DeFrank Center’s boss knows a challenge when he sees one in San Jose

Posted on July 27, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized

Paul Wysocki was about to show me the drop-in center for youth at the Billy DeFrank Center when the silent burglar alarm went off.

Wysocki fiddled with the box to accept his code and wound up calling the alarm company, telling them all was fine. “There’s usually a little lag time before they call the police,” he explained.

The situation bore more than a little irony. As interim executive director, Wysocki is sounding the public alarm for the center, San Jose‘s gathering place for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community. But he has no lag time.

Last week, he dispatched an e-mail that bluntly said the center would have to close its doors by Sept. 1 unless it raises $50,000. Wysocki hopes to coax backers to sign up for continuing contributions that would total $20,000 a month.

“We had been talking about what we needed to do to get people’s attention,” said the red-haired 60-year-old, an exuberant and funny man who has become an expert in turning around nonprofits. “We decided we had to hit them right between the eyes.”

See DeFrank Center’s boss knows a challenge when he sees one

San Jose Mercury News

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