Wednesday, March 30, 2016

How and Why to Donate to the Raptor Resource Project!

What does the Raptor Resource Project do? We are a 501c3 that specializes in the preservation of falcons, eagles, ospreys, hawks, and owls. In addition to bringing you the Decorah Eagles, Great Spirit Bluff Falcons, and other birds of prey, we create, improve, and directly maintain over 50 nests and nest sites, provide training in nest site creation and management, and develop innovations in nest site management and viewing that bring people closer to the natural world. Our mission is to preserve and strengthen raptor populations, expand participation in raptor preservation, and help foster the next generation of preservationists. We are asking for donations today to support our work. You can donate online at PayPal by following this link, or you can mail a check to:

The Raptor Resource Project
PO Box 16
Decorah, IA 52101

As a nonprofit environmental organization, we depend on donors, research, and our other programs for our entire budget.  In the upcoming year, we plan to:
  • Establish a wild Philippine eagle camera. We are waiting for a report from Cornell on how to proceed. At this point, our costs are unknown.
  • Continue our collaborative raptor nest-box, trapping, and monitoring programs, including banding at all of our peregrine falcon sites in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. If the weather holds, this will be a banner year for us. I believe we could end up banding 70 or more falcons!
  • Upgrade at least three more sites to high definition digital cameras. We would like to do more if we can! 
  • Continue to provide one of the world’s largest public wildlife education programs to countless classrooms through our unequaled Ustream channels, interactive chats, facebook page, and blog.
  • Hire a full-time director. Our current director is volunteering all of his time to lead the Raptor Resource Project. He’s done a wonderful job and we would like him to work for us full-time. He was selected by Bob and has been absolutely critical in carrying Bob's legacy and plans forward. 
  • Explore partnerships with schools and other organizations to benefit wildlife and land preservation in the Driftless Area. At present time, we are working with Hoo’s Woods Raptor Education and Rehabilitation Center and several other partners on a kestrel poster project.  Bob had become very interested in kestrels and we are interested in re-launching that project.
  • Build and deploy online tools to develop appropriate tools to easily capture and share data from our sites and other sites.
With our volunteer director, our current costs hover around $118,700…but we will need to raise more money to bring our director on full time. In 2015, our expenses looked like this:
  • $55,000 for staff and contracts. In 2015, we incurred extra expenses for our N2B build and two camera installs: one at N2B and one at Decorah North Nest. These were intensive projects that required a lot of help. The N2B camera installation alone took nine people five full days of work from dawn past dusk. Five or six volunteers also showed up to help at will.
  • Camera installations – a computer and peripherals, cameras and peripherals, labor and materials, high speed internet, caretaker/rental costs, and audio systems - cost $17,500 per site, for a total of $52,500 in 2015.
  • Supplies – primarily cable, tools, climbing equipment, banding equipment, bands, installation hardware, maintenance equipment, and lumber – cost around $2200 annually.
  • Other/Miscellaneous costs around $9,000 annually. This category includes gasoline, electricity, travel-related costs, equipment fabrication, and propane so we can heat the shed!
Our income is generated entirely by donations from viewers of our various cams, and we sincerely appreciate your generosity and support of the Raptor Resource Project mission. Would you please help us make a difference with your donation?

Thank you so much for your support and we hope you enjoy watching in 2016! Go eagles and falcons! As we celebrated D24 yesterday, I couldn't help but think of Bob, the person who started it all. A few links:



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