Spring is now officially here! Mother Nature was kind to us this winter, but there is still clean up to be done and repairs to be made before we officially open the 2016 Season. The Annual Fund bridges the gap between our income and our expenses, making clean up and repairs possible.
Thanks to our donors, we are at 80% of our 2016 Annual Fund Goal.
Who are our donors?
They are members, competitors and friends of GMHA. 34% are new donors, and 66% have donated to GMHA before.
How much do they donate?
Any amount they are comfortable with – all donations matter and none are too small! Our donations range from $10 to $10,000, but the average donation is $337.
We Still Need Your Help
We are looking forward to a tremendous and memorable year. 2016 marks the 60th anniversary of the Junior Horsemanship Clinic, the 80th anniversary of the 100-Mile Ride, and GMHA’s 90th birthday! Thanks to your continued support we can make these special events happen, while working to:
- Support five equestrian disciplines – dressage, driving, eventing, hunter-jumper, and trail — without running a lesson program or owning a single horse;
- Host 100 event days in 26 weeks;
- Welcome 10,000 visitors and 3,500 horses during a single season;
- Stable 200 horses at a time in six well-kept barns, wave-afterwave and week-after-week;
- Maintain 65 acres that offer spectacular cross-country courses that draw nationally ranked riders and beginners alike;
- Provide riders and drivers four large rings with well maintained, outstanding footing;
- Offer distance, competitive, and pleasure riders a 400-mile trail system that roams over 117 square miles and would take 19 days for a rider traveling 20 miles per day to cover.
GMHA does all this and more. We do it as a true non-profit with five full-time staff members and another five seasonal ground crew who this year put in nearly 5,000 hours to make GMHA’s magic happen event after event. We achieve it thanks to the 3,000 hours our volunteers devote and to our strong relationships with the 200 landowners who graciously allow us to cross through their properties.
This is where we need your help. Entry fees generate the dollars needed to operate our events. However, they don’t cover all of our operating expenses for maintenance, improvements, personnel, infrastructure, or trail preservation. As a non-profit, we rely on you – our members and other friends – to provide that funding so we can keep offering our events and programs.
Your generosity was overwhelming during last year’s additional fundraising efforts for the Rush Meadow Ring and Phase II of the Upwey Barn roof repair. The Annual Appeal is our only anticipated fundraising campaign for 2016. Any amount you can contribute will be appreciated; no amount is too small.
After all, with your help, we can keep making our magic for years to come.
We thank you sincerely for your support, and we can’t wait to see you in 2016.
Please consider making a donation now.
Donation Form
Please help us bridge the gap by donating today.