This month’s Donor Spotlight recognizes YOU, the 347 amazing donors who contributed to BOEC’s 2019 Annual Holiday Appeal. An annual appeal is a fundraising strategy charitable organizations use to solicit donations in a widespread campaign once a year, typically around the year’s end. We understand there are thousands of honorable charitable causes to give to locally and where you live. Here at the BOEC, even our staff understands the importance of giving and contributes to several organizations each year. We are a giving and helpful bunch at our core, and so are you. Therefore, this month we celebrate YOU and how important your giving is at this time. The individual and household gifts we receive throughout November, December, and January make up about 15% of BOEC’s annual fundraising goals, so as you can see, this is very important to us and our participants. Thanks to your tremendous support, last year’s annual appeal was record-breaking, bringing in nearly $160,000 which ultimately helped us to weather what became a very challenging year for the BOEC.
Here are a few other unique accomplishments YOU helped us achieve this past year:
- More than doubled annual appeal year over year (2018 vs. 2019)
- Average gift amount increased
- 83% gave to general operations
- Donation range from $10 to $6,000
- 22 donors gave over $2500
- Donations came from 33 states, including 61% from Colorado and 36% from Summit County
- We welcomed many new and returning donors:
- 134 people gave in 2019 who did not give in 2018
- 109 people gave who had not donated in 2 years
- 73 people donated for the first time ever
As many of you know, due to the current health crisis, we were forced to cancel the majority of our programming over the past eight months and this winter’s adaptive ski season will operate at approximately 50% capacity as we focus on safety protocols in an effort to keep everyone safe and healthy and keep our program open!
Please keep a lookout for the BOEC holiday card in your mailbox or inbox in the coming weeks. We will be featuring some heartfelt stories about BOEC participants that will undoubtedly inspire you, as they do us. We hope that these stories will encourage you to continue supporting our programming so that everyone, no matter their ability, has access to therapeutic outdoor recreational programs and activities.
Your donations are essential to BOEC operations so we can continue expanding the potential of people with disabilities and special needs through meaningful, inspirational, and educational outdoor experiences. We thank you for your support this year and every year!
