O’Reilly.

Questions about the library/museum have been appended to a regular community survey, due to go out in the next couple of weeks, to measure support for the library/museum.

It will log community concerns about the project and help suggest the next step to take. For example, the project could be done in various phases, it could be scaled down, or the cash could come from sources other than fundraising.

"There are lot of options," said O’Reilly.

"We’ve got a lot of base information. We’ve got a new economic reality we have to insert in that and we also have to try to gather some opinion so we can take all that information forward to council and see what might be a reasonable outcome."

Despite the fundraising hurdle both the mayor and Fenwick are confident something positive will come of the ongoing discussions.

"We committed to doing the project," said O’Reilly, adding that it just might not go according to the original plan.

In the meantime the capital fundraising is on hold temporarily.

"We can’t be going to donors and asking for money if we don’t know exactly what the project is going to be at this stage," said Fenwick.

Despite the fact that people can see, touch and enjoy MY Place it has not escaped the effects of the tight economy.

Many are still working tirelessly on final fundraising for the $7.4 million project.

The first major payment of $1 million on a loan for the building is due in April.

Chairman Dr. Stephen Milstein said while a payment of $200,000 is already on the way to the bank the rest of the money will likely come over the next few months, rather than as a lump sum payment.

The $200,000 has come from, and another $800,000 is expected from, the Scotia Creek Foundation. The foundation was set up to funnel a portion of the money generated from the sale of the B.C. Rail lands, on the West Side of Alta Lake, to non-profits in the Whistler area.

Fundraising for MY Place is continuing said Milstein, but softly.

"As most people know the economy (is tough)," said Milstein.

"The fundraising climate is terrible. If you read the New York Times 80 per cent of the charities in North America are having donations cancelled. It is quite serious."

In general people are just not making big donations.

But fortunately for Millennium Place people are still making smaller donations, and those are playing a key role in fundraising for the project.

"In terms of people committing we are not getting people cancelling, so I am delighted about that," said Milstein.

"In terms of what is outstanding we have a number of people who have owed us $5,000, or $10,000 in donations and those payments are being made."

Millennium Place broke ground in 2000. Fundraising was done at a feverish pace but as the place morphed to contain more and more facilities so did the price tag.

The project also caused ripples in the community as it nudged the library/museum project out of its position as primary capital project for the millennium.

For some it became a question of which project to donate to and that may lie at the root of some of the problems facing the library campaign today.

The municipality guaranteed a mortgage of $3.5 million for Millennium Place. It must be paid off in two years.

The Scotia Creek donation is the first major payment toward clearing this debt. Another $500,000 is secured and the final $2 million must still be raised through fundraising.

"I sure as hell would like to see this finished," said Milstein.

"Is it wearing on the community? Is it stressful for everybody? Yes.

"But am I worried that we can’t raise the money? No I am not worried that we can’t raise the money. But we have to be realistic."

There is good news on the money front for MY Place.

Milstein said it was in the black in November and is likely to be in January and February as well.

"Now that is very important," said Milstein.

"We are anticipating a $500,000 operating budget and we estimate we will have no difficulty in the next 12 months bringing in $400,000 in revenue."

But it’s likely fundraising will always be on going as a way of covering the $100,000 to $150,000 deficit expected most years.

"Is that hard to raise?" asked Milstein.

"I don’t want to say it is a piece of cake, but $150,000 is not a huge amount."

And the increasing number of community members who are using MY Place encourages Milstein.

Every one of them is a potential donor and it’s the small donations and the creative fundraising which will keep MY Place on an even keel.

"I really have faith in our community that way," said Milstein.