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CASI Project Funding Appeal

   Do you care about this wonderful area we live in, and are you concerned and frustrated at the damage excess growth is having on your quality of life?

   There is something we can do about it, and it starts with discovering what our regional assets are and what is missing. Attraction Retreat has taken on this task, and we need your help to successfully fund the inventory aspect of the Community Assessment and Sustainability Inventory (CASI) project. We will develop and deliver a resource the entire community will gain lasting value from. This comprehensive county-wide inventory will cover economic, environmental, and social assets, their relationships and interdependencies, and all from the perspective of sustainability.

   The cost of the complete six month CASI project is $30,000. I know there are 3-5 people out there who can match the $5000 donation generously provided by D'Angelo International. It might not be you, but it might be your Uncle, or the woman next door who asks your advice about worthy causes to support that strengthen our community. I also know there are thousands of people in this area who understand the importance of creating a path to a sustainable future who can contribute $5, $50, or $500. I know you're one of them, and I know you know 3 or 4 others who also can. After you've sent in your contribution, help us contact the others so we can begin to realize our common goal of a sustainable future.

Why us, and why now?

   Attraction Retreat's natural systems perspective allows us to weave together an integrated framework that can balance the needs of the economy, the environment, and the social aspects of our lives. Just as all strands in the web of life must be strong and interconnected to maintain a sustainable vibrancy, so must all the relationships within and between our communities and bioregion.

   What we love about Whatcom County is about to be destroyed by a voracious growth machine. We're turning into Anywhere (or is that Everywhere?), USA. We're also running out of time and resources to begin building the infrastructure for relocalization. I realize things still seem smooth on the surface, but the tears in the cover story of business as usual are becoming larger and more abundant-energy prices are increasing, ecosystems are disappearing, fisheries are depleting, glaciers are melting.

   The importance of the CASI inventory can't be overstated. Local planners and decision makers need to have adequate and factual information on what we have, what we need to develop, and to bring barriers to light that will hinder becoming regionally self-reliant. We must become resilient to the changes that can't help but to occur, and vibrant enough that we can maximize the abundant pleasures of becoming a society that values being more over having more. Our decision makers also need to know they have the necessary support to begin laying the infrastructure for sustainable development. This will require an informed and motivated citizenry, aware of the relocalization alternative and its benefits, and armed with the facts to back them up.

   Right now we're stumbling in the dark based on conjecture, and the blind faith that the past is an accurate predictor of the future. However, the evidence all around us shows that the latter simply isn't so. It's past time to start doing things differently-while we still have a ghost of a chance. And, since we're natural systems ourselves, the natural systems model of a healthy ecosystem can supply the workable model we need to create the better, healthier, more sustainable world we all know is possible, as well as provide the support we need for making new and better choices.

   There is an alternative, and you play a vital part in developing the solution. Join the growing list of over 30 local business, organizations, and individuals currently supporting the CASI project.

   In order to make your giving more convenient, send in your donation check right away, and then print out the short donor receipt below for your records.

   Thank you for your consideration of this request, and we look forward to your support. If you have any questions, or would like to meet to discuss this project and other ways you can actively participate in its success, please get in touch.

Dave Ewoldt - Executive Director

Attraction Retreat

(360) 756-7998


Charitable Contribution Receipt

   Your generous financial contribution to the six-month inventory component of Attraction Retreat's Community Assessment and Sustainability Inventory (CASI) project will help ensure its successful completion. This project will take our community an important step closer to creating the sustainable community so many of us envision.

   Print this form for your records. As a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, all contributions are deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

   Please make your check payable to Attraction Retreat, put "CASI Project" in the memo field, and mail your contribution to:

Attraction Retreat

1811 Eldridge Avenue

Bellingham, WA 98225

Thank you for your support!

Date:_______________

Amount:________________

EIN: 92-0194061

Ruling Year: 2003


   If you would like to schedule an introductory consultation session or arrange a presentation or workshop for your group, please contact nature@attractionretreat.org or give Dave or Allison, co-founders of Attraction Retreat, a call at (360) 756-7998.

 

"You didn't come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here."
Alan Watts

 

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