Giving Tuesday 2022
Pat Rakes releasing Yellowfin Madtoms (Noturus flavipinnis, Threatened per USFWS); Photo by Freshwaters Illustrated
Giving Tuesday
The season of giving has begun today with Giving Tuesday, which is the "global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.”
For those who may not know, Conservation Fisheries is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. This puts us in a unique position as a conservation hatchery. While we are often funded for restoration projects by state or federal entities in coordination with other partners we are also tasked with obtaining our own funding for the general upkeep and modernization of the hatchery.
Last year we began our Capital Campaign which aimed at generating donations to fund our Facility Expansion. We are continuing that campaign this year, fundraising specifically for a flex storage building to use both during the expansion and long after. With the funds that we have obtained over the last two years we are aiming to see our expansion begin in the fall of 2023. This feels like a dream, and we are thrilled to see all of our hard work pay off in a way that will continue to fulfill our mission of preserving freshwater biodiversity.
Suggested donation amounts & their correlation to CFI hatchery costs
Big Give Knox 2022
Our fundraising goal for Giving Day 2022 is $12,000 which will allow us to purchase the storage building in preparation for the expansion. For the third year in a row we are fundraising on Giving Tuesday through an event called Big Give Knox. The Big Give is Knoxville's 24-hour online giving campaign designed to raise money and awareness for local non-profit community.
Our Big Give Profile and our website offer information about some of our most common and important hatchery costs. We hope that providing this information is helpful to our supporters in understanding how we spend our money, and how far their dollars can go when considering a donation. We are always happy to be transparent about our operations.
To contribute to our Big Give Knox fundraiser, you may do so here. This fundraiser will be open through midnight tonight, Tuesday, November 29th, 2022. To donate anything after the deadline, please visit our website donation page. If you have the ability to give at this time, we would be extremely grateful for your support.
Gratitude
For those of you who have been following our work for years, thank you for your continued support of our vital conservation work as we work to continue preserving freshwater biodiversity. For our newer supporters, we hope that our work strikes you as meaningful and ignites a spark in you to do your part for the conservation of our natural world.
With Immense Gratitude,
The CFI Team