Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Maryland Chapter

Join/Upgrade your Elk Foundation membership

Both Sponsor and Life Memberships are largely tax deductible and each includes a respective cap, pin and plaque. Life members also get a beautiful Life Member Jacket. Both memberships also qualify for entry into a special prize drawing at a fundraising banquet where one rifle or a Cabella's gift certificate is given away for each 5 Sponsor or Life Members.

The Habitat Partner program can be participated by an individual, group or organization. The minimum contribution for this program is $500/year for five years and there are higher levels of Habitat Partnerships. At the $10,000 level, members are invited to the annual Habitat Council Meeting where they can meet with the Elk Foundation Board of Directors and participate in discussing Elk Foundation funding allocations and general business operations. Habitat Partner donations are 100% tax deductible. More information on Habitat Partnerships can be found at the bottom of this page.

Help the Maryland Chapter of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation:

You can help by:

Donating an item for the fundraising auction.
Volunteering time on the fundraising committee.
Help the RMEF promote the Elk Foundation at sportshows and public events.
Attend a local fundraising banquet and bring a friend.

Start an Elk Foundation chapter
We currently have about 900 active members in Maryland with that number growing every year by leaps and bounds. We certainly have a lot of opportunity for growth. It only takes about four to six individuals to get things started however, the more people we have the better. An Elk Foundation chapter can do many things however; the main purpose is to host an annual fundraising banquet so we can accomplish our mission of Working for Wildlife.

Most chapters pick up and put down their volunteer efforts inside of four months. Established chapters have about three or four meetings before their banquet and one social wrap-up meeting afterwards. In many cases, the first meeting of the year is a presentation about Elk Foundation projects conducted by a lead volunteer or the regional director where all local members and friends are invited.

What follows is a short list of job areas with respect to starting and maintaining an Elk Foundation chapter. Please keep in mind that the first year is the one that covers the most ground, i.e. establishing a facility, bank account and ordering merchandise for the first time. After a while much of this goes into maintenance mode. Many chapters keep the same facility and time of year for stability and new chapters plan to have about 110 attendees.

In starting a chapter, it is best to have different people at the following areas:

Tickets - Print, mail and receive banquet tickets from our mailings. Serve as contact for people who order by telephone.
Merchandise - Help order, receive the merchandise from an Elk Foundation catalog, and check it off a list upon arrival.
Chairperson(s) - Oversees entire processes. Serve as the committee contact between the chapter and the regional director.
Arrangements - Arrange for the location, meal and time of banquet.
Checkbook - Write checks, collects receipts and sends in bank statements.
The Elk Foundation regional director assists and guides the committee through the entire banquet process. In many cases so do other volunteers from other chapters. Everyone on a chapter helps with ticket sales, donations, and works on banquet day.

Habitat Partnerships

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Habitat Partners are central to solving today's conservation challenges. Your donation through the Habitat Partnership program furthers the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation's mission to ensure the future of elk, other wildlife and their habitat. By combining resources with the RMEF and other project cooperators, Habitat Partners conserve more habitat, educate more young people and leave a wildlife legacy for future generations.
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation already has conserved or enhanced more than 3.3 million acres - an area 50 percent larger than Yellowstone National Park - of habitat for elk and other wildlife. We have completed more than 3,100 acquisitions and habitat conservation projects in 47 states and 8 Canadian provinces.

Together, we can do more. Here's how:

Join us as a Habitat Partner with your tax-deductible gift of $2,500 or more. (To protect the tax-deductible status of your Habitat Partner gift, we do not include an Elk Foundation membership.)
Your gift may be given so that it can be used where the Elk Foundation's need is greatest, or directly to the Elk Foundation's North American Habitat Fund.
Your annual gifts of $500 or more will accumulate toward a Habitat Partnership, if requested, and you will be recognized as a Legacy Partner until you reach a cumulative total of $2500 to become a Habitat Partner. Once you reach the Habitat Partner level, your annual gifts of $500 or more will accumulate toward new contribution levels.
If needed, you may request to pledge a gift of $2500 or more. We ask for a minimum down payment of 20% of your pledged amount with annual payments of 20% or more in subsequent years.
Your gifts and pledges will be recognized at the Elk Foundation's Wildlife Visitor Center in Missoula, Montana, in our Elk Foundation publications and listings, and with a Legacy Partner certificate or Habitat Partner plaque and pin as appropriate.
Habitat Partners are invited to the Friends of the Foundation Breakfast at our annual Elk Camp & Exposition.
If you wish, you may request anonymity.

The Habitat Council
The Elk Foundation invites each Habitat Partner at the Imperial level or above to join the Habitat Council. Council members meet twice a year, assisting the Elk Foundation in achieving its conservation mission.

• A meeting during our annual Elk Camp & Exposition allows Habitat Council members the opportunity to give valuable input to the Board of Directors on fund raising, membership and wildlife habitat issues.
  
• During the summer, the Elk Foundation hosts a second meeting in the summer at a project site where Habitat Council members can learn more about how their investments are "Working for Wildlife."

Contribution Levels

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