Community Resource Center Capital Campaign

Our campus in downtown Encinitas is in smaller-scaled 1940’s-era commercial buildings that have been semi-retrofitted many times for our growing needs but are now old and not up to code. Our food pantry is in space originally used for retail, and in fact, it was once the home of CRC’s Encinitas resale store. Our counselors use offices for client therapy on the second floor, located next to a staff kitchenette and bathroom. Our services are in cramped makeshift silos as these buildings weren’t built to be used for the delivery of services to people in need, nor do they allow the staff and volunteers the opportunity to do their jobs the best they can do, or to standards. For years, we’ve tried to make do with the facility but it is now time to have the physical space to serve clients in the way they deserve.

Over the course of 18 months during 2018 and 2019, CRC conducted thorough property research around the question: should we stay or should we go from our current location? In February 2019, the Board of Directors reviewed the research completed by the Real Estate Advisory Committee and decided the best path forward was to remain at its current location and develop a long-term plan to remodel its current facilities and expand satellite service locations. The primary factor influencing this decision was the absence of available by right zoning within its primary service area that CRC could develop to provide all of its programs from a single campus location.

We provide significant support to those who are experiencing homelessness or are in danger of experiencing homelessness, with rent and utility assistance, landlord mediation, workforce and career guidance, food assistance, benefits application assistance and more. We also provide wraparound services like healthy food, counseling, and referrals to partner agencies for mental health and addiction services.

The new campus will afford the following benefits:

• Accessible building for clients, one that is ADA-compliant, served by public transportation, and includes all program services in one location, as well as one that is welcoming and supportive in its furnishings and décor.
• Efficient workspace for CRC staff, to enable them to meet with clients in person or virtually in a confidential secure manner, providing options that are more accommodating to a client’s circumstances and support an expansion in the number of clients served.
• Meeting space for clients to participate in informational workshops on financial planning, landlord relationships and career guidance which are delivered by program staff and our partner organizations such as SDGE and Wells Fargo.
• Professional presence for the organization, which will attract more funders and partners to support the delivery of prevention and intervention programs, and contribute to the Encinitas downtown aesthetic.

We help families and individuals escaping domestic violence find safety and healing through our shelter, transitional housing, counseling, Therapeutic Children’s Center and legal advocacy. We also provide domestic violence prevention presentations and trainings to schools, groups, businesses and individuals.

The new campus will afford the following benefits:

• Accessible (ADA compliant) and welcoming building for clients who need crisis stabilization.
• Privacy and dignity afforded by a properly designed and more efficient workspace for CRC staff to meet with clients in person or virtually.
• Meeting space for school students and other community members to receive educational sessions on domestic violence and teen dating violence.
• Program services adjacent to each other, for easier access by clients receiving assistance from the food pantry, housing case managers or counselors.

We provide seniors, unsheltered individuals and struggling families with healthy food and access to education at our Food & Nutrition Center.

The new Food & Nutrition building will afford the following benefits:

• Entry walkway shielded from a street view and protected from the weather.
• Interior reception and check-in area that affords clients the privacy and dignity they deserve with adequate and comfortable seating while they wait to be served.
• Bathrooms designed and designated for client use.
• Space designed to efficiently obtain fresh food and staples thus shorter client wait times and ability to serve more clients during each day.
• Space for clients to meet for consultations with a registered dietician, providing educational information and guidance on healthy eating.
• Increased storage and intake area for food and supplies.
• Flexible space to offer cooking demonstrations, provide education and recipes to staff, volunteers and clients.

As so many of you who have done any home renovations or construction projects have experienced, inflation has escalated costs across all sectors including construction: from lumber to copper, steel to drywall, as well as the necessary craftspeople who do the work. Even though we included contingency for inflation in our pro forma budget … it didn’t imagine the kind of increases we’ve seen.

It’s been 3 ½ years since the creation of the proforma budget, and the 2024 economy has created an increase in the project costs of $3.5 million – a rise consistent with other construction projects happening around us.

CRC is an organization that supports people who are overcoming adversity, and we can draw inspiration from their resilience as we address and overcome this obstacle.

First, the adjusted goal includes significant cost saving measures: Value Engineering to eliminate “nice to haves” that aren’t “need to haves,” while not sacrificing the integrity of the project.

• Thorough review of fixtures and finishes that ensures quality without extravagance.
• Negotiating with Turner Construction to reduce their general contractor fee.
• These cost saving measures reduced the revised project costs from $4 million to $3.5 million.

Second, we are implementing a plan to further engage current and new donors:

• We are awaiting confirmation of an additional $550,000 gift from an existing donor.
• We’re planning mission-aligned events to engage with new supporters.
• We’ve convened the Community Gifts Committee, whose members will engage and connect their networks through crowdfunding – new donors to CRC – to reach a goal of $1 million.