by Nancy Bedan

CAS is participating in the annual CoMoGives fund drive for area nonprofit organizations again this year. The online giving campaign, which runs the month of December, is coordinated by the Community Foundation of Central Missouri with support from several local businesses.

• Important things to know about CoMoGives:
  • The giving window is December 1-31.
  • Gifts can only be made online, using a credit/debit card
  • Minimum gift is $10

We received $3,955 in donations through CoMoGives in 2015 and $5,263 in 2016. These funds have helped CAS maintain, and even expand, our education and conservation programs. The donated funds have supported our efforts to create a demonstration prairie and outdoor classroom in the 28-acre Columbia Audubon Nature Sanctuary, helped provide the Band with Nature field trip for Columbia second-graders, and funded need-based scholarships for science and nature-education programs available to local students and teachers.

A total of 114 local nonprofit organizations are participating in the 2017 CoMoGives fund drive. The mission and needs of the organizations will be summarized on the CoMoGives website and in the 2017 “Giving Guide,” a booklet that will be distributed to Columbia Daily Tribune subscribers and to members of the participating organizations at their meetings and events.

Columbia Audubon local members, National Audubon members, and our previous contributors will receive e-mail reminders from us during the CoMoGives campaign in December. You will also find information about the campaign on the CAS website and Facebook page. Our dollar goal for the 2017 drive is $7,500. Just as important are our goals of increasing the number of individuals who donate to CAS from 66 in 2016 to 75 this year, and increasing the number of CAS members who contribute from 28 to 40.

YOU can help Columbia Audubon reach its CoMoGives dollar and donor goals!

• Make a gift! Even if it’s only a $10 donation, it helps.
• Pick up an extra copy of the Giving Guide and share it with a neighbor—along with your enthusiasm for Columbia Audubon and its programs.
• If you have friends who enjoy nature and birds, take them for a hike at CANS and introduce them to Columbia Audubon and its work.

Not comfortable with online giving?  If you want to support Columbia Audubon’s programs but prefer to write a check, that’s fine with us. Your donation won’t count in our CoMoGives drive numbers, but contribution checks are welcome anytime. Make checks payable to Columbia Audubon Society and mail them to: Columbia Audubon Society, P.O. Box 1331, Columbia, MO  65205.

Columbia Audubon is grateful for its members and donors. We have accomplished so much with your help. Thank you! -by Nancy Bedan, CAS CoMoGives Committee