When a gift falls from the sky

How can a small, all volunteer-run, non-profit like the Cavity Conservation Initiative (CCI) say thank you to a very unexpected, generous and anonymous donor in December? This gift from the sky enables us to open our 2016 calendar with great celebration! To express our gratitude we eagerly assembled for a photo after our January meeting in Irvine, CA in the hope that our mysterious donor might read this blog and see our smiles. When $1500 comes to us with no strings attached, the value of the gift means more than most people realize. We want to offer a backroom tour of the reasons why.

Unlike a grant, undesignated funds add up to time saved in grant writing, setting up a system to track every action necessary to meet the terms of the grant, and time required to submit an end-of-the-year report to the funder. To a small grassroots organization that means hundreds of additional hours freed to put our feet to the ground. But funds without strings also say this:

We believe in the importance of what you’re doing.
When the work is challenging and requires infinite patience, this is immensely encouraging!

We trust you to use the money responsibly.
In a climate of public concern about mismanagement of funds, this is a great compliment!

We understand that bread and butter expenditures such as reprinting a brochure and donating Wildlife Tree Educational Kits to teachers are costly but essential, and that adding new programs are not necessarily realistic.
What an insightful view of our needs!

We cherish donors like this!

The CCI has taken on an unpopular and brick-hard mission. To us, every dead tree needlessly hauled away is a warning bell unheard. Safely retaining more of them is the only way we can create a sustainable future for the 85 species of birds in North America that raise their families within them. The smallest accomplishment and the smallest donation is for us a flame in a windy doorway. We thank our many other supporters as well, and want this blog to be the new year bell that carries our hope on the wind.