Thoughts about our First Anniversary Fundraiser

Feb 18, 2017, 1-5 PM, we will celebrate our first year of operating as a non-profit organization.

We are going to meet at the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Public Safety Training Center.  They have meeting facilities and an indoor pistol range.  This is a perfect venue for our organization and we plan to have a great time.

It's going to be a fun event!  All the details are on our website events section First Year Anniversary Event.  More prized and details posted each week.

We've had a challenging 1st year for raising funds.  It's been rather difficult to get people to contribute.  That's why we felt it may be best to have one big event to help carry us through the year (or some of it at least).  I really hate asking and trying to get donations all the time.  I'd rather focus on doing what I originally set out to do.  That is to put boots on the ground and start making a difference.

We don't need a whole lot of cash to do a bunch of good.  I think the volunteers proved that last year when over 150 volunteers ended up removing about 17,000 lbs of trash from the 3 forests around the Portland area.  And out of the 7 cleanups we did, 5 of them did not offer prizes or free lunches!  That tells me, people care more about preserving public land shooting than they do a free lunch.

Still, there is so much more that a non-profit can do, if we have the funds to do it with.  Although we are in a prime position to knock down a grant or two, not many grants are written for what we are doing (which often makes it rather difficult to meet their grant requirements!).  We are currently waiting to hear the status of an application we submitted to the NRA Foundation for a grant that would help us accomplish the upgrades to the Wolf Creek Shooting Lanes.  They could grant all we asked for or just part of it (or none at all!).  I'm hoping for an update by Feb so I can announce it at the event.

I think it's really important for us to show the forest agencies our dedication to preserving and improving recreational shooting.  They need to see we are aggressively working on the cause and working with them.  It makes a huge difference on their decisions when they are often pressured from the other side.

At this event, I'll be reviewing our upcoming plans and events that will explain things in more detail.  Some programs will need some financial help and some will simply need some volunteer help.

Doing an event like this is a whole lot more fun than bothering everyone all year with little hints and suggestions to donate!  We get to meet and greet, win some great stuff, hear directly from our forest officials and even get an opportunity to plink a few targets at the pistol range before or after the event!

I'll be posting some of the prizes and more details about the event as they unfold.  It will be a good time and well worth your efforts to be there!

Thanks All,

Bill