Meals on Wheels mortgage drive

NANUET — Meals on Wheels Programs and Services of Rockland is seeking to raise at least $200,000 from the public to help pay off its mortgage.

The capital campaign, which was announced yesterday, has been in the works since 2003. The Nanuet nonprofit has already raised $1 million during the "quiet phase" of its fundraising, said Mary Lou Russo, Meals on Wheels director of development.

Turning to the public to help pay off the million dollars remaining on the 15-year mortgage will free up money to expand the nonprofit's numerous programs and services, agency officials said, particularly since the county's 60 and older population is projected to grow at record rates in the coming years.

Collecting $200,000 from the community by December would be an excellent start, Russo said.

The 135 people and businesses who have already contributed, including 21 who gave more than $10,000, were honored yesterday at a luncheon by the agency.

"It's an extraordinary sum of money for Meals on Wheels," Russo said. "We have never gone into a capital campaign. A major gift for this organization for many, many years was the $25, $50 gift."

The Nanuet nonprofit provides about 500 meals a day to the homebound and operates six senior centers, two centers for people with Alzheimer's disease and computer classes for seniors, reaching 2,300 clients each year.

"I think its marvelous, and what amazed me is all the people that are being served. I had no idea," said donor Pat Cropsey, who attended the event with husband, Jim. The couple live in New City.

Other major donors include philanthropist Barry Lewis; Ken Torsoe, owner of the office complex where Meals on Wheels is based; Union State Bank; and Shelly and Mike Berger. Shelly Berger, founder of the agency, will retire this year.

Meals on Wheels purchased its 18,000-square-foot building in September 2003 for $2 million after paying rent on it for 14 years.

By buying the facility, the nonprofit has been able to take advantage of its tax-exempt status, saving it in excess of $30,000 in state, school and local taxes this year alone, and will continue to do for years to come, Berger said.

The agency's 87 employees, 25 of whom work part time, voluntarily contributed to the campaign, as did all 25 members of Meals on Wheels board of directors, who collectively raised $250,000.

Board member Peter Baer, who chaired the capital campaign, said paying off as much of the mortgage as early as possible made financial sense at a time when government support for social service agencies was dwindling. Freeing up funds used toward the mortgage could instead go to services.

Meals on Wheels has a $3.5 million annual operating budget, about half of which is covered by government funds, and the rest raised from fees and grants.

Baer said people could give as little or as much as they wanted, in the form of cash, stocks, land or even money left in their wills.

Russo said those who wanted to donate, but not toward the mortgage, could contribute to a newly created endowment fund that would help low-income clients.

Along with relying on word-of-mouth to bring in funds, Meals on Wheels will soon begin a direct mail appeal to the general public.

Russo was optimistic that people would respond enthusiastically to the 30-year-old organization.

"Any amount," Russo said, "makes a difference to us."

What are people saying about mortgages today:

Rates on 30-year mortgages edged down last week to a seven-month low. Mortgage-giant Freddie Mac reported Thursday that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell to 6.3 percent, down slightly from 6.31 percent two weeks ago. It put rates at the lowest level since they were at 6.24 percent the first week of March.

Bank of Hawaii, Central Pacific Bank, Territorial Savings Bank and Wells Fargo Home Mortgages all cut their 30-year mortgage rates to 5.75 percent this week.

Most people think of a mortgage as a means to an end. After all, you buy a house, not a home loan. But a mortgage is much more than the path to homeownership. It is a financial instrument that must be managed, just like any other financial investment.