The TREE Fund Report
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TREE Fund 2009 Special Events Fundraising Tops $500,000! A Message from the Executive Director A Message from TREE Fund President TREE Fund Awards $183,000 in Grants and Scholarships in 2009 TREE Fund Partners with Chicago Trees Initiative to Keep Chicago Green TREE Fund Welcomes New Trustees
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A Message from the Executive Director
2009 was a landmark year for the Tour des Trees. This was the first time that the operating expenses of the Tour were fully funded by our sponsors, and 100% of the money raised by our riders will be dedicated to tree research and education. We implemented a new management model for the Tour in 2009 that brought unprecedented levels of support from our sponsors and volunteers. The result was an event that broke all records for fundraising, public education and media recognition. The 2009 STIHL Tour des Trees demonstrated what can be accomplished with a strong team of dedicated volunteers and sponsors supporting our staff. We’re already well on our way toward replicating that success in 2010 and beyond. National public recognition of the TREE Fund and the Tour des Trees as the signature fundraiser for our urban forests is the critical first step toward expanding our funding base. A broader funding base will improve our ability to provide ongoing arboricultural research grants, scholarships and education programs. STIHL’s Title Sponsorship and the professional media relations support of their Meridian Group brought this vision significantly closer to reality. The collaboration of National Grid, our inaugural TREE Fund Crown Sponsor, further solidified the Tour’s standing as an event of national significance worthy of major sponsorship dollars. As tireless advocates for the TREE Fund and its mission, Anita Gambill at STIHL Inc. and Jeff Carney and Sara Sankowich at National Grid headlined a stellar cast of hundreds of volunteers and underwriters. They brought a wealth of resources, skills and energy to this year’s Tour, as well as our “Raise Your Hand for Research” Gala auction. These “champions from within” recognized the value that support of the TREE Fund’s mission could add to their company’s brand, and acted to solidify the association. This is the model on which we’ll build future successes, and we’re grateful to those who helped to engineer the prototype. In addition to funding vital research and education programs, the growth of our endowment remains a top priority for our Board of Trustees. Fundraising through special events puts a heavy demand on staff time and can be expensive. Building a larger endowment would ease the strain. Our goal is to have $3 million committed to the endowment by our ten-year anniversary in 2012. While we expect a significant portion of those commitments to be funded incrementally, an endowment of $3 million could generate annual earnings of $150,000 to fund research grants and scholarships. Toward that end, we continue to encourage donors to name the TREE Fund as a beneficiary on life insurance policies and to join our Heritage Oak Society members who’ve earmarked part of their estate to support the TREE Fund. Donors of $100,000 or more have the opportunity to create a lasting legacy with a named fund, and our “Annual for Always” option applies an annual contribution, plus the earnings on prior donations, toward a specified total commitment. Innovative fundraising strategies will headline the agenda at our annual Board of Trustees and TREE Fund Liaison meetings in November. These meetings offer a singular opportunity for our Trustees and Liaisons to brainstorm, learn, plan and network. The fundraising success of our special events in 2009 had its roots in the Trustee and Liaison meetings of 2008. Beyond fundraising and events management, the TREE Fund relies on a strong, dynamic volunteer corps (including Trustees and Liaisons) for help with grant proposal review, governance, financial oversight and communications. We’re truly fortunate to have so many talented people willing to contribute their time, talent and energy to furthering the mission of the TREE Fund. Our successes -- past, present and future -- are directly attributable to the quality of the people who choose to align their cause with ours. There are no finer people than those who call themselves TREE Fund Volunteers. - § - |
As we look toward the finish line of what
will surely be recorded as one of the most
challenging years for fundraising in recent
memory, we have a lot to be proud of and strong
reasons for optimism for the future. In a year that
had many professional fundraisers reaching for
the smelling salts, we raised more money for
tree research and education than ever before.
The challenge now is to harness the momentum
of our success to carry us forward. 