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We are thrilled to tell you that we are making good progress on reaching our fundraising goal to acquire and preserve the former Timber Shores property.
Back in mid-August, we said we were within $2 million of achieving our campaign goal. And that we had just received a $1 million challenge grant, effectively meaning every donation/pledge is doubled.
Today, we have a little more than $300,000 left to raise against the challenge!
We need everyone to be as generous as they can for this once-in-a generation moment. All donations help us reach success, and pledges of support will make an especially big difference to help us move forward with the purchasing process later this fall.
The support from donors from across Leelanau County and beyond has been awe-inspiring. The Board of New Community Vision is humbled by the community’s willingness to step up and be part of a project that will impact our lives now and our children and grandchildren’s lives into the future. We are deeply grateful to the nearly 300 of you who have already donated or pledged. Thank you!
Many of you walked the property with us and our partners and collaborators – the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and Peninsula Housing - this Spring and Summer and have seen first-hand what is at stake. You have helped us to spread the word about this important property and for that we thank you and ask you to keep doing that!
Please help us to get across the finish line.
As you consider your gift, remember gifts of any amount matter to the success of this project. Your gift today will be doubled, dollar for dollar, by our $1 million challenge donor.
Last week, the Omena Women’s Club (OWC) hosted a special tour of the former Timber Shores property led by New Community Visions (NCV) Board President and Vice President, John Sentell and Beth Verhey. Everyone was very impressed by the property and what this project will be preserving. NCV’s partnership with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) has been an important part of getting to this point. It was recently announced that GTB received a multi-million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to protect key parts of this property as a nature preserve in perpetuity.
The GTB has a robust and fully- staffed Department of Natural Resources and is admired for its expertise throughout the region on environmental stewardship and restoration initiatives. The natural features of the former Timber Shores property, and the surrounding fisheries, are important ecologically as well as culturally and spiritually to the GTB. This special landscape will benefit greatly from their permanent stewardship of the 187 acres that will include the future nature preserve.
The OWC tour group was particularly impressed by what they learned about the Ennis Creek Watershed. Ennis Creek, which runs through the property, is one of only seven designated cold water trout streams in the West Grand Traverse Bay Watershed. They also learned that experts identified over 40 species of birds on the property this spring. Several participants expressed gratitude that this project will ensure that this property is there for future generations.
The project is, in fact, very close to making that a reality. The NOAA grant put them within $2 million of their goal. Just days after the OWC tour, NCV was able to announce that a donor has made a $1 million matching grant. You can go to newcommunityvision.org to learn more about the property, schedule a tour, and — hopefully — make a pledge to help secure the matching grant.
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