The Moorestown Community House needs your help
In October of 1923, Eldridge Reeves Johnson donated $250,000 to the Moorestown community to build the house. However, he declared that the township residents would have to raise money for the facility’s upkeep, and the township members banded together and rose over $115,000 in eight months. By today’s standards that equals about $1.45 million.
Now, the facility’s representatives are hoping to curry some of that energy again to keep the community house in working condition.
The executive board and volunteers of the Moorestown Community House are gearing up for a massive capital campaign that will r oll out to the township soon. The “center” of Moorestown Township, the Moorestown Community House is home to a number of nonprofit organizations and hosts thousands of visitors each year during the township’s special events.
But, maintaining a structure that is more than 80-years-old is quite costly, said Bill Newburg, executive director of the house. Maintenance costs are significant and with the community house not being a government owned facility, the organization isn’t bolstered through tax dollars.
Sitting on 2.2 acres and coming in a little over 25,000 square feet, there are always needs that have to be addressed, Newburg said.
Keeping with the organizations grand history, the facility is looking to its residents to help raise money to support the community house’s laundry list of capital improvement needs. The goal is about $1 million, Newburg said, but the facility would love to crack the $2 million mark.
“Our biggest problem with fundraising is that people don’t realize we’re not government owned,” Newburg said. “We receive no tax dollars, we rely on our renters and the citizens to help.”
To increase operational revenue, the board took out an $850,000 mortgage several years ago to dramatically alter the house’s gymnasium, turning it into a 200 plus guest ballroom. It was the first mortgage the organization had taken out in the facility’s history.
It’s been a boon for the house, Newburg said, as over 40 weddings have already been booked for the ballroom for 2012, as opposed to four in the previous year.
But, the community house’s endowment has gone from a high of $1.1 million 15 years ago to less than $350,000 in 2011. The decline in value is the result of close to $500,000 in capital expenditures, the downturn of the stock market, and the use of funds to supplement operational losses, representatives reported.
Booking the ballroom, renting out the offices for non profits, and hosting clubs cannot support the community house’s expenses anymore, said George Schulman, president of the board of trustees.
The $1 million goal would result in the paying off of the remaining mortgage, renovating the main floor lobby, the restrooms, and replacing the aged HVAC systems throughout the building.
If the campaign reaches $2 million, Schulman said the building’s roof could be replaced, the house’s bricks could be repointed, and the back patio could be renovated.
Plus, it would allow the community house to drastically reduce its rent rates for nonprofits, Schulman said.
“That’s what we’re most proud of. We’re an incubator for non-profits in the area. They start out with a small office, move up to two, and then eventually move out to bigger facilities,” he said. “It’s a point of pride.”
Moorestown Visiting Nurses and Samaritan Hospice are just two of the nonprofits that had their start at the Moorestown Community House.
Interested in donating to the campaign? Please visit the house’s website at www.thecommunityhouse.com and click on the donation button. For more information please call 235–0326 ext. 100 or email [email protected].
