“Leaders aren’t born. They are made, And they are made just like anything else through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal or any goal” – Vince Lombardi

Inspired by Maggie Coon who fell in love with the Methow in her twenties and spent the rest of her life advocating for the protection of its land, air and water, Methow Valley Citizens Council is launching the Red-Tailed Hawk Fund.

The Fund will be used to support and train the next generation of local conservation and climate leaders to conserve our land and water, protect our wildlife, bolster community resilience, advance environmental justice, deploy clean energy, and tackling climate change here at home.

Our Goal: $75,000

Raised to Date: $53,500 (as of 9/9/24)

The $75,000 fund will used in the following ways

1. Re-engagement of the Youth Climate Action Group: Formed in 2019, this group will receive funding to support five years of youth advocacy trips to Olympia. Additionally, we will collaborate with the MV School District to develop an advocacy training curriculum. Our junior board members are enthusiastic about this initiative, the Fund will help make this happen.
2. Enhanced Training and Professional Development: We aim to provide better training and professional development opportunities for our young leaders, staff, and interns. Many of our team members joined us driven by passion for their home and community rather than formal educational backgrounds in policy and advocacy. Therefore, we seek every opportunity to enhance their leadership skills.
3. Support for Urgent Pop-Up Campaigns: This fund will enable us to respond to unplanned, but often urgent campaigns and issues and involve young people in identifying long-term solutions.
4. Youth Engagement Events: We will host more events to engage youth across the county on issues they care about, fostering connections with a younger audience. This is a priority in MVCC’s strategic plan.

We hope you will consider giving to the Red-Tailed Hawk Fund and support our next generation of conservation leaders. “Imagine if we had twenty Maggies working on securing a better future for Okanogan County.” With an investment in our future, we can!

HOW TO DONATE TO THE RED-TAILED HAWK FUND:

BY CHECK (preferred): made payable to Methow Valley Citizens Council, PO Box 774, Twisp, WA 98856. Memo: Red-Tailed Hawk Fund

ONLINE: On our donation page under “Comments or Questions” make sure to indicate this gift is for the “Red-Tailed Hawk Fund”.  

STOCKS/FUNDS: MVCC EIN#: 91-1061350 Our Fidelity Acct# 39900000750392081