At its March 9 meeting, the Friends of Lake Panorama Board of Directors agreed its fundraising focus for 2015 will continue to be two priority projects. One is a new destination playground at Sunset Beach. The other involves renovating two existing tennis courts and adding a basketball court at Lake Panorama National.
The Friends of Lake Panorama is a 501(c)(3) charity focused on improving recreational amenities at Lake Panorama. All contributions to the nonprofit are tax deductible, and all donors receive a receipt to use when filing their tax returns.
Bids have been received on both priority projects. Prior to the March board meeting, both chosen vendors agreed to honor their existing bids beyond the original deadlines.
With those extensions, the Friends board voted to continue to seek individual and corporate donations for these two priority projects. Possible fundraising projects to conduct throughout the year were discussed. A fundraising subcommittee will be formed to help flesh out the ideas that surfaced.
The board also discussed the possibility of completing the projects in phases, rather than waiting until all necessary funds have been raised. This idea will be pursued further.
A November mailing to all LPA members resulted in more than $35,000 being donated to the nonprofit before the end of 2014. Additional donations continue to be received in 2015.
While all donations are important, only donations of $500 or more receive public recognition. So far, 33 donors are listed on the Friends of Lake Panorama website, along with how the donations are to be used. Currently, Dan and Melissa Pflieger are the sole donors under the “Benefactor” category, which honors donations of $5,000 to $9,999.
There are 15 donors listed in the “Steward” category, which honors donations of $1,000 to $4,999. They are Gloria Anderson, In Memory of William Anderson; Larry Babcock and Susan Thompson; Davis Equipment/Turfwerks/Paul Z. Davis Family; Sherri Faga, In Memory of Larry Faga; David and Kimberley Furbush; Dick and Carolyn Koberg; Todd and Amy Foje; Dr. Robert and Nancy McCleeary; Barry Monaghan and Nancy Peters; Todd and Renie Plumb; Aaron and Mindy Poldberg; Jim and Emily Spradling; Greg and Tricia Steffen, In Memory of Rick Motsick; Sunset Beach Neighbors; and Jim and Dee Tometich.
There are 17 donors in the “Friend” category, which includes donors of $500 to $999. They are Paul and Stacy Borseth; Kirk and Lisa Fischer; Gratias Properties, LLC, In Memory of Joe Scheiring; Darrell and Suzanne Hartle; Mel and Dorna Haught Family; Wade and Teresa Jensen; Dr. Mark C. Menadue; Jay and Sue Merryman; Daryl Muhlbauer; Steve and Danielle Navarro; Ken and Sue Nelson; Jan and Lynn Reinicke; James and Gloria Schlichtemier, In Honor of David Schlichtemier; Scott and Cheryl Temple; Jim and Mary Theisen; Dan and Gretchen Wilhelmi, In Memory of Rick Motsick; and Dale and Joyce Wittrock.
Where significant projects warrant, such as the Sunset Beach playground and the LPN sports courts, a sign recognizing large donors also will be erected near the completed project. Publicity and an annual report are other ways donors are recognized.
Fundraising is ongoing and donations welcome at any time of the year. A donation form and details on donation options is available here.