We “Zipped It Up” – and then some…

Thank you! Thank You, thank you for your support of the PSA’s Annual Fund and ALL of our Annual Giving Opportunities.

We zipped it up–and blew past our total annual giving goals by a few thousand dollars (that’s real money!)–all because of your support.

The numbers are incredible:

• The President’s Circle – our goal early in 2007 was $30,000. We actually raised $34,020
• Silent Auctions (at two reunions) – our goal was $6,000. We raised $8,243
• Annual Fund – our “revised” goal $75,000. Our total is now $71,469.92!

We’re still getting a few stragglers in the mail at the PSA Office, but this means our grand total for Annual Giving to the PSA is $113,732.92. This is the first time in our history that we’ve raised over $100,000 in annual support for the PSA. Thank you! We did it while finishing a million dollar Capital Campaign – a year early! Thank you, again.

Zipper pulls will be in the mail shortly.

Best wishes to you all in the New Year!

We are closing in on the half-way mark for our Annual Fund goal of $75,000. We’ve received a special challenge from a long-time Philmont friend to match each gift received, dollar for dollar, if we can add another $15,000 to our total by December 15th!

With your support we can meet this challenge and go on to meet our fundraising goal for the year so we can continue doing great things for Philmont.

Your past support to the Philmont Staff Association has helped us do a lot this year:

• Sponsor Philbreak for the fifth year in a row
• Coordinate hundreds of hours of service to Philmont on the Urraca Trail
• Hold a dozen reunions across the country – and are helping Philmont recruit new staff
• Host the Ranger’s 50th Anniversary with over 300 attendees and close to 600 people at the campfire at PTC
• High Country was recognized with a prestigious award

We have done a lot. With your help to meet this challenge we are going to do a lot more.

Please join me in renewing your most recent gift to the Annual Fund today.

Thank you all so very much for your incredible response and generosity!

With the snow falling at Philmont (over a foot in Cimarron Canyon) and many roads closed (our fearless leader, Ed Pease, and his OA crew had to cancel their New Year’s plans, and our treasurer, John Nichols, got stopped by closed roads after making it on a drive through the night to Amarillo) we have made it past our goal!

At this moment Michele Allen has opened e-mails and envelopes from 388 of our donors with a total of $66,201 for our annual fund! We know that more is in the mail (with the roads like they are; Raton Pass is barely open – travel is discouraged – and I-25 was closed this morning but moving slow now) and it will all go towards our goal for this year.

We have big plans for 2007, and want to offer more in terms of programs… So if you haven’t had the chance to donate yet, you still have time! You can drop a check in the mail or donate online through www.philstaff.com to help us blow (like the blizzard that has the Kanik folks camped no further than Rocky Mountain Scout Camp) way past our goal. With your support we can do so much more for Philmont!

Thank you again and have a wonderful New Year!

Yours in Snowy Mountains,
Joe Leisz, “The Schmoe”, PSA - VP Development

Update: 391 donors giving $67,201

Friends:

With just two weeks remaining in the year, we’re getting oh-so-close, but it will still take a bit of a “push” to get to the summit of this mountain!

As of the end of the day Thursday, we had received $54,045 from 320 donors. You may recall that on Monday, the beginning of the week, we had $50,721 in donations and pledges from 306 donors. That means that we added more than $1000 per day this week. That’s outstanding – and exactly what we needed to do to stay on track and meet our $65,000 goal for the year. Let’s keep it up!

Also, I want to clarify something that may have been misinterpreted from my previous e-mails. I often share with you the AVERAGE sized gift per donor. That number is usually in the $150 to $180 range. (This week, that average number is $169.) You might be looking at that number and saying, “I can only afford $10 or $25. That really doesn’t make a difference.”

Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, the reason the AVERAGE number is so high is because we have a few VERY generous givers who drive up the average. Those large gifts are wonderful. Without them we likely wouldn’t make our goal. But the smaller gifts are vital, too. Without them we wouldn’t make our goal either. And I’m sure the large givers would agree with me when I say this: Those who make the bigger gifts to the PSA do so in part because they have grown confident in the organization’s ability to mobilize people from all across the country when we need to do something to support the Ranch. They know that the PSA’s impact has not been because of the power of an elite few but because of the enthusiastic support of many. In other words, the small giver – whether a giver or time, money, or talent — inspires the big giver as much as the big giver inspires the small giver.

So if you can afford only $10, don’t let that deter you. Your contribution matters – more than you know. They encourage the leadership of the PSA and inspire those with more significant ability to do even more than they otherwise would have.

Don’t forget that in order for your donation to be deductible in the 2006 tax year, it must be RECEIVED by Dec. 31. That means that if you are going to use the traditional mail route, please keep in mind that the mail tends to run a bit slower during the holidays, due to the increased volume. If you are going to use the U.S. Mail, please get your check in the mail THIS WEEK. Here’s the address:

Philmont Staff Assocation
17 Deer Run Road
Cimarron, NM 87714

If you prefer electronic means, we have an EASY and SAFE for you to make a donation on-line. Just go to this link and follow the directions.

http://www.philstaff.com/giving/AnnualFund.php

We hope to hear from you soon!

Cordially,

Warren Smith

Graphic courtesy of Fundraising Know How

Additional information: Annual Fund FAQ, Corporate Matching, and IRS Newswire: 2006 Charitable Giving