Resident of a Vendovi Island tidepool (Elli Blaine photo)
From the San Juan Preservation Trust
The Campaign to Save Vendovi Island is one of the most important projects in the history of the San Juan Preservation Trust. An entire island that is mostly undeveloped and largely untouched by human hand and foraging animals, Vendovi hosts six beaches, lush forests, native grassland, healthy wetlands and diverse plant and animal habitat.
It is due to these rich natural assets that the Preservation Trust board decided to make the unprecedented, calculated risk to assume debt in the amount of $3.4 million in order to purchase it.
Over the summer, several fans of Vendovi Island stepped forward with contributions totaling over $250,000, just in time to satisfy our first fundraising goal and deadline. These gifts will be matched on a one to one basis with a generous $1 million challenge grant provided by an anonymous donor.
Fundraising for the next phase has already begun, with a goal of raising $350,000 by October 2012. If attained by this deadline, these gifts will also be matched with the challenge grant funds.
A subsequent goal in 2013, if reached, will put the Preservation Trust in a very strong position to permanently retain and provide public access to this enchanting island.
For more information about the Campaign to Save Vendovi Island, please visit San Juan Preservation Trust website.
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