Photo: Canada Geese, Rusty Moran
Tom Blackburn
Thank you!
Thanks to the generosity of our members and friends, our Annual Appeal raised a record-setting $57,000. That’s $8000 higher than our fundraising goal. It’s also a testament to our donors’ support of our mission to engage all Northern Virginia communities in enjoying, conserving, and restoring nature.
Donations during our Annual Appeal are a critical part of ASNV’s revenues. They compose nearly 50% of our annual income. Of course, the vast majority of our work is done by our dedicated volunteers, but we rely on donations to fund the things that cannot be done by volunteers.
Thanks to our donors, we have been able to convert ASNV’s Program Manager position from part-time to full-time. Tina Dudley, who accepted the Program Manager position late last year, is hard at work expanding the number of programs and events we offer. As a full-time employee, she also can spend more time extending our outreach to underserved communities, one of our most important priorities for the year to come. Donations also help fund the salaries of our two part-time employees: Louise Edsall, who handles our administrative functions; and Jill Spohn, who supports our Audubon at Home program.
Your donations have also enabled us to provide 58 class sessions and programs during 2021. We were able to offer many of those events for free, thanks to donations that covered the program costs. Donations are also critical to our grant and scholarship programs. For this fiscal year, we’ve budgeted $12,000 in grants to fund conservation projects on public lands, $4,000 in grants for educational conservation projects at local schools, and $3,500 to send two educators to National Audubon Society’s Educator’s Week in Hog Island Maine. Your generosity has enabled us to have a direct impact on our communities.
The Annual Appeal donations also fund our more routine expenses such as rent, our website, newsletter, office equipment, and insurance. We could not function without donations that cover these expenses.
Once again, thank you to all our donors for your support during our Annual Appeal. Your financial contributions will enable us to continue our important environmental efforts in support of the birds, other wildlife, and people of Northern Virginia.
Canada Geese, Rusty Moran