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Future
Fisherman Foundation Board of Directors Decides Foundation’s
Future
Unless
significant funding found, foundation will suspend operations effective
March 2009
Alexandria,
VA – November
21, 2008 – The
Future Fisherman Foundation’s board of directors is currently
seeking alternative funding and donations to avoid suspending foundation
operations. The foundation’s
board met on November 18 to discuss funding concerns after learning
a grant which provides significant funding for the foundation was
no longer available for the 2009 fiscal year. If substantive and
sustaining funding sources for its programs cannot be found, the
foundation board will be forced to suspend the foundations operations.
"The
Future Fisherman Foundation’s board of directors and staff are
committed to exploring all alternate funding options,” said foundation
Executive Director Anne Danielski. “Over the next three months,
we are aggressively seeking support from endemic and non endemic funding
sources, grants, and partnerships with new organizations within our
industry that share our mission to engage youth in outdoor and angling
activities.”
In
a separate action, during its October meeting the American Sportfishing
Association’s (ASA) board of directors passed a motion to suspend
its core support for the foundation effective March 31, 2009. In a
joint message to ASA’s members, Jeff Pontius, ASA’s board
of directors’ chairman, and Mike Nussman, ASA president and CEO,
said, “With the loss of one of its two grant funding sources,
it was clear that ASA’s core support of the foundation was not
enough to sustain its operations. With the financial challenges facing
our economy, the board determined that ASA could no longer continue
its financial support for the foundation.”
For
over 20 years, the foundation has worked nationwide to create nearly
one million conservation minded anglers through creative programs and
partnerships such as Hooked on Fishing Not on Drugs, Physh Ed and
after school programs with the Boys & Girls Clubs.
Danielski
is asking supporters to, “Please help us sustain our programs
so that the foundation can continue to play a pivotal role in facilitating
opportunities for children, families and communities to experience
the joys of fishing while fostering environmental stewardship.”
For
more information on the foundation’s initiatives or to make a
charitable donation to help ensure the future of fishing, visit the
foundation’s Web site at www.futurefisherman.org. Contact
foundation Executive Director Anne
Danielski or Manager of Education Teresa
Rodriguez with questions or funding support options at 703-519-9691.
Contact Gordon
Robertson, ASA vice president, with questions regarding the American
Sportfishing Association.
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The Future
Fisherman Foundation is the angler recruitment
and education arm of the American Sportfishing Association,
the sportfishing industry’s trade association. The
Future Fisherman Foundation unites the sportfishing industry
with a nationwide network of state outdoor educators, national
conservation groups and youth organizations, offering a variety
of fishing and boating programs, equipment and services to
community groups and schools across the country. These efforts
help people of all ages have safe and enjoyable fishing experiences
that foster life-long conservation ethics.
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