Why move? Cost savings, visibility, permanence and more
When SNAP began the migration to the former site of the Dominican Center three years ago, it was quickly evident that the move made sense.
To begin with, the consolidation of several offices would save the agency over $111,000 annually in operational costs. A crew including SNAP Mission Support, Human Resources, the Long-Term Care Ombudsman program and Accounting made the transition from St. Ann’s Convent while the Energy Certification team packed their bags and departed from a rented space on Arthur Street downtown. Meanwhile, the SNAP IT staff left their space at the Armory building on Second Avenue and the Building Performance Center, specializing in weatherization training, also landed on Fort Wright Drive.
The gracious offer from the Dominican Sisters allowed SNAP to stay at its new home, rent-free, for three years with the understanding that the money for the building would be raised by Oct. 31, 2013.
The move gives SNAP a permanent home for the first time in the nonprofit’s 47-year history and means freedom from lease agreements that seem to inevitably increase in cost. Those savings, in turn, are passed along to our clients through programs that help them cycle out of poverty and achieve self-reliance.
In other words, buying our own home helps many of our low-income neighbors keep theirs.
From a geographic standpoint, SNAP’s new home base is situated centrally in the heart of an educational corridor that includes Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute, Spokane Falls Community College and Holy Names Institute for Extended Learning. The building is also located on two bus lines just a stone’s throw from the West Central Community Center.
So, while this is technically a capital campaign, it is really so much more than that. Ultimately, it’s a money-saving, efficiency-adding, awareness-generating, community-building, resilience-creating, agency-strengthening move that represents an enormous benefit to SNAP and its clients — today and well into the future!
