We Want to Make Some Clarifications

Life on Lopez has always asked us to work together, to meet challenges head-on as a community. As the recent Salish Current article by Chom Greacen titled ‘Lopez Island in need of financial health check, community conversation’ points out, our community is navigating rising costs of living, a lack of affordable housing, food insecurity and the ripple effects of inflation—made harder by shrinking federal and state support. These are real pressures shaping life here. But the story is more complicated than the size of a budget because organizations on Lopez have different missions and scopes of work.

While we are grateful to Chom for starting the conversation with her article, we want to provide some additional information to the community in order to better understand how to interpret LIFRC’s numbers.

Funding and Grants

In past years, 76% of LIFRC’s budget came from private and government grants. For 2026, that figure is projected at 56%. We are deeply grateful for the Relief Fund donations that will sustain our programs in the coming year. At the same time, we want the community to know that we are actively pursuing new grant opportunities for 2027 and beyond, while also working to reduce operational expenses such as reducing contracts for HR and IT services, and reduce program expenses such as shortening the length of Indigenous Learning at Camp Moran from 3 weeks to 1 week.

This shift does not represent a complete collapse of grant support, but rather some state budget cuts as well as the normal cycle of some large multi-year grants winding down while new opportunities emerge. Encouragingly, new private foundation and government grants are beginning to appear that could help fill funding gaps in 2027 and beyond. With a strong track record of innovative programming, LIFRC is well-positioned to secure these opportunities and continue serving our community.

It’s important to note that, in 2023, LIFRC reported $2,649,757 in revenues and $2,193,299 in expenses on our IRS 990, a difference of $456,458. While this may appear as “surplus revenue,” the reality is that $376,915 of those funds were prepaid private foundation and government grants restricted for 2024 program use underscoring that these dollars were dedicated to specific programs and not available for general operations. In addition, year-end and after the New Year donations create normal fluctuations.

Personnel and Programs

LIFRC employs 35–48 staff members, a diverse team that reflects our community and delivers services across more than 24 programs. Our personnel costs are higher than some organizations because the breadth of our work requires skilled staff.

Last year alone, LIFRC programs reached a wide cross-section of Lopez Island:

  • 233 households / 452 individuals received 1,917 basic needs supports such as rent, utility, and transportation assistance.
  • 399 households / 719 individuals received
  • 148,379 pounds of food.
  • Dozens of people accessed recovery and counseling support.
  • 117 individuals connected with health resources and insurance; more than 250 participated in community events.
  • 95 children took part in early learning activities; 46 in literacy programs.
  • 112 children and youth participated in 43 weeks of after-school programs and 6 weeks of summer programming.
  • 7 youth with disabilities joined 120 hours of BuildAbility Camp; 1 who received 1 to 1 support in Camp Huckleberry.
  • Youth leadership programs engaged more than 85 teens through Orgullo Latino, Youth Health Advocates, Peer-to-Peer Mentors, Coast Salish education, and Voices & Visions.

The scope of these services explains why our budget is larger than that of some other nonprofits on Lopez. These are not “extras”—they are essential supports that help our island thrive.

Relationship with the Lopez Food Center

We also want to correct a significant point of confusion. The Lopez Island Family Resource Center and the Lopez Food Center are two distinct organizations. The Lopez Food Center will provide a much-needed, safe, and ADA-accessible home for Lopez Food Share, along with space for evening community meals and the Heart & Soul Recovery Café, a space of healing, connection, and peer support as community members navigate their recovery journey.

LIFRC will be a tenant of the new building, not its operator. This means we have committed to renting space from the Food Center, just as any organization rents office or program space from a landlord. We do not have a say over their business model, nor do they have a say over ours.

In Closing

We are grateful for the extraordinary generosity of our community and remain committed to sustaining vital services, youth engagement, and opportunities for all Lopez Islanders. We welcome community conversation that is grounded in accurate information, and we invite anyone with questions to reach out directly to LIFRC by sending an email to Barbara at Barbara@lifrc.org

— The Board and Staff of the Lopez Island Family Resource Center

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