Taking time off to support a cause such as Friends of Pool 2 is a win-win situation. Whether you opt to do something small or something big, the impact that gesture can have will be immeasurable. If you want to help us out, there are many small (and some not so small) options available.

10 Ways You Can Help Friends of Pool 2

  1. Right now, you can donate an auction item (gift basket?) for our annual Online Auction via Facebook during the week of November 4th through 14th, 2020. Because of public health concerns, our in-person auction event has been postponed, but the online silent auction will take place. This Fall auction event is our one-and-only official fundraiser event for the year, and we are interested in your extra sporting event, concert, or theater tickets, sports memorabilia, restaurant gift cards, fine art or craft creations, river-related merchandise, sharing your talents, etc.
  2. If you haven’t already done so, please become a new member now. The more our membership grows, the more weight our opinions will carry with decision makers. We want to be taken seriously, and have our views respected, so the more the merrier! How about a gift membership for that hard-to-shop-for person? Do it now…it’s easy…here is a link to the membership page of our website: http://www.friendsofpool2.org/membership.html
  3. Take advantage of our Fall Fundraising Campaign (during November of 2020) to make a special one-time financial gift (in any amount) in support of our education/outreach efforts or our numerous water-quality improvement, environmental and river safety projects. The funds we raise during this fall’s campaign will help our doors stay open over the next year. We have many ongoing expenses, such as storage unit rental, website fees, clerical, printing, and postage costs, insurance, utilities, and registration fees for the Mpls Boat Show booth, filing fees with the MN Attorney General’s Office, etc. In addition to the general operating costs, there are specific program expenses for our life jacket stations, river cleanup events, educational videos on river safety, etc. Note that our Board members are all unpaid volunteers, and that many of them donate dozens of hours each month attending meetings of river-related groups, corresponding with legislators, governmental and non-governmental agencies, researching issues, and working on FOP2 programs.
  4. Speaking of meetings, do you have a little free time during the day? Many regulating agencies and other river groups meet only during business hours, and it is important for us to have a representative at these meetings in order to keep our membership current on any proposed changes or urgent issues. If you have some daytime hours open, and could attend a meeting or two, that would take some pressure off our busy Board members, who currently attend both day and evening meetings almost every week.
  5. Are you good with computer stuff? If so, we desperately need your help on our brand new “tech committee”, where you can work together with other volunteers to keep our website up-to-date. Training will be provided, and the hours are up to you.
  6. Looking for something else that you can do from home on your own schedule? Do you like to write? We can always use help with our weekly e-newsletter or creating posts on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. We also could use help composing letters to area decision makers and agencies about our key issues. We’ll update you on our positions, share any details you need to know, and do a final edit before the letters go out. Simple as that!
  7. No prior experience is needed for this option! Help staff our booth at the 2021 Minneapolis Boat Show in 2022 (note that the 2021 Boat Show from January 21-24, 2021 has recently been cancelled). Just a few hours of your time on the day of your choice can help us reach many more potential supporters of our mission and projects. This is a fun chance to chat with other river lovers, and we’ll even get you into the Show for free. Now there’s a Win-Win deal! Contact us later in 2021 for more details on the 2022 show.
  8. Boating safety is an important goal for FOP2, and you can volunteer to help monitor one or more of our life jacket loaner stations. This is very easy to do, and it only takes an hour or so of your time every couple of weeks during the boating season to check on the box and see if it needs attention. We have several stations available and a large stock of replacement life jackets in our storage unit in South St. Paul, if you should need to replenish your box.
  9. We’re always on the lookout for grant funding opportunities to help us pursue our mission, so if you know of a foundation or corporation (maybe your employer?) who regularly donates money to local charitable organizations, please let us know! Friends of Pool 2 is a 501(c)3 charity, registered with the IRS and State of MN, and we will put those funds to good use supporting our mission and projects. We’ll gladly apply for funding either for specific projects, or for general operating funds.
  10. Most importantly, we need you to network for Friends of Pool 2! Talk to your river friends about important Pool 2 issues, spread the word about our projects, share our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts, invite your social media friends to follow our pages, give gift memberships, wear our T-shirts proudly, sport our decal or bumper sticker on your car. Word of mouth is probably the best way for us to build support, and believe it or not, our members are our best marketers.