The San Geronimo Valley Community Center has recently launched a campaign to improve salary and benefits for employees, establish an endowment and find extra space for its programs, among other goals. The center has been taking on a more vital role in the community within the last decade, particularly in providing community services for seniors, said Dave Cort, who has been the executive director of the nonprofit for over two decades. Current services include a food pantry, senior events including a twice-weekly senior lunch, a teen center, large events and art exhibits. The total budget has grown from about $630,000 to over $800,000 since 2009. But a strategic planning effort that began two years ago revealed weaknesses in the center’s long-term financial sustainability because it has no endowment—typically funded by sizeable donations from philanthropists or bequests. Instead it relies largely on grants, which can come and go. “We like to say the community center is very vibrant but isn’t particularly resilient,” said Steve Granville, a board member and the chair of the new Deepening Our Roots campaign. “There is tons of programming and it’s a gathering place for the valley, but…if there’s a financial shock or a natural disaster, we don’t have wherewithal in worst case [to support the community]”. Both Mr. Cort and Mr. Granville emphasized that they want to be more thoughtful about applying for and accepting grants so that the center steers its own programming rather than letting grants steer the direction of the nonprofit. “You don’t want the tail to wag the dog,” Mr. Cort said. The community center hasn’t named a target for an initial endowment, but Mr. Granville said it was in the “seven figure” range. As for seeking new spaces for its programs, the center approached the Lagunitas School District’s board of trustees this month to see if it would be open to letting the center fund a $30,000 feasibility study on analyzing possible new joint uses for one of its buildings, which houses the library and other rooms. No decisions have yet been made.