Photo Credit: Adam Silver

What is the Annual Appeal?

The Annual Appeal is a focused effort to solicit support for general Park operations. This category includes fundamental things like basic equipment, essential Park contractors and suppliers, utilities, property maintenance, land stewardship efforts and more. The Park must raise $200,000+ each year for this to remain financially sustainable. Donations made to the Annual Appeal are classified as “unrestricted” funds. This means they can be deployed to areas of need as determined by Park leadership. The Park’s financials are audited each year by the accounting firm BPM, and the Park carries the highest Platinum rating from Candid, the most trusted source for evaluating not-for-profit transparency. 

How does the Annual Appeal work?

As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, The Horse Park at Woodside relies on donor support to sustain its operations. Every November, the organization sends out electronic and physical mailers to the membership and friends of the Park. These mailers announce that critical fundraising is underway to support Park operations, and donations are requested for this purpose. The Park’s Annual Appeal supporters make contributions of varying amounts, in the form of a single gift or a recurring monthly donation. Some donors contribute via their Donor Advised Fund (DAF). And, many donors’ employers have matching programs for their employees’ gifts, further amplifying donors’ generosity. 

There have been a lot of recent improvements, why are more funds needed?

Annual Appeal contributions are essential for the financial well-being of the Park. More than 5% of the annual operating budget needs to be raised this way. In strong contrast to the Annual Appeal, specific Park infrastructure projects are budgeted and funded through donor-directed gifts. This means donors specify/restrict how they would like their contributions to be used for projects—to build, improve or maintain one or more specific Park assets. And most importantly, these donor-directed contributions for major projects may not be reallocated for the Park’s general funds without donor approval. Thus, the Annual Appeal is the most structured and reliable source for supporting critical Park operations. 

Thank you for being a Park supporter!