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Honoring the Past - Protecting the Future Campaign



SCCF and Francis Bailey closed on the Bailey Homestead on June 10, 2011.
Pictured right:  SCCF President Paul Roth shakes hands with Francis Bailey at the closing, held at Bank of the Islands on Sanibel.

This would not have been possible without the amazing support of the community, with over 1,300 individuals contributing to this campaign.

On June 24, 2010, SCCF entered into a one-year option agreement to purchase the 28.3-acre Bailey Family Homestead. 

On May 12, 2011 we announced that we reached our goal!

The $5.3 million Honoring the Past - Protecting the Future campaign  raised funds to:
  • Purchase the 28.3-acre homestead from Francis Bailey;
  • Open the Shipley Trail for hikers, bikers and birders and begin the restoration of wildlife habitat on the property;
  • Begin initial restoration of the historic home, creating a Center for Conservation History to tell the story of the Bailey family as well as the story of the islands’ conservation history.
  • Create a Conservation Gateway to direct visitors on to other historical and environmental organizations and sites on Sanibel and Captiva;
  • Continue the Foundation’s conservation of coastal habitats and aquatic resources on Sanibel and Captiva and in the surrounding watershed.

Tracking the Campaign

The Honoring the Past - Protecting the Future campaign kicked off on October 28, 2010, with an announcement at the Bailey Homestead property.

On December 6, SCCF member Richard Shipley, President of the Shipley Foundation, made a wonderful and unprecedented announcement, that the Shipley Foundation had issued a challenge to match gifts up to a cumulative total of $500,000.  To read more about the Shipley Challenge, click here.  The Shipley Foundation also pledged an additional $500,000, making the total donation from the Shipley Foundation an incredible $1,000,000.  In mid-March, we met the Shipley Challenge.

Sanibel-Captiva Audubon joined the Shipley Challenge by issuing a challenge to match every dollar up to $10,000 donated in response to the Audubon match.  The Audubon match generated a total of $48,000!  This includes $14,000 donated by individuals, matched up to $10,000 by Audubon (bringing the total to $24,000), then the Shipley Foundation Challenge brought that total to $48,000!

In April, an anonymous donor pledged $1,000,000 IF we met the goal!  Including that pledged $1 million, you have helped us raise $5 million.  We must raise an additional $300,000 in order to qualify for the pledge -- which will bring us to our $5.3 million goal.

With your help, we can do this.

        Yes, I'd like to donate now!
         If you would like to print a donation form to mail us, please click here.

The Honoring the Past - Protecting the Future Campaign has four components:

  • The purchase price of 28.3 acres of wildlife habitat and the historic home of one of Sanibel's first families is $4 million
  • Consistent with earlier land acquisitions, SCCF needs to raise an additional 10%, or $400,000, to support the initial restoration and ongoing management of the land in perpetuity.
  • The initial restoration of the existing Bailey homestead buildings for all these purposes will cost $225,000, not including the sweat equity offered by our volunteer carpenters, the Hammerheads.
  • The last component of our fundraising this year supports the quality work being done in all our program areas. It addresses SCCF’s operating expenses, specifically those not covered by grant monies and other income generated by our staff. To balance our annual operating budget, we must raise $675,000 as part of this campaign.
Our stewardship of the island's wildlife habitat and the surrounding estuary will both be advanced by this new land acquisition opportunity.  Once completed, this transaction will be of tremendous benefit to the islands’ wildlife habitat, historic preservation, marine stewardship and conservation education.  Seizing this opportunity will have a profoundly positive impact on the way we honor the past and protect the future of Sanibel and Captiva, and we can't do it without you.  We invite your most generous support of this fundraising effort.

brochure pg 1Narrow Window of Opportunity

SCCF has worked hard to protect the unique nature of Sanibel and Captiva. Supporting this campaign will do that in ways that far exceed any of our earlier capital efforts. We have been encouraged by the early response to our fundraising, and hope you can now join in that support.

With a time-sensitive fundraising deadline of June 24, 2011 to purchase the Bailey property, it is unlikely we will do that without major gifts to this campaign, and we are eager to share naming opportunities with donors able to help at those levels.
 
Please help us invest in Sanibel and Captiva’s future.  Join us at the crossroads of destiny by donating today.

                                    Yes! I'd like to make a gift now!

To learn more about how you can help, including major gifts, naming opportunities, and multi-year pledges, please call Erick Lindblad at 239.472.2329 or Cheryl Giattini at 239.395.2768

The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of coastal habitats and aquatic resources on Sanibel and Captiva and in the surrounding watershed.

To learn more:

The Land and Restoration of Wildlife Habitat
The Bailey Home along with the Native Plant Nursery and Butterfly House

Click here for a PDF of the campaign brochure.