How we spend your donations

Autumn is here, and for some, thoughts turn to planning year-end donations, perhaps through a donor-advised fund and as a required minimum distribution from a retirement account. Our membership year begins each January, so in the autumn, we also mention that it will soon be time to renew (or begin) your membership in the Friends of Cherokee Marsh.

But, charitable giving is a two-way street. If we ask for your donations and membership, we should also tell you how we have spent donated funds and some of our plans for the future.

Basic operating expenses We pay for insurance, a post office box, website and email platforms, two domain names (cherokeemarsh.org and cherokeemarsh.net; the .net one is just to protect it from use by others), postage and mailing supplies, occasional photocopying, and minor annual fees associated with being a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. With these expenditures we able to send out our monthly newsletters and event notices, defend our website from internet predators, and announce news and activities on social media.

In-person outreach activities This year we printed a new Friends of Cherokee Marsh brochure (with partial underwriting from Northside neighbor Kramer Printing) and some handouts and posters. We'll soon need to print more maps and brochures. We also replaced our two beat-up card tables and old canopy with two new fold-up tables with handles and a new, easier-to-use canopy for our outreach events. We use these supplies and equipment for staffing tables at the Bird & Nature Festival, Northside Farmers' Market, Butterfly Action Day, Hayrides & Hikes, our own annual meeting, and other outreach opportunities.

Conservation activities A very important commitment of the Friends of Cherokee Marsh is providing significant volunteer time and funds each year for conservation and restoration work in the city, county, and state lands at Cherokee Marsh. Besides hundreds of volunteer hours, we annually provide $5000 each for the City of Madison and Dane County, to pay for extra expenses such as prescribed burning, prescribed grazing by goats, processing seeds, and removal of invasive plants. We provide about $2000 each year for restoration work at the Cherokee Marsh State Natural Area for similar activities.

Youth activities and learning For many years, we have made funds available upon request to cover bus rentals for school groups bringing student groups to the Marsh for hands-on nature education. A new initiative this year was advising and sponsoring three Eagle Scout projects. Two of these projects—a new Purple Martin house structure and a new pollinator garden, both in the Cherokee Marsh South Unit—had costs totaling $1165. Although we had not budgeted for the Scout projects, we were able to say yes to sponsorship because of generous donations this year and last from our members.

Supporting other conservation groups We also contribute modest funds to some other groups that share and support our mission: Madison FUN Friends of Urban Nature (which takes a major role in organizing our monthly guided nature walks), and the Clean Lakes Alliance, Rock River Coalition, and the River Alliance of Wisconsin, all of which are engaged in water monitoring, water cleanup, and other activities that affect our Cherokee Marsh watershed.

Preparing for new initiatives The Friends Board has been working on plans for several projects. We want to move and improve some of the bluebird trail houses; some of the houses are too far off-trail, so are harder to monitor and present challenges for prescribed burns. We want to add educational signage about habitats to the park units. We want to provide equipment, as needed, for community science projects, including surveys of flora and fauna. We can apply for grants for these projects, but some grants require matching funds from us. And, our most ambitious project is in very early planning stages: raising funds for a new park shelter, which would include restrooms and a mini-nature center, at the North Unit of the Cherokee Marsh Conservation Park.

Donor information

You can become a paid member of the Friends or make donations on our donation page here. If your employer matches gifts, check with your human resources department for that option. The Friends of Cherokee Marsh is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and donations to the Friends are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Our Tax Identification Number is 77-0689194.

If you are age 70 or older, you can make a qualified charitable contribution (QCD) to the Friends of Cherokee Marsh from your IRA and get a tax benefit.

If you're age 73 or older, QCDs can count toward your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) and reduce your taxable income in the process.

We are also able to receive gifts from Donor-Advised Funds. We can also work with our partner foundations as fiscal receivers to accept more complex gifts. If you have any questions about donating, please contact us at info@cherokeemarsh.org.