The Lawrence Community Shelter needs to decrease its dependence on the city for funding, and its volunteer board of directors has voted to add two members in hopes of boosting fundraising.
The Lawrence City Commission in February approved an agreement to provide $3.5 million in funding to the shelter for 2025. That agreement states that LCS must work to reduce its dependence on city funds by 10% the end of this year, and by 25% by the end of 2026.
That could mean a cut of $350,000, or more than $29,000 per month, in 2026. The volunteer board has been looking to help LCS fundraise, in general and in anticipation of that funding loss. LCS does not have a staff member dedicated solely to raising money.
Board members on Thursday unanimously approved a bylaw change to add two additional members who will be appointed by the board. That increases total board seats to nine from seven.
“This proactive step is particularly crucial given that donations and fundraising income are currently significantly below budget, impacting our overall financial outlook,” according to a board memo to the city and county regarding the change. “The board aims to address these financial challenges and build a more robust, diversified funding base.”
The board was overhauled in September 2023, giving the city and county more oversight. Three members are appointed by the Lawrence City Commission, and two are appointed by the Douglas County Commission. The restructured board also included two people who were members of the previous board and who are still serving — Charlie Bryan and Rebekah Gaston — for seven total members.
The amended bylaws will allow the active board to appoint four total members, but the majority of board members will still be appointed by the city and county.
“I think we’ve struggled with fundraising, and I think this is a good opportunity to expand the board, to bring in more people that can help with fundraising,” Gaston said during Thursday’s meeting.
The board approves its own bylaws and did not seek direct input from the city or county commission; however, typically at least one city or county staff member is present for the meetings, as they were during the June meeting when the board started the discussion about the bylaw change.
“I’m sure we could have more engagement with the city and the county if there’s an interest in further revising this,” Bryan, board president, said ahead of the vote. “I think at this point it’s clear we need to have more board members.”
The board did not yet vote to appoint anyone to fill the two new seats.
Shelter staff members are also in the midst of major changes to increase programming and help more people who are staying there take steps to find housing. Read more about those changes and the expansion underway at the shelter in this article from Wednesday.
The LCS board meets at 5:30 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of each month, typically in Meeting Room C at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vermont St. Meetings are also available via Zoom.
Learn more on LCS’ website at lawrenceshelter.org/board.
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Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
More coverage of the Lawrence Community Shelter:
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence TimesTo boost fundraising capacity, Lawrence Community Shelter board votes to add 2 seats
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