Message From the Executive Director

Celebrating Our First Five Years

     Most nonprofit organizations do not survive their first year so I am pleased and proud to report that Upstate Forever is alive and well as we celebrate our fifth anniversary this month. We have come a long way since those early days of working alone at my house and manually keeping our financial records in one check book register. In fact, when it all started, I never thought that we would come this far in five years: with over 1,600 members and a staff of seven. Some days, when the office is abuzz with all seven of us here, along with several volunteers and student interns, I shake my head in disbelief.

I think there are four reasons for our success. First, people in the region are keenly interested in the issues of growth, land use change and conservation that Upstate Forever is working on. Second, we have an absolutely top notch Board of Directors who oversee and guide our work. Third, we have the best staff any organization (profit or nonprofit) could ask for – a dedicated and immensely talented group of professionals who could be making more money elsewhere but have chosen to work here because they care so passionately about what we do. Finally, and most important, are our members without whose support Upstate Forever would not exist. Every time I look at the membership list, I am both humbled and inspired to see the names of the hundreds of individuals, families, companies, and foundations who believe in our mission and provide the financial fuel needed to keep Upstate Forever in operation.

I believe we have proven worthy of this confidence and support. Take a look at pages 10 and 11: it’s a summary of our major activities and accomplishments during the first five years. I think it’s clear that we have made substantial contributions to conservation in our region and to the debate about how and where growth should take place. We’re making a difference!

Yet in a sense we’re just getting started. We have many goals for the future, such as opening additional offices in the region, reaching the 5,000-member threshold, expanding our Land Trust Program, establishing an endowment, and building support for a broad-based regional visioning program.

But we’ll get there. After all, we intend to be in the Upstate....Forever.