Watch the video below in celebration of 5 years of sanctuary life for Queen Negra, Jamie, Jody, Annie, Missy, Foxie, and Burrito.
Fundraising
We’re Looking for a Development Manager
Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest is hiring! We are looking for someone with fundraising experience to fill the brand new position of Manager of Development.
We are so excited to be expanding our staff with this very important role. Get all of the details on our Job Opportunities page or download the position description in pdf format here. If you have questions after looking over that material, email Jennifer.
Please share widely!
Jamie is looking forward to another staff member to boss around:
Almost Time to Bid!
Here’s just a little sneak peak at Out of the Box 2013 in Seattle:
And below is a message that just went out to e-news subscribers. We’re so excited about the auction!
On Your Mark, Get Set, Bid!Today is the day! Over 200 guests will be arriving at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest’s Seattle gala auction at 6pm (PST), and the Out of the Box online opens at the exact same time! Just think, as Seattle guests are perusing auction items and placing bids, you can do the same thing on your computer! You can even donate toward the Veterinary Clinic at the same time paddles are being raised in Seattle. To connect those at a distance even more with our Seattle event, we’ll send you the link to the video that guests at Bell Harbor will be watching, as they are watching it, at 9:00pm PST. We’ll be watching the online auction and can update the auctioneer in real-time with online donations being made. I hope you’ll join the fun, and raise your virtual paddles high! You can also follow the Seattle Out of the Box auction through photos and posts on Facebook throughout the evening. Consider celebrating Audrey Hepburn’s birthday today, and place your first bid on this painting of Audrey by Spazy Art. The artist donated the piece after finding out about the auction through the pre-auction Green Day tickets. Don’t forget, the online auction also features a guitar signed by Green Day members: Those are just two of the amazing auction items available for online bidding. There’s something for everyone – from art, to gift certificates, to exotic getaways. We JUST added a new amazing getaway to an ecolodge in Ecuador! Bidding on all online items ends Monday, May 6th at 6:00pm. Out of the Box 2013 was made possible by auction committee members Pam Lehnert, Felicity Wood, Connie Robertson, Julie Harding, Patti Sims, and Annie Norris, as well as many, many event volunteers. Big thanks to celebrity host Charlotte Ross: You can bid on a visit to Paramount Studios with Charlotte! Out of the Box sponsors:
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Team Burrito
Although the Team Chimp fundraising was set to end on December 31st, we’re still getting donations (thank you, everyone!) so I wanted to set one last goal and see if we can reach it by Burrito’s 30th birthday this Sunday.
Team Burrito is just $355 away from winning the contest – let’s get him there! A donation of $65 will pay for his heart medication for one month. So, the initial goal is to raise $355 so Team Burrito can win the contest by his birthday, and the stretch goal is to have enough donations to pay for his medication for one year – $780 total. I’m going to start by pledging $30 in honor of his 30th birthday. Will you consider making a $30 or a $65 donation for Mr. B? I will update this page in the comments section as donations come in; feel free to leave your birthday message for Burrito there too!
How can you resist when you look at the photo below? This is the photo for January in the 2013 calendar, so many of you have it hanging by you right now:
Share the love (for free!)
It sure is a busy time of year for a nonprofit. With the holidays and the end of the year, I’m really grateful to say that we process a ton of donations in December. And we need them! If you haven’t given yet this year, and you have a little bit to spare, please consider making a donation today (sorry, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t include a little pitch!).
Anyway, the Cle Elum Seven are fortunate to have so many devoted supporters. That means you! Although we rely on financial donations to keep us in bananas and night bags, there are plenty of things you can do to keep us going without spending a dime:
- Your enthusiasm is contagious! Reading this blog and sharing it with your friends and family (especially on Facebook) makes a big difference. The more people who know about the Cle Elum Seven, the better!
- Likewise, share our newsletter with your friends and family. And bug them (politely!) to sign themselves up by telling them what you love about the chimps and how much they mean to you. Many nonprofits spend tons of money building their lists, so helping us build our supporter base for free is a truly valuable “donation.”
- Add a tagline to your email signature to share why you love the chimps. The more personal connection the better, and be sure to include a link to our website!
- Give us a review on Guidestar, where many donors do their homework before donating. Let the world know what you think we do well and why you’re in love with the Cle Elum Seven.
- Get involved with Eyes on Apes.
- Send us your old printer cartridges, cell phones, and small electronics. We can recycle them through a responsible company that sends a donation back to us. Contact Jackie if you have questions about what types of things they take ([email protected]).
- Volunteer your time or skills. Did you know we have a wonderful bunch of folks in the chimp house washing produce, doing laundry, helping us clean enclosures, and even (after a ton of training) serving meals to the chimps? We also need event volunteers. Contact Elizabeth to find out more ([email protected]).
- Do you work for a company that might be able to donate something fabulous for our auction? Or do you have a friend who owns a store that might pitch something in? Are you an artist? Contact Diana for more information about our event and the types of things we need ([email protected]).
- Remember us in your will, trust, or life insurance policy. It’s a lot easier than you might think, and can make a huge difference. Usually all you need is our name, address and tax ID number (68-0552915). Please let me know ([email protected]) if you honor us with such a gift so that I can thank you and add you to our legacy circle.
Have other ideas? Please share them in the comments!
And, just for kicks, here’s an oldie but goodie. Almost 4 years ago to the day, the chimps experienced their first snowstorm (before Young’s Hill and the greenhouse). Check it out.
Anniversary Wishes & Board Match
As the newest member of the team and working from home in Seattle, I don’t have the day to day interaction with the chimpanzees that the caregivers do. However, I’ve been working at the Sanctuary this week, so I had the opportunity to hang out with the chimpanzees for quite some time and got to partake in the anniversary and birthday parties this week.
Happy Birthday Negra! That was the chant heard round the chimp house on Wednesday as we celebrated her birthday. Here’s a photo of Negra from one of the celebrations the chimpanzees enjoyed. One of Negra’s favorite things are her night bags – and so we gave the chimpanzees special ones today during the day and in the photo you can see Negra running to come get hers.
As you probably know, for our four year anniversary we are raising funds to build Negra a cabin on Young’s Hill and I wanted to tell you about some exciting news! The Board and Staff of Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest will match the next $4,000 in donations – of any amount! Yes, that’s right. Your gift will be doubled by the leadership of the sanctuary. You can support the campaign by clicking here. All donations of any amount are welcome – and all will be matched until we reach $4,000 in donations. And remember, for donations of $100 or more, you can have your name listed on Negra’s cabin and your $100 donation will be doubled!
If you’ve already supported the campaign with a donation, thank you. Thank you for your support of Negra – and the other chimpanzees at Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest. Because of you she can enjoy her favorite baked foods, peanuts and lettuce in a peaceful and safe setting with the other chimpanzees that have come to be her family. And soon, she will have a comfortable and secure place to enjoy the views from Young’s Hill. Thank you!
Race for the Apes was so much fun!
Our first ever 5K fundraiser was a blast. Big, big thank you to volunteers April Graham and Laura Heggs for organizing the Ellensburg event – you did a terrific job! After expenses, the event raised $5,530 for the sanctuary!
Here are a few photos to prove how much fun it was:
Volunteers Seana (who was also the raffle sponsor), Connie and Emily working on registration under race organizer April’s direction, with our new Director of Development, Michael, looking on:
The start of the great chalk messaging courtesy of volunteer Stephanie:
Board member Jessica (right) and partner Lisa donned tutus in honor of Jamie:
Race organizer April of AlignFit leading a stretching class prior to the start of the run:
the runners approaching the start line:
and they’re off!
About 15 minutes later, the “troll strollers” (walkers) began:
in just 21 minutes, 37 seconds, the first runner, Kurtis, crossed the finish line:
two minutes, eight seconds later, the fastest woman in the race, Keri, crossed the finish:
Event organizer Laura Heggs, running to the finish after clearing up some signs from the course:
One of the glitter-bombed “trollphy” awards:
This is just a small sampling of the photos from the event. Visit the full gallery and purchase your favorites – proceeds from sales go to the chimps!
Thanks to sponsors Gorilla Screen Printing for the discount on the great t-shirts, Zing Bars for delicious post-running nutrition (the coconut chocolate bars are amaZING!) and AlignFit for the stretching class. Individual donors, like Ape Ally Adrienne Armstrong, made a huge difference in the success of the fundraiser. See all sponsors and donors here.
Our volunteers are always top-notch and dove right in to the new event.
And the participants were terrific!
We can’t wait to do it again!