True North seeks $400K for operations, staff at Torres Shelter

CHICO » True North Housing Alliance, which operates the Torres Community Shelter, is starting a fundraiser called 4 by 100 with the goal of $400,000 in 100 days beginning May 26.

Executive Director Taylor Storey said the fundraiser is needed because a large portion of their funding from grants did not renew for this year, leaving a portion of operating expenses unfunded.

The Torres Shelter is projected to not have enough grant funding to keep a full staff and support basic operations — and may need to turn people away from shelter, according to a press release by the nonprofit.

“Working with populations that are constantly changing and in flux takes a lot of time and money. And so now we’ve come to a place where we need help now,” Storey said.

Storey said True North Housing Alliance’s 2021 operating expenses — including staffing, grant funded programs — added up to about $2 million and its revenue from grants also added up to about $2 million — breaking even. But this year, Storey said grants won’t be able to cover costs for the year.

“If True North is not able to raise these funds, the nonprofit will have to turn people away from its Torres Community Shelter who will have nowhere else to go,” the fundraiser press release said.

Besides keeping staff hired, Storey said the funds will also go towards upgrading the facility’s broken equipment and wear and tear caused by increased usage since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Storey said when she was appointed executive director in January 2022, the transition was long and difficult which affected the nonprofit’s grant application process. Grants are usually applied for in the previous year and the transition impacted those applications.

“It’s kind of this perfect storm of the transition of leadership happening at a time where we weren’t able to drill down on every grant,” Storey said.

The transition affected grant funding progress insomuch that one of the larger grants worth $100,000 did not renew, which Taylor said happened because of circumstances before her appointment.

“With grant funded organizations, there are — by the nature of grants and the timelines — periods of feast and periods of famines. And we’re in one of those famine stages,” Storey said. “You can’t hang your hat on the fact that that’s going to be a continuing source of revenue.”

Storey said other grant funding will be coming in, but it will take a long time to get processed and will not be enough to cover operating expenses and facility maintenance in the near future.

In the meantime, the nonprofit is attempting to raise those lost funds through its 4 by 100 fundraiser.

Taylor said for the past three years it had not been able to host its key fundraising events, but will try to change that by hosting an event every 25 days for the next 100 days: an ice cream social, an online media staff war campaign, a brunch and a softball game.

“If True North is not able to raise these funds, the nonprofit will have to turn people away from its Torres Community Shelter who will have nowhere else to go.” — True North Housing Alliance fundraising press release