What is this three-phase plan all about?

The City of Lakes Nordic Ski Foundation has launched a three-phase fundraising campaign to make snowmaking happen at Wirth Park. The overall goal is to raise $250,000 - $300,000.

The first phase of the Foundation’s fundraising plan is designed to quickly demonstrate that there is a need and a demand for this Project. To do this, the goal is to raise $100,000 by June 3. Because of the short timeline, the Foundation decided to pursue identifiable groups that can be easily organized: high school teams, club teams and masters groups affiliated with local ski shops. The Foundation kicked off its campaign by meeting with the leaders of these groups on May 2, 2005. Since then, Foundation volunteers have been working with team leaders on emailing campaigns, phone calls, individual meetings, house parties, etc.

The first phase of the campaign culminates with a trail run on June 1, 2005: The City of Lakes Loppet Run for Snow. The event is open to the public and all skiers and their families are welcome to attend. Teams with the most contributors and the most contributions will be recognized.

Contributions to date have been strong. Ski teams like St. Louis Park High School, Gear West Masters Groups, Ride and Glide, Sisu Skiers, and Pioneer Midwest have combined to raise tens of thousands of dollars through individual contributions – often with matching grants from the clubs, teams or shops themselves. The 2000 and 2005 National Masters Groups have contributed $5,000 to the Project as well.

Concurrent with the first phase of the fundraising campaign, the Foundation is working to solidify the Project with the Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board and other interested parties. The plan is to solidify plans in time so that snowmaking can happen this year.

Once we have solid plans, we will move to phases 2 and 3 of the fundraising effort. In phase 2, the Foundation will target the broader ski community. Phase 3 involves individual contributors, corporations and foundations.

Obviously, there is a great deal of overlap in the different communities. However, for purposes of organization, the Foundation has decided to concentrate its efforts in this fashion.