Searching for a new fiscal sponsor.Friends,
We are so excited to complete our huge Capitol Campaign for park expansion. With it complete, we also need to say goodbye to our long time fiscal sponsor, Friends of Community Recreation. This means we are in the process of ceasing all of our fundraising efforts and stepping back our 2021 programming a bit. We are excited to give ourselves a little slack before construction starts in mid August. It has been a great run and we are excited to have extra fun at our Learn To Skate events this summer while we search for a new administrative home. We have reached out to several great local non-profits that cover shared recreational and programming ground. We hope that one might see fit to lend us an administrative hand for our next big project. Biggest check I’ve ever written. Thank you all for making it happen. This $50k represents a heck of a lot of work and commitment from our community as well as regional and national buy in to our dream. #phase5 is on its way! Thanks #robbiesproject, @theskateparkproject, @wyo_community, #laramierotary, @fcrlaramie, @naughtypinesderbydames and hundreds of individual donors! These funds will be matched by the Albany County Recreation Board and then both amounts will be matched by the @cityoflaramie specific purpose tax that many of you voted for! Special thanks to Assistant City Manager Todd Feezer (pictured) for saying yes to this so many years ago. #bigthings @dreamlandskateparks #comingsoon Learn to Skate programing for 2020 will run on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 9-10:30 am from June through September. Our new format will feature just one trained instructor to help guide athlete progression. We hope that the dispersed nature of this schedule will give athletes the opportunity to progress their skills while limiting the threat of viral spread of Covid-19 in our community. Skate instructors and athletes will be masked and we will have hand sanitizer available. We will not have water or bathrooms available and safety gear will no longer be available for loan. We will have a limited number of skateboards to borrow, these boards will be isolated between sessions. Please sign a Waiver for each participant. The Wyoming Wave Video LessonsWe are starting something this year by posting some basic learn to skate skill building videos through our new Instagram channel: The Wyoming Wave.
Fundraising: 6 months into this capital campaign and we've raised $60K of our $200K goal! There is a tentative commitment for another $25K from the Albany County Recreation Board and this project will be eligible for 1:1 matching from Laramie's specific purpose tax funds also tentative. We've put together a letter for potential business donors with hopes of hitting $100K by the end of May. Web Cameras: The Parks department cam through with some extra IT funding this fall and decided to invest in web cams for the skate park. We've created a direct link on this site here. Not sure what the glitch is, but I've found I have to refresh both pages several times to see both images. Indoor space: We have partnered with the Laramie Plains Civic Center and are in the beginning stages of planning the development of the pool space there. The space is nearly 3000 sq. ft. and has a 8'9" deep 65'x20' lap pool in it.
This is an opportunity to make a creative athletic space for Laramie's long winters. We are currently building an exploratory committee to fine tune plans for the space and the proposed business. If you are interested in being part of the process please send us a note. Year end goal reached and surpassed. Every year we are blown away by the continuous growth of support from our friends and neighbors. Thank you for your time, consideration and support. We couldn't sustain this without your constant surprising and generous support. #clearbychristmas $10K challenge met
2020 and beyondLooking forward we will be asking the ACRB to double their committed support and hope to leverage all toward more grants and support regionally. The Laramie City Council and parks department is beginning planning toward park improvement funds through the specific purpose tax (6th penny) currently being collected. We look forward to pursuing a match of up to $100K from that funding source, this spring.
We also hope to begin the contracting process so that, once funding is found we will be riding in 2022. 4x the park for your $Happy December Skatepark Supporters, Tomorrow Morning (Dec. 3rd/Giving Tuesday) at 6 am (Mountain Time) we have a special opportunity to quadrupled your donation. Starting at 6. A.M. Facebook will be matching the first $7M donated through their “Giving Tuesday Fundraiser” I have set up a fundraiser for our 501c3 Friends of Community Recreation which will go into the Skatepark project fund . Set you alarm! If you are able to make your donation within Facebook’s $7m cap your funds will be matched by Facebook and then also by the Wyoming Community Foundation’s $4k match. A donation of $25 would mean $100 toward the park. $1000 would be $4000 etc. As an added incentive if we can hit $60K in funds ($10K to go) before Dec 15th, we will be shoveling the entire skatepark for Christmas! That’s just $4000 in donations if we can take full advantage of both matching opportunities! Boys and Girls with new holiday toys will have a snow free park to try them out. If you have already made a commitment of funds this is a great way to multiply your December donation. If you have yet to make a commitment there’s no better time. Thanks so much for your time, consideration and commitment Josh We are honored and humbled to announce that we have been awarded a $10,000 grant from the Alex LeVasseur Memorial Fund* in partnership with the Tony Hawk Foundation! We couldn't have done it without diehard support of all the stakeholders who've been pushing us!
It is an incredible privilege to be added to the legacy of both organizations, but this grant comes with a deadline too. Construction must be completed in 2022! We're currently at $49K of our $190K goal for the project. Our next big goal is to hit $60K by the December 15th Albany County Rec Mill Grant deadline. Pledge or Donate today and remember every dollar will be doubled by the $4k 1:1 matching grant through the Wyoming Community Foundation. * "The Alex Le’Vasseur Memorial Fund was established in 2007 by the Le’Vasseur family after the tragic passing of 13-year-old Alex Le’Vasseur(son of singer-songwriter Jeffrey Steele and his wife Stepanie Le’Vasseur). Since the start of the Fund the Le’Vasseur family has created programs and projects to help overlooked and at-risk youth. To date, Alex’s Fund has granted over $300,000 to help at-risk youth and continues to make efforts to impact more young lives." Great news! Our Paypal Giving Fund Page is now ready to accept your credit and debit donations, and Paypal will be covering the processing fees!
Just click one of the "donate today" buttons on our site and you're there. We're so excited to finally have everything up and running smoothly for you. Just a reminder Friends of the Laramie Skatepark is a sub-committee of Friends of Community Recreation 501(c)(3) Sandy Garnett and Mary Vrooman spearheaded the original park build in the late '90s. Spurred on by a great group of passionate skateboarders that included their sons they did their research, spread the word and raised a bunch of money. They got one of the best poured in place skateparks in the region built by one of the best in the business, Team Pain Skateparks. Our debt to these two women is immeasurable, not only the work of getting the infrastructure built but the investment they made into the idea that skateboarding and wheeled sports athletes are worthy of community support. Having grown up skating in the 90s, that idea still feels revolutionary to me. Construction Photos courtesy of Lance Spiker
Your pledge is the most valuable asset to the campaign right now. We've got $11K left to raise and the first $4K will be matched by the Wyoming Community Foundation.
With new commitments of $7K in the next month we will have matched the Albany County Recreation Board's $25K commitment in just 6 months! What better proof is there that we are a good investment, and that this project is a worthy of continued support? The pledge form is simple, secure and to the point. All we need is your name, email, how much you are pledging and if you want to donate once or in three yearly installments. Once done we will contact you with the best means to follow through on your pledge in December. |
AuthorJosh Kaffer Archives |