The King County Boys & Girls Club is facing a projected $300,000 budget shortfall before its fiscal year ends in June. Yet CEO Daniel Johnson is optimistic that the club will raise enough funds to close this gap within the next two months.
“We have from now until June to address this. We’re focused on the expense side and looking for ways to streamline and make cuts. Some layoffs have been made. Some full-time staff are now part-time. I took a cut in pay, as did other staff members,” he said.
Asked how the predicted shortfall would negatively affect overall Boys & Girls Club finances, Johnson said he did not think things would come down to that.
“It’s just a forecasted shortfall. I feel that balancing the budget by year-end is within reach,” he said, adding that the club already has fundraising plans in sight. “We have a fundraising breakfast on April 27 and we’ve already exceeded our goal of sponsorship. We’re focusing on major gifts.”
Johnson invites Islanders to attend the April 27 fundraiser, which will be held in Seattle.
The King County Boys & Girls Club represents 13 clubs, including Mercer Island. The organization, an independent 501(c)3 and charter of Boys & Girls Club of America, receives an average of $125,000 per year and pays annual dues of $35,000. It runs off a $15 million operating budget, the vast majority of which comes from local
individuals, corporations, foundations and city support. News of the projected $300,000 shortfall, although not devastating to the club, does remind community members that funds are tight. The Boys & Girls Club of Mercer Island is currently investing $15 million ($8 million of which comes from individual pledges) in the PEAK youth facility neighboring Mercer Island High School. The construction project is set for completion this summer. Johnson reminded Islanders that King County’s $300,000 projected shortfall would not affect progress on the PEAK project. “The MI club is on budget. When I say projected year-end deficit, it means enterprise-wise,” he said, adding that PEAK falls under next year’s budget.
“PEAK opens in late June, so they’ll be on a new budget anyway.”
The King County chapter CEO commended the Mercer Island community
for its support of PEAK, and said Mercer Island should serve as
an example for donors countywide.
“The way that the MI community rallied around the PEAK project to raise $15 million was one of the most impressive things I’ve seen in
my fundraising career,” he said.
Although donations go a long way, they do not ensure budget stability.
As CEO, Johnson has had to take a hard-line approach to the club’s
financial woes. “Our staff has made great sacrifices, working
longer hours with more responsibility and doing it all with a freeze in pay,” he wrote in a press release. “We’ve suspended 401(k) contribution, and at several levels of leadership, we’ve taken voluntary pay cuts.”
All of this is in hopes that the club can sustain its working budget and continue to serve King County as one of the nation’s most popular youth organizations.
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