After the call to order and the singing of O Canada at this year’s Fall General Membership Meeting held on October 23rd, a moment of silence was offered for those who have passed this year. The voting member quorum was confirmed at a disappointing 34 out of over 1,600 active members. Fortunately, the constitution requires only 30 as a voting quorum, so we were able to proceed with the necessary votes. After a successful vote to accept the proposed Constitutional and Bylaw amendments including replacing the position of “Maintenance Director” with a seventh “Director at Large”, three new Board members were ratified as Directors at Large: Karen Madsen, Brigit Stefani, and Mark Patterson. All three positions end at the spring AGM and if they wish, they can choose to stand for re-election for a 2-year term.
Treasurer’s Report – Alison Kowalewski presented the SSAC Proposed Budget for 2025. Staffing and cost of living have been a major factor in our increase in expenses. The Centre is in good shape financially. The motion to accept her budget report was passed unanimously.
President’s Report – Richard thanked the Volunteers that are essential to keep us running and generating the income that we need. Over $650,000 in income is required to meet our expenses. This is achieved from membership and activity fees, food sales (in-house and frozen entrees), rental income, grants and donations. The Donations have been vital to meet these financial demands.
The Sept 2023 to Sept 2024 donation campaign brought in $46,982.00 for general revenue, $8,547.20 for the affordable lunch program and $16,959.41 for the endowment fund. Since Sept 1st, 2024, we have already received $10,000 donations each from Louise Parker and Bob Mackie, plus a $10,000 USD donation from an anonymous member. We thank them so much for these generous gifts that help us provide affordable experiences for all members. However, we are victims of our own success in that we have 1,600 active members using the SSAC. This puts a huge demand on kitchen services and the limited physical space we have in all parts of the building. We are currently working on solutions to mitigate all these issues.
We are in a great financial situation. We own the building and land with an assessed value of $2.74 million. Our checking account contains over $100,000; We have a contingency fund with over $77,000 in it, and a Gaming account containing over $13,500. Currently SSAC has a 2-year mortgage, with $123,962.30 owed, and a monthly payment of $983.
We are embarking on a new income generation initiative: a province-wide online 50/50 monthly draw. The income made will be to support Seniors of the Sunshine Coast battling Food Insecurity and Social Isolation. We have a contract with ASCEND Fundraising Solutions to run it for a cost of 10% of the total revenue; with 7% charged for card fees; the winner of the draw would get 50%, and SSAC would receive 33% of the total. Our promotion team consists of SSAC members Bev and Brian Coxford, Nancy Cardinal, and an ASCEND Customer Success team. Once our license comes through (hopefully by December 2024), we can launch the lottery in January 2025. A hand-held device will be available at SSAC for those who are unable to go online to purchase tickets. The draw is made electronically, then we present the cheque to the winner. According to BC Gaming rules board members, staff and volunteers cannot participate, though their immediate family can. A motion to approve the purchase of a 2024 Ram 2500 ProMaster Smart Floor Wheelchair Accessible Van, with the capability to carry 4 wheelchairs, with a $39,000 downpayment and a 1-year fixed rate mortgage for the balance with the Sunshine Coast Credit Union; provided that $20,000 (SSAC portion) has been received from the Sunshine Coast Seniors 50/50 lottery by March 1st, 2025, was Passed by majority vote. There was no other business, and the meeting was adjourned at 2:39 pm.
