Friends of Fakahatchee: Dedicated to financial and volunteer support to preserve the unique ecology and cultural heritage of Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park and educate the public about its importance.
Support the Friends of Fakahatchee
Your financial support is critical to protect the natural resources of the Fakahatchee Preserve and improve visitors experience. With your support we have been able to buy equipment and supplies to repair the boardwalk, fund prescribed burns, install five wayfinding kiosks, completely renovate the visitor center at the main entrance of the park, build a pole barn to shelter park vehicles, engage architects for the Boardwalk expansion project, fund the purchase of a vehicle and tram to provide educational tours about the Fakahatchee Preserve and it’s importance in the Western Everglades ecosystem. We are successful because of your support and generosity!
We invite you to join the Friends of Fakahatchee as a valuable member. We welcome your donations and are grateful for your generosity and support.
Why wait? Donate on-line now! Or mail your check, payable to FOF, to Friends of Fakahatchee, P.O. Box 35, Everglades City FL 34139.
Planned Giving
Friends of Fakahatchee (FOF) welcomes the opportunity to work with donors and their advisors for planned giving objectives, FOF is grateful for gifts of publicly trades securities; Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCD’s) from Individual Retirement Accounts; testamentary bequests from the estate plans of our supporters.
Friends of the Fakahatchee maintains a brokerage account for the primary purpose of receiving gifts of publicly traded securities including mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETF’s). Until such time as Friends of Fakahatchee has and maintains a managed portfolio of securities as a permanent endowment, gifts of securities will be sold upon receipt with the proceeds reinvested in cash equivalent funds.
To learn more about support for the Fakahatchee through planned giving, please call the Friends at 239-695-1023.
From the President: Annual Fund Drive
Dear Friends of Fakahatchee,
Like-minded people like you become members to support the preservation of the Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park and to educate the public about its importance. The adjoining mission report illustrates some of the many projects that ‘the Friends” have supported financially.
The tours program helps immensely with our mission to raise funds. In over a decade our volunteers have introduced over 6,000 visitors to the Fakahatchee helping them get the “Faka habit “and making the tram tours our largest source of revenue to support the park.
As our group of volunteers will soon dedicate their time to our 11th interpretive tour season, I am asking for your help to complete some unfinished business. Last year, we told you that we needed to replace the old 2013 truck that pulls our Ghost Rider tram. You responded generously to the Annual Appeal with $15,000 in donations. We need additional support to reach the $38,000 target needed for a new truck that will pay dividends for years to come.
Your help is essential to our success. Let us end on a high note so we can start our next tour season with a new truck.
Sincerely,
“Ginny”
Virginia Palmer Skok
President
For questions about the Annual Appeal, please contact Executive Director Francine Stevens at (239) 695-1023 or email office@FOFinc.org. We remind you to explore your options with an attorney, financial advisor, or estate planner for the types of gifts that may have tax benefits for you such as: stock and bond gifts, IRA distribution gifts, donor advised fund gifts, insurance gifts, charitable remainder trust gifts, and legacy gifts.
Donate to the Annual Fund
A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION FOR THE FRIENDS OF FAKAHATCHEE, A FLORIDA-BASED NONPROFIT CORPORATION (REGISTRATION NO. CH9223), MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE OR VISITING THEIR WEBSITE HERE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.