FoSV Case Statement Draft 5/27/04

The mission statement—Why does FoSV exist?

big picture (problem)
- Of the extent of remaining natural areas in our nation’s 50 states: Illinois ranks 49th –with nearly the smallest percentage of surviving natural areas in the nation. Within central Illinois, invaluable remnants of Sangamon Valley natural areas continue to be at high risk to the effects of urban expansion and rural development. Our Sangamon Valley prairies, forests, wetlands and our river are in urgent and continued need of protection.
- Our lower Sangamon Valley region has no conservation district, forest preserve district, or other land trust organization dedicated to preserving, restoring and maintaining the remnants of our surviving natural areas.
zooming in (solution)
- The Friends of the Sangamon Valley fills this niche. The Friends of Sangamon Valley is a charitable membership organization dedicated to the preservation of our natural heritage by acquiring, restoring and protecting ecologically significant lands in the Sangamon River watershed.
- As the sole organization within the lower Sangamon Valley watershed with this mission, the Friends work in this region is crucial.
close up (specific ways in which FoSV addresses the problem) Since our formation in 1999, the Friends have conducted stewardship activities for our region’s prairies, forests, wetlands, and river.
- Invasive species removal (Revis, Carpenter)
- Habitat restoration (Revis, Carpenter, Chautauqua)
- Seed collecting (Revis)
- Endangered species census (Revis)
- Trash control (Revis, Carpenter Park, Sangamon River)
- Public education (Revis, Carpenter)
- Controlled burns (Carpenter)
- Facilitated project partnerships (Chautauqua)
- Natural areas inventory (Sangamon County)

The goals—What will FoSV accomplish? General ways in which FoSV seeks to respond to above need
1. organizational goals
2. bigger challenges FoSV seeks to address
3. The objectives—How will FoSV reach our goals? Specific, measurable ways FoSV will meet its goals
  1. Program Operations—to support program development and sustainability
    - Obtain easements—timelines for these—very case specific.
    - Develop a landowner contact program—established as a rough date in the grant proposal—based on FoSV priority need
    - Expand the natural areas inventory
    - Establish a stewardship strategy—Establish within 6 months of obtaining easement; (IDNR establishes management plans on a 3-year basis for their preserves). Develop criteria for accepting land—DuPage or Kane Co’s have already done this.
  2. Community Outreach and Education Public Relations
    - Establish or improve relations with other non-governmental organizations
    - Regularly publicize events and workdays
    - Work with the media and the public to raise awareness of issues of importance to FoSV
  3. Increase Membership
    - Define membership levels and obligations
    - Provide exclusive member benefits
  4. Finances
    - Raising funds through donors, grants and memberships
    - Continuing good accounting practices
    - Establishing a budget to allow proper management of easements and acquisitions
4. Programs—What services does FoSV provide?
  - Ongoing restoration of the Revis Hill Prairie in Mason County
  - Reforestation of floodplain hardwoods in Sangamon County’s Carpenter Park
  - Initiation of restoration of Old Salem Chautauqua wetlands in Menard County
  - Continuation of the annual Sangamon River clean-up, in partnership with the Sangamon Valley Group of the Sierra Club
  - Ongoing environmental education to local landowners regarding conservation easements and other conservation programs
  - Completion of a detailed natural area inventory of Sangamon County—the Friends anticipate the inventory results may be used as a “green print” to aid city and county planners in planning, development and conservation decision-making
  - Communication with regional elected officials on relevant conservation issues
  - Performing consultant services to local and state officials
  - Production of an informative quarterly newsletter
  - Creation of volunteer stewardship opportunities for our regional natural areas, including invasive species control, prescribed burning, and vegetation monitoring
  - Community outreach including regional natural area tours, workshops, special events and environmental education programs
  - Dedication to long-term commitment, furthered by a grant-funded, part-time Friends staff position
5. Governance—How is our board constructed?
  1. Maintain 501 (c) (3) status
  2. overall picture of board
    - number of members—7 active board members, 5 honorary board members
    - how members are selected—voted by FoSV members at Annual FoSV Meeting
    - terms of service—2 years
  3. committee structure
    - established
  4. specific info about key people on your board
    - naturalists / professional environmentalists / legal counsel / community liaison
    - profiles established board members—past newsletters
    - new board members—new profiles
  5. info about the board president
    - Vernon L. LaGesse—has bio upon request
6. Staff—Who provides our services?
  1. current staff position
    - Created strategic plan, including—need for staff
    - Grant recipient—to fulfill part-time staff position for 2 years
  2. how your staffing system is set up
    - 1 part-time staff
  3. specific info on the duties of 1 part-time staff
    - accounting
    - fundraising
    - correspondence—mail, email, telephone
    - meetings
    - membership
    - newsletter
    - records
    - website
    - other…
7. Location—Describes where we provide the services we offer
  1. organization address
    - FoSV, 1619 South Pasfield, Springfield, IL 62704 (217) 525-1410
  2. the location’s applicability to the region we serve
    - Centrally located within the region
    - Visibility, outreach and networking to the region’s largest population density area
    - Most efficient locality—government agencies, officials, and other environmental organizations
  3. the region served
    - Currently: Sangamon, Menard and Mason Counties
  4. plans for improvement or expansion of region served
    - Expand to include all (5 or 6 counties) established in the Lower Sangamon Valley Partnership with the IDNR Conservation-2000 program
8. Finances
  1. way in which FoSV receives income—where we get our funds
    - project grants
    - special events
    - memberships
  2. expenses we have
    - costs of current programs
    - operating expenses
    - expenses for special projects
  3. current financial picture
  4. projected financial picture
9. Development—How is FoSV preparing for the future?
  1. development plan
    - Created and have begun implementation of a FoSV Strategic Plan
  2. what does the 3-year plan look like?
    - Financing
    - Fund Raising—donors, grants, membership
    - Money Management
    - Budget Committee
    - Organizational Development
    - LTA standards and practices
    - Strategic plan
    - Board Development
    - Public Relations
    - Increased profile—NGO’s & govt. agencies; event publicity; publishing
    - Membership—increased participation, member events, volunteer recognition
    - Stewardship
    - Obtaining easements
    - Expand natural areas survey and inventory
    - Land Management Plan
  3. how does our organization evaluate itself?
    - Maintaining membership in the Land Trust Alliance
    - through the creation and implementation of the FoSV Strategic Plan
    - presentation of annual report at the annual meeting
10. History—What successes have you had in the past?
  - photos
  - timeline of significant achievements
  - media history—featured in newspaper articles, television news, radio, etc.

1619 S. Pasfield, Springfield, IL 62704
217-525-1410
vlagesse@fosv.org