Challenge Gift to Endowment Received

This summer Open Lands received an incredible $500,000 challenge gift to our Endowment campaign from longtime friends, Deborah and David MacKenzie, and Martha and Howard Simpson. This gift now puts us well within sight of achieving our $12 million Endowment goal – something we hope to complete by the end of our 40th anniversary year!

This gift will create a fund within the endowment for land restoration projects. “For the first time in our 40-year history we have savings greater than our outstanding debt, primarily the cost of acquiring our land. We can now begin to endow funds for land restoration.  In the land trust community – this is really revolutionary”, said President Ed Chandler.

First up, interest from the MacKenzie/Simpson Land Restoration Fund will be used for improving the Jens Jensen pond at our 50-acre Mellody Farm Preserve. Actually designed by Jens Jensen, this historic pond is no longer healthy and only supports non-native invasive carp and bullhead fish. Open Lands intends to restore the aquatic health of the pond, introduce native fish species and regrade and replant the banks. In addition, since this pond sits on the main teaching site for our environmental education, natural stone steppers will be strategically placed along the bank and into the pond so that children may access the water for wetland investigation and water monitoring.

The MacKenzie/Simpson gift joins many other like minded individuals in valuing open space and habitat creation. As a culmination to our 40th anniversary, we will honor all of these important donors and organization milestones at a picnic dinner in late October.

Please join us in celebrating our 40th anniversary by matching the MacKenzie/Simpson Endowment challenge.  We need you. Your gift is recognition of the beauty we have created in Lake Forest and an investment in the future for generations to come. 

Open Lands Forever

The Open Lands Forever endowment campaign seeks to secure the financial stability of Open Lands by our 40th anniversary in 2007 through an increased endowment fund. Gifts to the endowment fund are not used immediately. Instead, they are invested, and the income on this fund will provide a reliable source of ongoing funding to support the high-quality land management and environmental education programs that have become the hallmark of Open Lands.

Please help Open Lands continue to preserve open space and provide environmental education opportunities with a gift to the Open Lands Forever endowment campaign. We need your support.

To make a gift to the Open Lands Forever endowment campaign, please note your intention on the giving form.

Lake Forest Open Lands Association is a 501(c)(3) organization.