Why I Contribute to Five Rivers, By Dr. Frank Betchart
June 6, 2011 – When asked to write about my motivation to be a contributor to 5RCT, my initial reaction was that this would be a “cake walk”. It is easy to come up with a litany of reasons, but it is more challenging to be succinct and articulate about them.
In the past, I have been somewhat cynical and reluctant towards charitable fund raising. The incessant requests for donations via dinnertime robo-calls, junk mailings with yet another set of address labels, and “annual” fund raising events that seem to happen quarterly fatigue us all. It is a well-known fact that much of the money collected is used to pay the fundraisers, and to ramp up the next fundraising campaign. The icing for me were the highly publicized past scandals involving mismanagement of large national organizations.
5RCT is different. The Board of Trustees is comprised of people who are our neighbors, our social acquaintances, and professional peers in central NH. All are dedicated to the ethic of environmental stewardship and conservation, and give generously of their personal time and treasure. The vast majority of donations to 5RCT are channeled to acquisition and maintenance of conservation easements in our community. I need only to walk out my back door to access the trails of Winant Park, or visit the orchard at Carter Hill to experience this impact. Nancy and I donate to 5RCT with confidence and satisfaction that our contribution is being used wisely towards the stewardship of local properties that are sensitive, unique, and vital to sustaining New Hampshire’s environmental quality and lifestyle.
So whether you value land preservation for the purpose of recreation, preservation of wildlife habitat, or for sustaining the heritage of agriculture in New Hampshire, I trust that you will find, as we have, that donating to 5RCT is a satisfying way to contribute.
