Capping off The Campaign
for Iowa's Wild Places
with The Silver Anniversary Challenge

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By Cheri Grauer

Think of a few of your favorite things -
yellow-headed blackbirds piping raucously in the reeds at dawn,
the swept-back, pink petals of a shooting star, or
the leisurely trot of the red fox.

Now, think about joining The Petersen Family Foundation and others in supporting The Campaign for Iowa's Wild Places to ensure that there will always be places for yellow-headed blackbirds, shooting stars and red foxes.

The goal of The Campaign for Iowa's Wild Places is to build the INHF endowment to $10 million by December 2003. When that goal is met, the endowment will provide about 10% of funds needed annually for operations, land protection projects and outreach. The importance of endowment revenue is that it provides basic, stable, yet flexible funds to meet future challenges. Gifts to the INHF endowment remain invested and untouched; only their earnings are spent

The Petersen Family Foundation has pledged $30,000 toward the completion of The Campaign for Iowa's Wild Places and in celebration of INHF's upcoming 25th anniversary (2004). Their pledge will serve as a Silver Anniversary Challenge Gift and will be used to match, dollar-for-dollar, gifts of $250 or more given by their fellow members to the INHF endowment. The challenge essentially doubles every gift of $250 or more.

Rand and Mary Louise Petersen of Harlan, Iowa, are long-time INHF members. Their daughter, Katherine (Kap) Linder of Manson, Iowa, was recently named an advisor to INHF. The Petersens have been key contributors to several INHF projects, including our clean water projects in the Iowa Great Lakes and the expansion of Gutz Park at Twin Lakes. Ten years ago, Rand's father joined in with what has become a family tradition of conserving natural areas with a donation of 460 acres of land to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, creating the Vern and Wilmer Petersen Wildlife Area. We are grateful for this family's vision and generosity toward Iowa's wild places.

The Petersen Family Foundation is offering up The Silver Anniversary Challenge to you. Please take this opportunity to contribute to the INHF endowment fund and honor INHF's 25th anniversary by making a special, one-time extra gift for the future of Iowa's wild places.

For more information about The Campaign for Iowa's Wild Places or The Silver Anniversary Challenge, contact Cheri Grauer, INHF gift planner, at 800-475-1846 or cgrauer@inhf.org.

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.