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Individual Donations Fortify Mission of the Upper Delaware Council
NARROWSBURG – The Upper Delaware Council (UDC) is grateful for contributions received to support the non-profit organization’s mission to conserve, enhance and promote the Upper Delaware River corridor’s natural and cultural resources, and social and economic vitality, by fostering cooperation among public and private partners to implement the River Management Plan.
Eight donors generously contributed a collective $22,099.94 during calendar year 2024.
That amount includes the single largest individual donation that the UDC has ever received in its 37-year history of $20,000 on Dec. 12 by a former river valley resident who wishes to remain anonymous.
Monetary gifts were also given by the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway, Inc. of $1,500 in gratitude for the UDC providing meeting space, records storage, and mail pick-ups; and Davis R. Chant Real Estate, Inc. based in Milford, PA of $50 for sending 50 copies of each new issue of “The Upper Delaware” newsletter to distribute to clients seeking local properties.
Individual contributions were offered by Chuck Hoffman of Union, KY, a professional management consultant to the UDC during its formative years; Joseph Bradshaw of Lavallette, NJ in memory of Phyllis MacKinney; Edward Winters as a former Matamoras, PA resident now residing in Bangor, PA; former Town of Delaware UDC Alternate Rebekah Creshkoff of Callicoon, NY; and Meg McGuire of Lords Valley, PA, the publisher of “Delaware Currents”.
2023 Donations
The 2024 tally compared to $17,303.03 in donations received during 2023.
Donations of $10,000 in January and $5,000 in November were received from a private charitable trust associated with 2024’s $20,000 anonymous benefactor, along with repeat contributions of $1,500 from the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway and $50 from Chant Realtors.
A collective $332.52 was sent by five different donors in memory of Phyllis MacKinney of Highland Park and Bridgewater, NJ, whose family listed the UDC as a beneficiary upon her Oct. 25, 2023 passing due to her love for the Delaware River. Mr. Bradshaw’s 2024 contribution brought the total amount given in Mrs. MacKinney’s honor up to $381.02.
The Council similarly received a $50 gift in memory of Diane Banach from the Cyrena Gurth family of Lake Hiawatha, NJ. Mrs. Banach served as the UDC alternate representative for Westfall Township from 1995 to Oct. 24, 2001. She passed away on Feb. 18, 2023 at the age of 87.
Individual contributions in 2023 came from Edward Winters as an annual gift, Samuel and Agnes Bonfante of Hackettstown, NJ; Annemarie Scheutz of Damascus, PA; and Joan and Seth Koven of Equinunk, PA.
UDC Funding
The UDC, which was incorporated in Pennsylvania with a certificate to also do business in New York, is entitled to accept donations through its registration under the IRS 501(c)(3) Code and the New York State Charities Bureau.
Over 99% of the Council’s funding comes from an allocation in the budget of its River Management Plan partner, the National Park Service Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, to fulfill responsibilities outlined in a renewable Cooperative Agreement.
However, that aid through the U.S. Department of the Interior/NPS has been frozen at $300,000 per year since the Council’s inception in 1988 with no baseline adjustments.
If adjusted for inflation, that $300,000 would be worth approximately $769,568 in today’s dollars. Instead, its purchasing power is only around $116,645.
The Plan called for the UDC to function under a 60% Federal/40% States cost-sharing ratio based on a preliminary budget of $500,000 and a full-time staff of five.
However, neither the State of New York nor the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has ever provided those anticipated $100,000 shares or any direct aid, despite both states approving Executive Orders to support the Plan’s objectives and their active status as voting members.
An independent economist’s fiscal sustainability plan released in December of 2021 projected that the UDC would be forced to eliminate another full-time position (down to two from the current three employees since 2012) in approximately five years if the current flat source or non-existent revenue stream trend continued.
The UDC has sought line-item appropriations in both state budgets and a change in its federal funding mechanism to build in an annual inflationary index, while being prohibited from any undisclosed lobbying and carrying over its restricted funds from one fiscal year to the next.
With its membership comprised of the two states and 13 of the local governments that border along the Upper Delaware River and recognizing its historically under-staffed capacity to carry out over 80 assigned tasks, the Council was not structured to operate as a fundraising organization.
Additional funds through steady revenue streams and unrestricted gifts would enable the UDC to fulfill its core mission and increase its value by boosting its grant programs, offering more technical assistance, and initiating educational and resource-oriented projects.
The Council’s website home page at www.upperdelawarecouncil.org features a Donate button for PayPal contributions. Checks and cash are also gratefully accepted at: UDC, P.O. Box 192, 211 Bridge St., Narrowsburg, NY 12764. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code.
For more information, please contact UDC Executive Director Laurie Ramie at (845) 252-3022 or laurie@upperdelawarecouncil.org.