It was 2019, and Summit County Rescue Group (SCRG) had just been asked by Summit County to raise $1.575 million toward the total for a badly needed new headquarters building, many years in the planning. The team was dumbfounded. They had never had an organized fundraising program, committee or process before. How could they raise that much money?
A big break was borne of pure luck, early on in the effort. A local professional fundraiser named Tam, nearing retirement age and looking for a way to give back to the Summit County community, saw an article in the local paper about the team’s fundraising needs and reached out to offer her pro bono assistance. SCRG formed a fundraising committee and with Tam at the helm, they began to meet sporadically throughout 2020, and settled into a monthly meeting schedule by 2021.
Some of the committee membership was dictated by roles – the current and past presidents of the team, the current finance officer and the current PIO. Membership was then opened up to anyone on the team with an interest in helping out, and the resulting group was about ten to twelve people. Eventually, the group included a second person from outside the team in addition to Tam; a local citizen with a track record of assisting nonprofits with fundraising, who became a naming donor for the new building, as well as a source of ideas for local high net worth individuals the team might approach.
Under Tam’s guidance, and leveraging the knowledge and contacts of team members, some basic infrastructure was set up during the first year of the committee:
A “case for support.” This is a written document, preferably designed by a professional graphic designer, that lays out the need for funding and why a prospective donor should consider it. Fortunately, the team had both a professional graphic designer and a writer as members, so these things did not need to be outsourced.
A donor packet, to be used in meetings with high net worth potential donors, and including the case for support, a document outlining naming opportunities, and a donor pledge form.
A “Friends of SCRG” donation level system and a page on SCRG’s website to recognize donors. Each significant level was given a name, e.g. a “Summit Circle” member was a donor who gave $5000 or more. SCRG used Vail Mountain Rescue Group’s donor pages for inspiration.
A process for using the team’s CRM platform (customer relationship management) to track all donor communications, including thank you letters and calls, and quarterly newsletters. SCRG uses Aplos, a platform that integrates donation management, CRM and marketing functions, and basic accounting functions.
A “donor lead sheet,” which was basically just a spreadsheet for collecting donation source ideas. It included high net worth individuals, local businesses, statewide and national outdoor recreation-related organizations with corporate giving programs, private foundations, and local government grant sources. The lead sheet was open to anyone on the team to contribute ideas, was used to record action steps and progress milestones, and was reviewed in every committee meeting.
The committee also identified some priority projects during the first two years:
An “annual report” style direct mail brochure, an idea taken from Mountain Rescue Aspen. The brochure was a six- to eight-page full color glossy collateral piece that included team stats, stories, photos, project highlights from the year, and letters from the board of directors and the sheriff appealing for support. It included a self-addressed donation envelope stitched into the booklet. This brochure was sent to previous donors, rescue subjects, and every homeowner in the county.
Grant applications and personal outreach to each of the five town governments in Summit County.
A social media campaign including member profiles, preventative search and rescue (PSAR profiles), incident response profiles and statistic graphs. The themes of the campaign were that the team was one of the busiest in the state, and that its members were relatable members of the community.
The profiles on social media sought to make members relatable to the community
Increased media coverage of our incident responses, and increased efforts to accept local event invitations and provide PSAR education.
A Colorado Gives account, which was set up in 2021.
An end-of-year social media campaign to market the team’s Colorado Gives ask. The local Summit Foundation provided a $50,000 match during the first year, which helped kick off a very successful first year.
High profile events: SCRG was invited to fundraise at some of the Dillon Amphitheater’s concerts. In 2022, the team also hosted its own event, an all-day lap-based ski race at Arapahoe Basin called Steep Gullies, which included a massive raffle.
The Steep Gullies raffle
By late 2023, construction of the headquarters building had begun and the team was very close to meeting its goal. Messaging shifted to, “We’re almost there and you can help us get to the finish line.” In 2024, Fundraising Committee meetings wound down as the team created a 50th Anniversary Planning Committee, and that committee’s efforts helped donations to continue rolling in regularly even after the headquarters goal had been reached.
Many community partners supported 50th anniversary fundraising efforts
Overall, the highest impact fundraising sources came from the following efforts:
The towns, which each gave significant one-time donations the first year
Headquarters naming donors, four of whom gave large individual checks
The annual brochure, which attracted a decent volume of smaller donations
Colorado Gives and the end-of-year campaign, which is difficult to separate from the annual brochure revenues and similarly attracted volume in smaller donations
Efforts that did not produce as well compared to the hours invested:
Foundation grant applications
Some events in general, and Steep Gullies and the raffle in particular, which raised significant funds but took a tremendous amount of time and effort from the planning group.
What can teams with very different locations and opportunities take away from this? Every initiative must be evaluated with an eye to adapting it to local circumstances. Teams in more affluent areas, especially areas with a significant population of second homeowners, might want to consider the direct mail idea; teams in more remote areas should keep in mind that the mailing cost was approximately 10% of the revenue produced, and therefore might be too risky. Events SCRG has found less effective based on scale and resources may still be highly beneficial for teams in smaller communities, where local grassroots support plays a more significant role. By focusing efforts strategically, the team was better able to serve both community commitments and organizational goals, without diminishing their dedication to community engagement.
The 2022 direct mail brochure cover
Low cost, relatively low effort initiatives like media interviews, social media campaigns and Colorado Gives accounts should likely be considered by most teams, regardless of location and circumstances. For any team that can afford it, purchasing some sort of CRM, preferably one specific to nonprofit fundraising, is important. (Side note: CSAR recently completed a search for a new CRM and can contribute what we learned about several available options to anyone interested. We choose Keela after evaluating five other options, including the one SCRG uses.)
Today, SCRG does little to fundraise for its needs. The team continues to put out an annual direct mail piece, and in 2024 it experimented with creating a calendar rather than a brochure, which took a bit less work but was equally successful. End-of-year and Colorado Gives donations continue to roll in from donors who now give annually, and efforts to retain them consist of ongoing newsletters and thank you letters. Since SCRG is no longer trying to raise significant money for capital projects, event invitations are evaluated carefully for the value of maintaining community relationships and providing public backcountry safety education more than for fundraising potential . The team has found the standard wisdom about donor retention versus donor acquisition to be very true: retaining the donors you have, through ongoing recognition and communication, takes far less investment of time and money than finding new donors. While it’s important never to become complacent about fundraising, the team has generally found that upfront investment of effort has resulted in a fundraising infrastructure that supports and perpetuates itself with relatively little effort from the team.
Events are now focused more on community and partner engagement than on fundraising
The team recently contributed $5000 to CSAR in addition to CSAR’s annual $250 membership fee, in recognition of CSAR’s services to the teams and their role in producing the Keep Colorado Wild program, which provided $1.5 million in SFY 2025 to the BSAR Fund for distribution to BSAR teams across the state. SCRG’s current president, Zach Wade, comments, “CSAR is a resource we see value in, so we chose to invest a little to help ensure its future.”
Are you interested in learning more to help your team step up their fundraising program? Reach out to [email protected] and we’ll be happy to talk with you about both SCRG’s fundraising efforts and CSAR’s.
