Help Complete the Campaign

By Chip Darmstadt, Executive Director

In about a year, I’ll be stepping down as NBNC’s Executive Director. By then I’ll have had the privilege of overseeing the organization’s growth for 25 years. In an upcoming Field Marks we’ll reflect back on those years, but right now I want to ask for your help planning for NBNC’s future.

After completing the first two phases of the Capital Campaign in 2017 (in which we built the addition, renovated the barn, and installed the solar array) we have largely taken a breather from the campaign in order to spend the past two years laser-focused on growing our programs and organizational capacity. I’m happy to report that NBNC’s team of 15 talented and committed employees (12.6 FTE) and hundreds of fabulous volunteers are now making full use of the center’s new teaching and meeting spaces.

However, we urgently need warm, energy-efficient and functional workspaces and other key improvements to support our staff and programs. This summer I turned my focus back to the campaign, and today I am asking for your support: Please make a gift to help NBNC complete the Capital Campaign.

Here is what’s left to accomplish. We urgently need to:

1. Weatherize the farmhouse in order to become a net-zero campus, and to have warm, productive work spaces.

• Upgrade the thermal envelope and replace vinyl siding with wooden clapboards.
• Upgrade and restore windows to their historic size.

2. Renovate the kitchen to serve our expanded programming.

• Modernize the 1960s-era kitchen to serve program needs and catering for our growing number of special events.

3. Create a library/conference room.

• Remodel to create additional meeting space.
• Construct built-in shelving to house our natural history lending library.

4. Make improvements to offices.

• Upgrade flooring, lighting, etc. to several offices.

5. Make fun, educational outdoor improvements, including:

• Bird banding station.
• Trail hub and informational kiosks.
• Wayfaring signage and accessibility improvements.

The end is in sight. We have raised 79% of our $1.6 million goal, leaving $332,000 still to raise.

Perhaps you donated to the campaign a few years ago, or maybe you never had the chance – either way, please join us now to finish the good work we started.

I hope you will make a “stretch” gift today in order to help us complete the fundraising portion of the campaign. If we can do so by April, our wonderful contractor, Kingdom Construction, is holding a place for us and we can complete the improvements in 2020.

Will you help? Please make your gift today to help complete the campaign. Thank you!