The Franco Center, bottom middle, is seen Monday morning at the corner of Cedar and Oxford streets. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — The nonprofit Franco Center is warning that without more sponsors and donations it could become “a shuttered venue.”

Penny Drumm, the financial administrator, said Monday she is “saddened that we have gotten to this point.”

“It would be such a loss to the community if we cannot get our organization back on more solid ground and able to keep the beautiful historic building open as a venue and resource to our community,” she said.

The center, created a quarter century ago, is a performance and event venue in the former St. Mary’s Church on Cedar Street that aims to honor and preserve the community’s Franco American heritage while welcoming “our neighbors from diverse cultures.”

A new “envelope challenge” push is underway to bring in more revenue. Donors can give at levels of $1 to $400 through an electronic version of a popular paper envelope fundraiser that offers a chance at winning prizes.

The Franco Center hopes to raise $80,000 from the challenge in the coming weeks that would “tremendously help us in our efforts to bring performances, history education programs, and keep the former St. Mary’s church in good shape.”

While it focuses on fundraising, the nonprofit has asked its employees “to work half-time at least through the summer and possibly early fall,” Drumm said.

In a Facebook post last week, the center said it’s not alone in finding it ever harder to keep up with rising costs.

“We think you’ll find that many local nonprofits are going through the same scenario: fewer sponsors and volunteers to help run our organization,” it said in the social media post.

Drumm said the reality is that “every year is a struggle” to hold successful events and maintain “this beautiful venue” for the long haul.

This past winter was especially hard, she said, as many costly repairs were needed for the boiler, elevators, walk-in cooler and more. Drumm said that came on top of the rising cost of everything from employee pay to utilities.

“It is taking more and more funds to even do things the way we used to,” Drumm said.

The center figures it lost the chance to bring in about $800,000 during three years of the COVID-19 pandemic that drastically cut back on the activities it could hold.

Though it laid off staff and kept its doors closed, Drumm said, the building still needed attention.

“As beautiful as this building is, it is extremely expensive,” she said.

After the pandemic, “it took a long time for events and audiences to start coming out again,” Drumm said, though it appears that things are back to normal at last.

The Franco Center at 46 Cedar St. in Lewiston, seen Friday, is struggling with rising costs to keep the former St. Mary’s Church open as a performance and event venue, Financial Administrator Penny Drumm said. The center was established 25 years ago to honor and preserve the community’s Franco American heritage while welcoming neighbors from diverse cultures. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

A naming rights agreement came to an end as well, leaving “a huge hole to fill” in the budget for the past couple of years, Drumm said.

She said the center hopes that envelope challenge fundraiser will make up for the lost revenue and assist in building new support based on “more smaller businesses helping out.”

A capital campaign is also underway to try to raise as much as $7 million to allow for the inevitable major repairs the building will require in the years ahead. So far, Drumm said, the building fund has collected $675,000.

Drumm said that every donation will help. She also urged people to volunteer to lend a hand personally.

“We are always looking for people to help with fundraising,” she said. “We would love to have a fundraising committee. You don’t have to be a board member to help organizations and loan them your skills.”