The Bob Davoli Band performs on January 6, 2018. (Photo by Ben Kingston)
The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT) raised $360,000 from more than 300 donors during a matching campaign organized by Bob Davoli and Eileen McDonagh of Lincoln.
More than 150 LLCT members and friends enjoyed an evening of music and community at a benefit concert hosted by the couple on January 6 at Bemis Hall. LLCT raised $3,855 in ticket sales and $1,200 in raffle tickets, which were rolled up into the larger match.
The largest gift came from an anonymous donor who stepped forward with a check for $100,000. The donating couple had been considering a substantial gift for several years and the opportunity created by the matching campaign became the right moment.
“Many years ago, the conservation land and trails attracted us to Lincoln. Since then, the LLCT and the Rural Land Foundation have provided extensive benefits to us, from recreation, protection of surrounding lands, and a real conservation ethic throughout the community. We decided the least we could do was to return at least some of the benefit that has been provided to us,” the donors said.
LLCT’s trustees and membership base helped raise more than $71,600 during the matching campaign period, bringing the total raised to $176,655. Davoli and McDonagh generously increased their matched amount to bring the total raised to an even $360,000.
“We purchased our land in Lincoln over 25 years ago because Lincoln is a community that clearly shares our deeply held belief in the preservation of open space and in the protection of natural areas. And the LLCT and Rural Land Foundation are the organizations that have successfully secured for over 60 years Lincoln’s open, protected, and rural-feeling, despite Lincoln’s location in the midst of a major metropolitan area. It seemed to us that one way to express our appreciation of Lincoln and to support LLCT’s mission, was to give back,” they said.
The funds raised are already supporting a current acquisition project and are being earmarked for future projects. There are still more than 200 parcels in Lincoln that remain of conservation interest, ranging from less than 1 acre and up to 80 acres.
LLCT is putting some funds toward a Stewardship and Enforcement Defense Fund for protection. LLCT presently holds conservation restrictions and deeds on more than 1,000 acres. Property that the LLCT holds for conservation purposes is a permanent financial liability. Funds are needed to initiate management and later monitor, maintain and manage land.
This spring, LLCT is producing a customized naturalist guide that provides identification of and awareness about the diversity of wildlife and plant species that Lincoln’s natural areas and conservation land supports. The newly raised funds are paying for this new publication that will be distributed to faculty within the Lincoln Public Schools at no cost, as well as to other Lincoln-based schools and local organizations. The Lincoln Cultural Council and Lincoln School Foundation are also helping to fund this project.
Several additional projects are being vetted by the LLCT Board of Trustees that will impact on the organization’s immediate conservation, stewardship, and educational goals.
“We are humbled by the breadth and depth of support demonstrated by Bob and Eileen,” said Meghan Lytton, the board’s chair. “It was a very special moment for all of us at the LLCT to experience the overwhelming support we received from the Lincoln community at the benefit concert. And the success of the matching campaign is an extraordinary endorsement by our membership—the very roots of our organization. As we celebrate this awesome philanthropic success, we remain ever grateful to our many supporters, and grounded in our responsibilities to acquire and protect land of conservation value in Lincoln and to cultivate a conservation ethic among all.”