The Council on Aging (COA) last week approved entering an agreement with the Ventura County Community Foundation to establish an endowment fund that will make it easier for people to donate to the nonprofit Simi Valley Senior Center.

The agreement calls for the COA—a nine-member advisory board who advises the city council on senior-related issues, such as nutrition, housing, transportation, recreation and education—to provide $10,000 in seed money to establish the fund.

If the city council approves the agreement, the foundation would be responsible for managing and investing all donations made to the Simi Valley Senior Center or COA.

“There are many, many seniors who’d like to make a contribution, but they kind of hesitate making a contribution to the city,” COA Chair Joe Beautz said.

The senior center operates entirely by donations. Its annual operating budget is $100,000, he added.

Frank Catania, Simi Valley deputy director of citizen services, said an endowment fund works similarly to a trust fund: money is put into an account and stays there, earning interest. The senior center would be sent the interest annually, providing it with a steady source of reliable income. The foundation would keep a small percentage of the earnings to pay for operating costs.

“We think it’s a good idea, especially if the COA is willing to go out and raise funds,” Catania said.

Beautz said the COA plans to form a speaker’s bureau, sending out members to solicit contributions from large corporations.

Establishing the endowment fund, which is averaging 5 percent a year in interest, is a “future investment,” he said, because the number of seniors using the center is expected to double after expansion of the center is completed.

The fund will ensure that we can “provide services (for seniors) into perpetuity,” Beautz added.

The agreement is expected to go before the city council in October.