Blaine Senior Center (BSC) members are headed to the ballot box to elect a slate of new board members and to decide how to invest $300,000 as the future of the nonprofit remains cloudy.
The BSC board had held discussions on whether to transfer 80 percent of its treasury from an Edward Jones investment fund to the Whatcom Community Foundation (WCF), a nonprofit that focuses on local philanthropy. The remaining funds would remain in a bank account for day-to-day use. Results of the election will be announced on Monday, December 15.
The decision to explore other investment options came after BSC lost its bid with the city of Blaine to manage the Blaine Community Center in July, according to BSC board president Sieneke Stevenson. The city awarded the contract to manage the building to Blaine-Birch Bay Park and Recreation District 2 (BBBPRD2), which now oversees senior activities.
Without a building under management nor a revenue source from membership dues, Stevenson said the senior center needs to completely renew its vision, and likely will need to rewrite its bylaws in order to adapt and continue serving local senior citizens in whatever way it can. Either that, or completely dissolve.
“We’re starting from scratch,” Stevenson said. “Taking away the contract and taking away our mission has resulted in a completely new nonprofit that has to be completely rewritten. Determining how you partner with [BBBPRD2], how you may partner with Meals on Wheels … none of that is in our bylaws because we’ve never had to do that before.”
Stevenson said BSC has no source of revenue other than dividends from its investment portfolio, but added that even that has taken hits due to the ongoing economic recession. BBBPRD2 now collects the annual $45 activity fees that used to go to BSC.
“We’ve been very concerned about the instability of the market and potential volatility of the economy at this time” Stevenson said.
Kelle Rankin-Sunter, a BSC member for 20 years and board candidate, said she didn’t want to see the nonprofit relinquish control of its investment portfolio with only three current board members and after so much drastic change over the past 18 months.
“I feel like this is a huge decision,” Rankin-Sunter said. “But I don’t think we’ve given ourselves a chance. I think an incoming board deserves the opportunity to continue to pursue this possibility. I don’t think we need to be in a huge rush to close our tentpoles and move out to the desert.”
Rankin-Sunter said she did not like the idea of the nonprofit “donating” its funds to WCF, a sentiment echoed by other members. Stevenson said BSC will still have control over their funds, and a contract between the two nonprofits could have certain provisions that allow BSC more control over its investment.
“I think what people are getting hung up on in the motion is the word, ‘donate,’” Stevenson said. “Yes, our funds go into (WCF’s) larger pool of funds, but there would be a contract with us, we would still be working with them to set the terms.”
Brad Tuininga, vice president of philanthropy for WCF, said that while specific terms have yet to be discussed with BSC, “donor-advised funds” through WCF allow for the donating party control over its funds.
“At the end of the day, they still retain the right to direct how they want those funds to be used,” Tuininga said. “Where they want them, how they want to pull them out and use them to benefit their community. We’re not doing anything that would be outside the scope of their work.”
A tumultuous two years
Former executive director Pete Nelson, popular with many members, resigned from his position at the end of 2024 after months of unanswered complaints regarding a lack of health insurance and other benefits he said he was originally promised. After announcing his intent to resign, 190 BSC members held a special election in September 2024 to remove former board president Jim West, treasurer Christine Young and vice president Adele Berman in response. Yung and West resigned, though not until after co-signing a letter saying they did not recognize the meeting and election as legitimate.
Due to the ongoing turmoil, the city of Blaine chose to offer the contract to BBBPRD2, citing a lack of leadership from BSC.
Since those major shakeups, Stevenson said interest in the nonprofit took a nosedive, and the current board is still working to get people involved despite having an extremely diminished role in the lives of local seniors.
“We debated between continuing as a non-profit with the new mission of enhancing and supporting the social, health, nutritional, and emotional wellbeing of seniors in the Birch Bay/Blaine community,” Stevenson wrote in a letter to BSC membership. “Versus partnering, or simply dissolving, in which case the remaining money would go to The Whatcom County Council on Aging as per the by-laws.”
Stevenson said that the motion to move $300,000 in funds has reinvigorated current membership and said many of the current board candidates made it a major point of discussion in their campaigns.
The election will be held in-person at the Blaine Community Center, 736 G Street, Wednesday, December 10 through Friday, December 13, and on the morning of Monday, December 15. The results will be announced that day at 12:30 p.m.
To receive more information about the future of Blaine Senior Center, members are encouraged to email BBBSeniors@yahoo.com
