The Elora Centre for the Arts (ECFTA) will be able to stay open – at least for a few more months.
A registered charity, ECFTA owns the iconic building at 75 Melville Street in Elora, but has had financial difficulties for some time.
The board had decided in November that it would not be able to financially sustain itself and gave notice to tenants that Feb. 29 could bring the closure of the building.
However, in February the board gave the building another month to stay open, pushing the deadline until the end of March.
After the annual general meeting of the board, the group decided it would be able to stay open until June.
“We looked at our finances and said ‘how far can we go?’” said Robbie Keith, ECFTA chair. “Our financial situation is now changed from when that first announcement was made back in November.”
Keith explained the board went through some cost cutting measures, which has brought some relief.
“We’re looking at our bank account and saying we believe that we will be okay through June. Beyond that, that’s still an open question,” said Keith.
He added the ECFTA board, which added four new members, will meet next week to discuss issues going forward. Members are exploring a few ideas, including a request for proposal option.
“Right now, the focus is on working though a request for proposal process, in other words, we would define terms and conditions for the future of the centre and request people to submit proposals that meet those terms and conditions,” Keith said.
Not enough revenue
The problem the board is facing is how the centre earns revenue.
“The building is taking up all the money we can generate and so we’re absolutely out of whack; we’re doing little to no arts education and appreciation activity and all we’re doing is paying the utilities and paying the taxes and paying off the mortgage,” said Keith.
As for moving forward, Keith said the group needs to combat both financial and organizational issues.
“We continue to believe that we need to find a resolution, not just our financial challenges, but sort of the organizational challenges as well when it comes to being the title holder of the property.”
The building remains open until the board can find a solution to move forward.
