United Way of King County told 30 groups that it provides funding to that they are going to lose that funding as a result of a shift in emphasis the agency is making. Out of the $1.8 million budget change, $60,000 will be lost by the Senior Center of West Seattle.

The emphasis for United Way will move to include homelessness and programs for children and families UWKC said.

Senior Center Director Lyle Evans said,
“ 2016 is a crucial year for the center and we need your assistance. For the last
twenty-five years, we have received funding from United Way. Sadly, they
have told us that our funding will be cut by $60,000 next year. Our Center is
a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. We are responsible for raising 75% of
nearly $800,000 annual budget. This loss hits hard since we have counted on
this stable income”.

We have started a fundraising campaign for $25,000 by the end of the year to help jump start us for 2016. I’ll forward you the email that will be going out this week. We have a donation link on our website www.sc-ws.org also that does give some specifics:
Can you make a donation of $25. To help meet someone’s basic needs – whether it be a week’s worth of hot meal, a warm jacket, or housing alternatives?
Consider a donation of $75 – where that money supports those resources to help our seniors navigate through our challenging medical systems, or to help with legal concerns.
Consider a donation at the $100 level – where that money helps expand one’s horizons. One is never too old to learn!
Consider the donation at the $250 to $500 level where you can truly keep our Center Thriving!
All the various levels work off one and another to provide benefits beyond the individual level to creating a community Center that benefits all. We urge you to contribute at a level where you can make a difference."

The Senior Center plans to recoup the losses by doing more fundraising. Approximately 75% of their program budget is paid for through fundraising efforts already. In fact a brand new fundraising campaign is just being launched.

Cathy MacCaul, director of advocacy for AARP Washington, said United Way officials told her their strategic plan has changed to reflect what donors want to support. MacCaul agreed there's no lack of worthy causes, but called the move shortsighted. "This is just not the time to do that," she said. "There is a huge 'age wave' that has just begun - more than 10,000 people turn 65 every day, for the next 15 years. So, there will be a dramatic increase in the number of seniors who need these types of services." MacCaul said there's concern that other United Way chapters could follow King County's lead and leave more senior programs scrambling. She pointed out that King County voters just approved a "Best Start" property tax levy, an influx of new money to be used for child and family programs and early learning. Paula Houston, CEO of Senior Services, said that for her organization, the cuts will mean about $800,000 less funding next year for transportation, Meals on Wheels, community dining and more. And this population just isn't as resilient as young families, she added.

"People don't see issues of aging, and what happens to people as they age when they don't have services, as an immediate crisis," said Houston. "It's certainly going to be a crisis, because if we don't have these services, people are going to fall further into poverty, which makes them not be able to stay in their homes." She said her group expects to curtail services in some cases and start waiting lists. The United Way's change is planned for June 2016. United Way of King County netted $112 million in its most recent fundraising campaign. -