FMR earned $60,000 in challenge grants in 2013!

The Mississippi River at Coon Rapids Dam Regional Park, circa 1999.

Photo: Whitney Clark

Now halfway through our 20th anniversary year, we at Friends of the Mississippi River are feeling grateful and excited by the gifts we are receiving. Some of our most generous and enthusiastic supporters stepped up in 2013 to encourage others to support our work, with great success. We received three $20,000 challenge gifts in 2013 and are proud to announce that we met all of them – earning over $60,000 in new and increased giving from our community!

What does this mean? It means that we have more financial resources to carry out important work, and it means that more community members are invested in FMRs work. We can make a strong statement on issues regarding the community and the river, knowing that we are speaking for a growing number of people in the region.

We received the first challenge last spring, to encourage new memberships and increased donations from current members, and earned it by mid-fall. The second challenge came in September, to increase giving at our annual Evening Celebrating the River on September 24th, and we earned it before the night was over. The third challenge was launched in November of 2013 to encourage new and increased giving before the end of the year, and by New Years eve we had surpassed the goal.

Thank you to everyone who helped us earn the challenge gifts, and to all of our members and supporters in 2013 for another successful year!

If you are not yet a member, but would like to add your voice to strengthen the voice of the river, please consider a tax-deductible gift to Friends of the Mississippi River. Friends of the Mississippi River provides an opportunity for you to make a difference locally, where you can see the impact of your involvement and your investment. And what we do here and now in Minnesota will also benefit communities downstream and generations yet to come. You can make your gift online right now.