South Lake Resort’s customers support Tahoe through dollar donations on hotel rooms

LAKE TAHOE Calif. and Nev. – May 27, 2014 – MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa presented a check for $18,116 to the Tahoe Fund donation program called Green Bucks in front of the iconic entranceway to the South Lake Tahoe location. The check is courtesy of donations from guests at MontBleu who added a dollar donation onto their room nights. MontBleu joins other Green Bucks businesses from around the region, including Edgewood Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Resort Hotel, and the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, who are helping to support the Tahoe Fund’s mission to restore and enhance the Lake Tahoe environment.

“Our guests love this incredible lake and the surrounding mountains,” said Steve Ditchkus, general manager, MontBleu Casino Resort & Spa. “We are thankful for their support as together we help to take care of Tahoe through the Green Bucks program.”

“MontBleu has been an early and strong supporter of Green Bucks and the Tahoe Fund,” said Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. “We are so thankful to their guests for supporting our efforts to make their time in Tahoe even more enjoyable with new bike trails and parks right out the hotel doors.”

Green Bucks is a donation program coordinated by the Tahoe Fund in partnership with the Truckee River Watershed Council. The program helps the organizations fulfill their missions to support new hiking and biking trails, watershed restoration projects, wildlife protection and other environmental stewardship programs. Local businesses can call 775-298-0035 to learn more and sign up to participate in the Green Bucks program.

Founded in 2010, the Tahoe Fund is a non-profit dedicated to building support and funding for environmental projects that will restore and enhance Lake Tahoe. The organization has funded over a dozen projects around the lake that will help restore lake clarity, improve recreation and inspire stewardship. In the South Shore, Tahoe Fund donors have helped support the Van Sickle Bi-State Park, the Rabe Meadow bike path and Asian clam control at Emerald Bay. In the North Shore, Tahoe Fund donors have helped support the restoration of Blackwood Creek and the Eagle Rock Trail, Lakeside Bike Trail, and the West Shore Bike Trail and beach improvements at Sand Harbor State Park.

LAKE TAHOE Calif. and Nev. – May 12, 2014 – The Tahoe Fund today announced the election of Katy Simon to its board of directors. Simon recently retired from a distinguished career in public service, most recently as the Washoe County Manager, a position she held for 15 years. She has a deep connection to Lake Tahoe, starting with her first job at the Northstar ski resort more than 30 years ago.

“Katy brings an incredible level of passion and history of community service to our organization,” said Tim Cashman, Chair of the Board. “We are honored to have her join our efforts to restore and enhance the Tahoe environment.”

“Tahoe has always been an incredibly special place to me,” said Simon. “I look forward to working with this wonderful board of directors to increase the impact of the organization to help preserve something that means so much to so many.”

Simon has been a tireless supporter of community organizations, serving on the boards of the United Way, the Children’s Cabinet, the Nevada Land Trust, Truckee Meadows Tomorrow, Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, Truckee Meadows Community College Foundation Board, Sierra Arts Foundation Board, Nevada Women’s Fund, and the Truckee Alliance for the Musical Arts (TAMA).She was recently named a Senior Consultant with International City/County Management Association, and serves on the faculty and as an Innovation Mentor for the Alliance for Innovation’s national Innovation Academy. She has also served as a guest lecturer and Manager in Residence for the USC Sol Price Graduate School of Public Policy.

Founded in 2010, the Tahoe Fund has supported high priority watershed restoration projects such as the Blackwood Creek/Eagle Rock Trail restoration on the West Shore and the Incline/3rd Creek Restoration on the North Shore; segments of the Tahoe Bikeway in Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe; the Van-Sickle Bi-State Park in South Lake Tahoe; and the UC Davis “State of the Lake” report. The Tahoe Fund supported four 2013 Signature Projects that included beach improvements at Sand Harbor State Park, Asian Clam control in Emerald Bay, a mile of bike trail along the West Shore, and a new bridge across Angora Creek in the Washoe Meadows State Park. The Tahoe Fund 2014 Projects will be announced in late spring.

For more information on the Tahoe Fund and how you can help make an impact, please visit www.tahoefund.org

TAHOE FUND SEEKS CORPORATE SPONSORS FOR WATERCRAFT INSPECTION STATIONS

The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe Signs on to Support the Northstar Station

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. and Nev. – May 15th, 2014 – The Tahoe Fund is seeking corporate sponsors for the four aquatic invasive species watercraft inspection stations located around the Basin that inspect approximately 8,000 boats a summer. The stations are a critical component of a nationally recognized basin-wide effort to prevent the spread and introduction of aquatic invasive species (AIS) into Lake Tahoe that have wreaked havoc on other clear lakes around the nation.

Sponsorships offer brands the opportunity to connect with the boat owners who visit the inspection stations while helping to close a funding gap in the current inspection program. The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe has agreed to sponsor the inspection station at Northstar, with three station sponsorships still available.

“This is one of those win-win situations we love to see,” said Amy Berry, CEO of the Tahoe Fund. “This is an opportunity for businesses to get wonderful exposure to a highly desirable demographic and for the Lake to get the help it needs to prevent the introduction of AIS that will forever change the Tahoe we all know and love.”

“In order to maintain the clean, clear waters of Lake Tahoe that both local residents and visitors enjoy year-round, watercraft inspection stations are critical,” said Joseph Mattioli, general manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Lake Tahoe. “As stewards of the environment, we have to do what we can as a community to assist in supporting the continuation of these inspection stations. Currently, this is the only way to ensure the lake remains free of invasive species that could dramatically alter the way so many people experience Lake Tahoe.”

The Lake Tahoe Region Aquatic Invasive Species Program (AIS Program) is implemented by more than 40 federal, state, and local partners that are committed to preventing the introduction or spread of aquatic invasive species in Lake Tahoe. Recreational activities involving watercraft (i.e. motorized vessels, personal watercraft, kayaks, canoes, inflatables) and/or fishing are the most likely sources of the introduction of AIS into Lake Tahoe. The Watercraft Inspection Program is led by the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency and the Tahoe Resource Conservation District, in partnership with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and myriad other public and private partners.

The combined economic impacts from invasive species to recreation value, tourism spending, property values, and increased boat/pier maintenance, when evaluated over a 50-year period, is estimated at $417.5 million (present value), with an average annual equivalent value of $22.4 million per year, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The largest estimated impacts would be to property values and lost tourism spending. Investments in prevention and early eradication produce a higher benefit-to-cost ratio than post-infestation control programs such that maximum benefits are realized through early and preemptive action.

The inspection stations are located in Meyers, Spooner Summit, Northstar and Alpine Meadows. Sponsorships, ranging from $11,000 to $34,000 based on traffic estimates at each station, include signage, literature distribution, sampling opportunities, and custom promotions.

For more information on the AIS Watercraft Inspection Stations Corporate Sponsorship program, please visit the Tahoe Fund site or contact Amy Berry at aberry@tahoefund.org.

About the Tahoe Fund
The mission of Tahoe Fund is to restore and enhance the extraordinary natural environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin by building broad support and funding for projects and programs that increase the enjoyment of the region for current and future generations. The Fund focuses grants on the core areas of conservation, recreation and education/stewardship.

Dear Tahoe Fund Friends,

It is with great pleasure that we present the Tahoe Fund Annual Report for the fiscal year 2012-2013 that ended on June 30, 2013. It was another wonderful year for our quickly growing organization, which completed its second full year of operations.

We continued growing awareness of our efforts to build support and funding for environmental improvement projects that will help restore the Lake’s famed clarity, improve our incredible outdoor recreation amenities, and build a stronger sense of stewardship in the region. We connected donors with projects that matter, helping to close funding gaps and get much-needed projects done. We also introduced our first mobile app to help residents and visitors find more than 50 public beaches around the Basin. So yes, we can now say we have an app for that!

The Board stayed very committed to growing an organization of excellence. Strategic priority number one is building a sustainable organization that can serve the community for many years to come. Thanks to the incredible support of our growing donor base, including our new Green Bucks businesses, we are building a strong foundation to help us grow into a consistent source of funding for environmental improvement projects. We are also thankful to the Tahoe Truckee Community Foundation for their early support of our efforts, and to the Parasol Tahoe Community Foundation for their resident grant that provides for our office space and amenities. At the end of the fiscal year we launched our first advertising campaign with the headline “What runs deeper than Lake Tahoe?” The answer was of course, “our desire to preserve it all.” With your help we will continue to gather the passion so many have for this extraordinary mountain treasure to preserve, and improve it, for many generations to come.

In service to Tahoe,

TAHOE FUND LAUNCHES NEW GIVING CAMPAIGNS TO INCREASE IMPACT

Nonprofit aims to encourage new donors with Stewardship Circle and Friends of Tahoe campaigns

LAKE TAHOE, Calif. and Nev. – April 7th, 2014 – The Tahoe Fund today announced two new giving campaigns that are designed to help grow the donor base of the nonprofit organization so that it can provide more support to environmental improvement projects in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

“We are eager to connect with more of the people who love and cherish this amazing place,” said Tim Cashman, Chair of the Tahoe Fund. “With their support we can increase our impact and expand our ability to support critical environmental projects that will restore and improve the Tahoe environment.”

The Friends of Tahoe campaign hopes to leverage the support of the millions of visitors and thousands of residents who want to support preservation of the Tahoe environment. Donations of any amount are welcome.

For those interested in an ongoing partnership with the Tahoe Fund’s efforts to preserve and restore the Tahoe environment, the Fund is introducing the Stewardship Circle. Annual gifts of $5,000 or more pledged for a three-year period qualify for the Stewardship Circle. Information on all giving levels and associated benefits can be found online at www.tahoefund.org/donate.

Founded in 2010, the bi-state organization has funded high priority watershed restoration projects such as the Blackwood Creek/Eagle Rock Trail restoration on the West Shore and the Incline/3rd Creek Restoration on the North Shore; segments of the Tahoe Bikeway in Tahoe City and South Lake Tahoe; the Van-Sickle Bi-State Park in South Lake Tahoe; and the UC Davis “State of the Lake” report. The Tahoe Fund supported four 2013 Signature Projects that included beach improvements at Sand Harbor State Park, Asian Clam control in Emerald Bay, a mile of bike trail along the West Shore, and a new bridge across Angora Creek in the Washoe Meadows State Park. The Tahoe Fund 2014 Projects will be announced in late spring.

For more information on the Tahoe Fund and how you can help make an impact, please visit www.tahoefund.org