Friends of Governor Dodge State Park Endowment Fund

On May 21, 2009 The Friends of Governor Dodge State Park signed into action an endowment fund. This fund will become another important source of financial support for the Friends. This may only be one piece to the fundraising puzzle, but it will be a valuable piece.

What is an Endowment Fund

Think of an endowment fund as a large savings and investment fund, only you only get to withdraw the interest. The "core" of the fund stays put. Professional financial services, provided by The Natural Resources Foundation (NRF), manage the fund. The Friends of Governor Dodge State Park Endowment Fund is one of many conservation-minded funds that are managed through the NRF. To learn more about the fund, see the endowment page of the NRF website.

The Mission of the Fund

It was created to support recreation, education and environmental stewardship at Governor Dodge State Park. The proceeds of this fund will directly benefit our work with the park and will help to create a more enjoyable experience for visitors as well as protecting the beautiful natural resources that can be found within the park. A long term goal of the group would be to provide a nature center and permanent naturalist in the park. Other projects will also benefit from this fund. An example would be we partially fund a temporary naturalist for the summer, our effort to control invasive species and other naturalist displays.

It All Starts with a Seed

We have chosen to create an "Acorn Fund". Which starts with a small pledge of $1000 and requires an annual deposit of $1000/year for ten years until $10,000 is reached and we are happy to announce that we have reached our initial goal early! Now that we have reached the $10,000 level, we will begin to see annual payments back to the Friends. Obviously, the more you have in your fund over $10,000, the more payment we will recieve. That is why we need your help!

Consider a Lasting Donation

A donation to the endowment fund would be a lasting and continuous gift. Every dollar you give to the fund works to fund more educational projects, controls more invasive species, and provides more opportunities for visitors in the future. Donating is easy:

Brochures will be available in the next several weeks with information and "tear-off" forms just for this purpose.

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