Your support can help us do so much more
In mid-December, our members will receive a letter asking you to contribute to a funding appeal so that we can continue and expand our work to protect and improve the trout streams we love to fish.
The letter asks you to donate money to SWTU to protect and restore our trout streams and secure your ability to fish those streams. It spells out some tremendous accomplishments and expresses many ways the money can be put to work for our streams.
Your SWTU Board and Officers unanimously support this request. Each and every one will donate to this cause.
Every cent you donate will fund efforts to improve habitat and access on our trout streams. As thanks for any donation of $50 or more, you can receive one of our new 50th Anniversary fishing caps while supplies last. Please be as generous as you can.
You can read the letter now (it has a form you can fill out and mail, or you can give now securely online).
FAQ
Why is the Chapter trying to raise money with this donation request? Are we running out of money?
No, the Chapter is in good financial shape. We stay within our budget and raise enough revenue to support our regular and important activities such as Veterans on the Fly, Fly Tying, Casting Clinic, and Project Green Teen. However, there is an increasing need for us to protect and improve trout streams. Please see the examples in the letter. We think we are close to having maximized the revenue from the Icebreaker and the Meicher March Madness Auction. If we want to do more to help restore our streams and secure public access, we have to raise more money.
Has the Chapter ever raised money this way– with a letter to all our members?
About 30 years ago, the Chapter sent a letter to all our members asking for donations to assist Dane County, the Town of Windsor, and other conservation organizations to buy the land around the mill dam on Token Creek and to remove the dam. We raised about $35,000 with $15,000 of it coming from a donation from Nash Williams. We then allocated all the money to the land purchase and dam removal, both of which occurred.
This is our first more general appeal.
What will the donations be used for?
For stream protection, restoration, and access activities. Some examples: contributing to DNR and Dane County restorations, contributing to trout stream purchases or easements, helping other TU chapters and trout stream organizations with projects (the Nohr Chapter in the Blue River watershed), and reaching out to landowners for donations or sales of easements to the DNR or Dane County. The Treasurer will track donations and the Chapter’s use of them and will be able to report on both to the Board and any interested member.
Why do agencies such as the DNR need our financial help on projects?
Their funding has been stagnant, and the costs of material and equipment continue to rise. In discussing two projects on major trout streams planned for next year with two different DNR fish biologists, both made it clear that they could use additional funds for material such as quarried rock to provide better habitat and more stable stream banks. In one case, funding is so restricted that a project to restore a mile of stream will take 5 years. We hope to provide funding so that better projects can be completed quicker and more efficiently.
What if I want my donation to be used for some other Chapter activity?
Just let us know and we’ll use it how you direct.
What’s the connection between the funding request and our Endowment Fund?
Funds we raise with this letter will be used as part of our 2020 budget on the activities described above.
We now have a legally established and protected endowment fund held and managed for us by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. Donations to the Endowment Fund are added to the principal of that account and the Chapter benefits from the growth of that investment. The Chapter receives an annual distribution from the fund. The Board and Finance Committee believe that the Endowment Fund is an important improvement to the long-term financial health of the Chapter and provides the way for a Chapter member, who wishes to have his or her donation provide perpetual benefits to SWTU. We think it will be an especially attractive option for members who wish to make a bequest or legacy donation to the Chapter.
If you wish to donate to the Endowment Fund, please contact our Chapter Treasurer, Tom Parker at Tparker23@charter.net
Can I donate marketable securities or a Required Minimum Distribution from my IRA to this solicitation or to the Endowment Fund?
Yes, please contact our Chapter Treasurer, Tom Parker at Tparker23@charter.net
Will this donation request occur annually or with some regularity?
The Board will evaluate the success of this solicitation and member’ opinion of it in order to make that decision. Other Dane County and regional conservation organizations use annual appeals as an important and successful part of their fund-raising. We’ll have to see how well it works for us.
Any connection between this fund-raising and that conducted by National TU or State Council? Will any of these donations go to National or State Council?
No and no. All of these funds will be spent on protecting, improving, or securing access to trout streams in our area and will be on streams that you enjoy fishing (or will when our work is done). The SWTU Board will decide how to spend the money. We’ll consult, as we always do, with the DNR, Dane County, and local conservation organizations.
That said, we support National TU and State Council. Our donations to State Council are part of our regular, routine expenses.
Funding Appeal: Cold Cash for Coldwater Resources
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Last Updated: March 19, 2021 by Drew Kasel
Your support can help us do so much more
In mid-December, our members will receive a letter asking you to contribute to a funding appeal so that we can continue and expand our work to protect and improve the trout streams we love to fish.
The letter asks you to donate money to SWTU to protect and restore our trout streams and secure your ability to fish those streams. It spells out some tremendous accomplishments and expresses many ways the money can be put to work for our streams.
Your SWTU Board and Officers unanimously support this request. Each and every one will donate to this cause.
Every cent you donate will fund efforts to improve habitat and access on our trout streams. As thanks for any donation of $50 or more, you can receive one of our new 50th Anniversary fishing caps while supplies last. Please be as generous as you can.
You can read the letter now (it has a form you can fill out and mail, or you can give now securely online).
FAQ
Why is the Chapter trying to raise money with this donation request? Are we running out of money?
No, the Chapter is in good financial shape. We stay within our budget and raise enough revenue to support our regular and important activities such as Veterans on the Fly, Fly Tying, Casting Clinic, and Project Green Teen. However, there is an increasing need for us to protect and improve trout streams. Please see the examples in the letter. We think we are close to having maximized the revenue from the Icebreaker and the Meicher March Madness Auction. If we want to do more to help restore our streams and secure public access, we have to raise more money.
Has the Chapter ever raised money this way– with a letter to all our members?
About 30 years ago, the Chapter sent a letter to all our members asking for donations to assist Dane County, the Town of Windsor, and other conservation organizations to buy the land around the mill dam on Token Creek and to remove the dam. We raised about $35,000 with $15,000 of it coming from a donation from Nash Williams. We then allocated all the money to the land purchase and dam removal, both of which occurred.
This is our first more general appeal.
What will the donations be used for?
For stream protection, restoration, and access activities. Some examples: contributing to DNR and Dane County restorations, contributing to trout stream purchases or easements, helping other TU chapters and trout stream organizations with projects (the Nohr Chapter in the Blue River watershed), and reaching out to landowners for donations or sales of easements to the DNR or Dane County. The Treasurer will track donations and the Chapter’s use of them and will be able to report on both to the Board and any interested member.
Why do agencies such as the DNR need our financial help on projects?
Their funding has been stagnant, and the costs of material and equipment continue to rise. In discussing two projects on major trout streams planned for next year with two different DNR fish biologists, both made it clear that they could use additional funds for material such as quarried rock to provide better habitat and more stable stream banks. In one case, funding is so restricted that a project to restore a mile of stream will take 5 years. We hope to provide funding so that better projects can be completed quicker and more efficiently.
What if I want my donation to be used for some other Chapter activity?
Just let us know and we’ll use it how you direct.
What’s the connection between the funding request and our Endowment Fund?
Funds we raise with this letter will be used as part of our 2020 budget on the activities described above.
We now have a legally established and protected endowment fund held and managed for us by the Natural Resources Foundation of Wisconsin. Donations to the Endowment Fund are added to the principal of that account and the Chapter benefits from the growth of that investment. The Chapter receives an annual distribution from the fund. The Board and Finance Committee believe that the Endowment Fund is an important improvement to the long-term financial health of the Chapter and provides the way for a Chapter member, who wishes to have his or her donation provide perpetual benefits to SWTU. We think it will be an especially attractive option for members who wish to make a bequest or legacy donation to the Chapter.
If you wish to donate to the Endowment Fund, please contact our Chapter Treasurer, Tom Parker at Tparker23@charter.net
Can I donate marketable securities or a Required Minimum Distribution from my IRA to this solicitation or to the Endowment Fund?
Yes, please contact our Chapter Treasurer, Tom Parker at Tparker23@charter.net
Will this donation request occur annually or with some regularity?
The Board will evaluate the success of this solicitation and member’ opinion of it in order to make that decision. Other Dane County and regional conservation organizations use annual appeals as an important and successful part of their fund-raising. We’ll have to see how well it works for us.
Any connection between this fund-raising and that conducted by National TU or State Council? Will any of these donations go to National or State Council?
No and no. All of these funds will be spent on protecting, improving, or securing access to trout streams in our area and will be on streams that you enjoy fishing (or will when our work is done). The SWTU Board will decide how to spend the money. We’ll consult, as we always do, with the DNR, Dane County, and local conservation organizations.
That said, we support National TU and State Council. Our donations to State Council are part of our regular, routine expenses.
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