We didn’t get this message out for Thanksgiving, but it’s never too late to say thank you! Especially since your support helped us turn 2023 into a success! So thank you to the best supporters a non-profit organization could hope for!
Whether it was snow and ice damage, infectious disease, or a fundraising drought, 2023 threw a few challenges at us. But whether it was stepping up to volunteer, bringing new visitors to the Center, or donating to our matching campaign, you helped us overcome these obstacles and turn 2023 around.

$25,000 Matching Campaign Met and Exceeded!

Please join us in extending our gratitude to the Thomas Family of Lac Du Flambeau and Chicago for providing the $25,000 donation for our matching campaign. In early July, in response to our emergency fundraising appeal, the Thomas family offered to donate $25,000 for a matching campaign. And you knocked that campaign out of the park. It took a little over four weeks to meet our goal. Not only did you meet it, but you blew right by it, donating close to $28,000 when we realized the match had been met! 

After I notified the Thomas Family about reaching the grant, they provided a statement that reflects the sentiment many of us share.

The Thomas family is gratified to have been able to support the Northwoods Wildlife Center over the years. We have owned a home and spent summers in the Lakeland Area for almost five decades and have a deep respect for and appreciation of the natural beauty and wildlife that makes the area so special – spiritual, actually – for us.

 As development and human activity puts ever greater pressure on the homes and habitats of the birds and animals that preceded us here and with which we now coexist, we are constantly reminded of our moral imperative to nurture and protect the native Northwoods species with which we share this beautiful area.

Lamenting the ongoing loss of our planet’s species, a famous naturalist once remarked “our world continues to become less interesting, as do its inhabitants”. We are determined to try to slow this process and, maybe, even begin to reverse it in our own modest and local way. We are gratified that our gift motivated and encouraged others to join us in this endeavor.