The Center of Anna Maria Island has a ways to go to turn around its fiscal year.
Meanwhile, the city of Anna Maria pitched in, with commissioners unanimously voting April 27 to approve a $50,000 donation from a contingency fund toward new air conditioning at the center.
Mayor Dan Murphy, who proposed the donation, said it would be a “worthwhile effort” to improve the nonprofit’s facility at 407 Magnolia Ave.
Murphy added that moving forward, he would like commissioners to consider annual contributions toward capital improvements instead of the general funding, as has been allocated in the past.
Commissioner Robert Kingan praised the center and said it was in the city’s best interests to maintain the building.
“(The center) is a vital asset on this island and in this community,” Kingan said.
The donation addresses one of the primary reasons the nonprofit was $211,646 in the red through March, worse than the same time last year, according to a financial report.
Fiscal year 2022-23 began July 1, 2022, and will end June 30, leaving the center three months to make up the deficit.
Capital expenses through March make up the majority, or $151,461, of the nonprofit’s deficit.
Executive director Chris Culhane said April 27 that capital improvement costs were largely due to ongoing bathroom renovations and an AC replacement.
Culhane said the nonprofit received a $250,000 estimate to replace its AC units and would accept any help toward paying that cost.
Anna Maria Commission Chair Mark Short, who is on the nonprofit’s finance committee, said the center received funding for those capital improvements in fiscal 2021-22.
He noted the expenses were funded but the funds are not reflected in this year’s financials.
Without capital expenses, the center is $60,186 in the red through March with less program and fundraising income through the same month last year.
The nonprofit’s program income through March was $331,017 — $22,686 less than the same period last year.
The center has taken in $171,197 in fundraising income through March, $75,850 less than the year before, when it earned $247,047 during the same period.
That’s despite receiving $100,000 in fundraising revenue from the Bradenton Area Convention and Visitor’s Bureau for hosting the latest Bradenton Gulf Island Concert Series, according to BACVB reports requested by The Islander.
The center received $25,000 as a general marketing sponsorship from the BACVB in November, then $18,750 each of the following four months, corresponding with the series’ four concerts.
The nonprofit did not detail its revenue from ticket sales or catering services for the concerts.
Spring fundraising campaign
The center emailed its members April 27 to announce a spring fundraising campaign.
The campaign began May 1-2 with a 24-hour matching challenge, during which donors’ money was matched dollar for dollar.
People will have another opportunity to have their donations matched during a crawfish boil 5-8 p.m. Saturday, May 6, at the center.
For more information about the campaign and the party, people can reach the center at 941-778-1908.