Betsy Davis addresses people gathered at the Center for Wooden Boats during a fundraiser last fall.

Faced with funding challenges, the Center for Wooden Boats — the beloved Lake Union institution devoted to preserving and promoting the region’s rich maritime heritage — is scaling back its operations over the upcoming months, including cutting several staff positions, reducing weekday hours and canceling two regattas. 

CWB Executive Director Betsy Davis said the changes are necessary to balance the center’s budget in the face of lower donation levels and increased competition for grant funding. The cuts are being made with the hope that the center’s annual fundraising auction in late March will help restore funding needed to cover operational costs, she said. 

“These changes are not desired or optimal by any means, but are the best that we can do given the financial challenges we face moving into the off-season,” Davis wrote in CWB’s recent newsletter. 

The changes include canceling this year’s Norm Blanchard WOOD Regatta, usually held the last weekend in September, and the Frostbite Regatta in late January. 

The CWB is cutting three positions — assistant boatwright, livery manager and volunteer and visitor services manager. Responsibility for overseeing volunteers will be spread around the center’s staff, with one designated point person, and volunteer orientations will be held every second month instead of monthly. 

Additionally, the livery at the Seattle CWB will be open weekends only from October through March and hours will be reduced for the livery at the Cama Beach CWB. The front desk at the Seattle CWB will be staffed less often on weekdays, with the schedule determined by volunteer availability. The cuts to services are focused on weekdays, Davis said, so that the majority of CWB visitors won’t notice much of a change. 

What won’t change during the off-season, Davis said, are free public boat rides on Sundays, the SailNOW! program, one-on-one sailing lessons, storytimes for kids on the Arthur Foss and field trips for school groups. 

The cuts come at a time when CWB has ambitiously expanded its operations and planned for future growth. The center opened a second location at Cama Beach on Camano Island in 2008, and last year kicked off a $495,000 to improve its Seattle facilities. Future plans include building a new education center on South Lake Union and possibly developing a shipyard and community center on county-owned at the north end of Lake Union.

Davis said the cuts were prompted by shrinking donations and more competition for grants, as well as some larger funders shifting their focus to social services. But she emphasized that while donation amounts have dropped, the number of supporters hasn’t.

“We have the same number of people donating to the center, but some donations are smaller,” she said in an interview. “I’m really proud to say that our member numbers have remained constant, and that’s really unique for a lot of nonprofits now.” 

Though the cuts are painful, Davis said, CWB is on firm financial footing. The center has improved financial management and forecasting over the past couple of years by hiring a new finance manager and investing in forecasting tools, and Davis said the cuts indicate a more proactive approach to managing the budget. 

“We’re on really solid ground. These changes are going to help keep us on solid ground as we go into the slower season,” she said. “We’re planning ahead, as opposed to responding to a crisis.” 

Despite its financial challenges, the center continues garnering awards, including several this year alone, for its service and programs. Davis credited a core group of about 400 dedicated volunteers for CWB’s ability to continue offering a range of programs. Volunteers put in an estimated 20,000 hours annually, doing everything from teaching sailing to restoring boats. 

“Volunteers are so central to what we do,” Davis said. “I think that is one of the big reasons that we’re able to keep serving as many people as we do. 

“This started as a community-based organization and it still is. It really is.”

About Deborah Bach

Deborah Bach is the editor and co-founder of Three Sheets Northwest. She is an avid sailor and long-time professional journalist. You can find Deborah aboard Three Sheets, an Island Packet 38, with her husband Marty and their cat Lily.

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