While the work leading up to this point has been significant, some days it still feels like we are at the acorn stage of growth. This weekend felt like the seed shell cracked and roots started to sprout. We received great news from an anonymous couple who committed to match donations up to $250. I was working on cleaning up the garage when I read the message, and it literally brought tears to my eyes… lots of them. All the brainstorming, planning, meetings, training and trailside chats are starting to produce desired results. The catharsis of the moment continues to resonate in my heart and has refilled my cup in such a meaningful way. Thank you!
That said, a couple of things need to be pointed out in order for those results to be captured and represented here. On the donation section of the site, you will notice some “fine print” under the images of the two recipient organizations. It indicates where to include “WaoH” when completing your donations. This is critical to allow everyone to track progress and measure success for future endeavours. In a world full of automation, it may seem less than ideal as the possibility of human error creeps into the equation, but there are reasons it’s set up this way. We’re trying our best to keep overhead to a minimum, and most of the web work has been DIY. Until we can develop a more foolproof process, we are relying on you, the donors, to include those four letters with your donations. We are open to suggestions on how to eliminate the requirement, but for now, this keeps your donations close to 100% intact. The only dilution is the processing fee the online company charges for each organization.
Another point to highlight is that we will accept cash donations, but we prefer they be made directly to the organizations themselves rather than through us. We simply do not want to handle cash ourselves because it would require other mechanisms we do not currently have in place. Again, donations are donations, and we will accept cash and make it work, but we hope to have better processes in place for the next WāōH iterations.
It may seem odd to some that the Elora Cataract Trailway Association’s donations are being received through the Credit Valley Conservation Foundation portal. This is another workaround and efficiency-based decision. While the ECTA stewards the Elora Cataract Trailway, it does not own it. The Credit Valley and Grand River Conservation Authorities jointly own and manage it. Again, to reduce potential donation drain and improve efficiency, it made more sense to use their portal since the funds raised this year will be directed to capital improvements on the CVC side of the trail. Specifically, two culverts (technically three) are slated for replacement. CVCF has set up a larger fundraising initiative to fund the project, and routing donations through it prevents the funds from being processed twice.
Lastly, whether you donate to EWCS or the ECTA (through CVCF), you will receive a tax receipt based on each organization’s minimum requirements. There is nothing wrong with a little boost at tax time, so this seemed like a “no-brainer” decision. Things may change in the future, but for now, this is the least costly way to provide a little reciprocal benefit for your generous support of the respective organizations.