Alum Creek Dog Park

May 19, 2005 Newsletter - written by Ann Wennberg

May 25, 2005

501c3 Status Change

The 501c3 group our group was originally partnered with for IRS tax-exempt status recently announced they are dissolving. This means our group must now incorporate with the state of Ohio and then file with the IRS for tax-exempt status. The incorporation papers were filed on May 18 and a reply should be released within 2 weeks. In the mean time we are developing bylaws, establishing a board of directors, electing officers and preparing the IRS submission packet. We have a lead on an attorney for some help and are also getting advice from other animal oriented not for profit groups. If you are interested in helping with this process or if you have some advice regarding not for profit IRS filing or if you are interested in being an officer or a board member, please contact dwennberg@earthlink.net or reply back to alumdogpark.net

Our organization continues to be a not for profit group and will continue accepting donations for the Alum Creek Dog Park. We must however not refer to ourselves as 501c3 tax-exempt. The information flyers and brick forms are being revised and will be made available as soon as possible.

Thanks in advance to everyone for your support and understanding as we work through this process, it will take some time but obtaining 501c3 tax-exempt status is an important and achievable goal. A Westerville based rescue recently achieved their 501c3 status in a 3 1/2 month period. Therefore I am hopeful that with an early June filing we will have our 501c3 status by the end of the summer. Keep your fingers crossed! Ask your dogs to cross their paws!

If by the end of the year, we have not achieved our own 501c3 status, letters will be sent to those people who made donations during our initial fundraising efforts (March, April, May) advising them of the change in status.

Want to help make Alum Creek Dog Park happen? Looking for a fun volunteer event?

Bring a friend or come by yourself & help. Remember, it?’s all for the dogs!


"Go'in to the Dogs" garage sale and more

We are having a garage sale and more on Saturday June 25 at the site of the Alum Creek Dog Park from 10 to 3. Events so far include: Garage and bake sale, a cleanup day for the site and possibly nail clipping, micro-chipping, dog washing.

Start setting aside items you wish to donate! Think about what baked goods you would like to contribute. Items will be accepted the morning of the garage sale before it opens for the public. We will also be accepting items the Tuesday and Friday before the garage sale at the home of Todd and Joy Harkins, who live near Alum Creek State Park. Additional drop off details will be announced closer to the event. Please consider volunteering for this event.

We will need about 15 people to help before and the day of this event. Please reply back to this email address if you are interested in helping.

Dog Washes at Starbucks

The manager of the Lewis Center Starbucks, Donnell Thompson, has arranged for us to have a series of dog wash fundraisers this summer. The first one will be June 18 at the Starbucks in Lewis Center from 11 am to 5 pm. We will need 2 volunteers per shift from our group to work either from 11:00 to 2:00 or to work 2:00 to 5:00. Groups who have done this in the past have raised about $400 in donations per dog wash. Thanks very much to Starbucks for this opportunity! Please reply back to this email if you are interested in helping to wash dogs!

"Pathway to the Park" engraved bricks project

Keep sharing this donation opportunity with your family, friends and co-workers. As of early May we had orders for about 40 bricks. This is a good start as it provides about $800 for fencing the park. If everyone on the newsletter email list would get donations for 10 bricks each we would have enough to fence in Phase 1 of the Alum Creek Dog Park!! Contact Pan Kehoe at bkehoe@columbus.rr.com or Kristen Johnson at krisnjohnson@yahoo.com with questions about this project.

Mingle with our Mutts

The Franklin County Dog Shelter and the Columbus Dog Connection sponsor the "Mingle with our Mutts" event the first and third Saturdays of each month from 12 pm to 2 pm. While this it typically thought of as an adoption event, we have been given permission to attend and distribute information about the Alum Creek Dog Park. The next Mingle events are June 5 and June 19. We will need 2 volunteers for each date. Please reply back to this email if you are interested in coordinating our Mingle efforts or if you would like to volunteer for a particula Mingle.

Heidi?’s Homemade Dog and Cat Bakery

Heidi?’s homemade has been a staunch supporter of the Alum Creek Dog Park since the beginning. This month they are selling a special dog treat and donating the proceeds to our efforts. They have also allowed us to put up an information table in the Grandview store, complete with pictures, engraved brick samples and flyers. If you are downtown, please swing by Heidi's Homemade and pick up some yummy treats for your 4-legged friends. The store is at 1409 Grandview Ave. Columbus, OH 43212 phone (614) 481-8329.

Personalized dog bandanas

One of our volunteers, Janet Vance, is making really cute personalized dog bandanas to benefit the Alum Creek Dog Park. You can contact Janet by email at janetv@surfbest.net for more information about these darling bandanas. I got one for each of our dogs!

Pooch Parade rescheduled

The Pooch Parade has been rescheduled for Saturday, August 13 in Worthington. We will have a booth there. Stay tuned for more details.

Westerville Dog Days of Summer

More to come about this event. It will be held Friday August 26 from 6 pm to 9 pm. Lots of fun, a "Mutt Walk", fun contests and cool stuff to buy in downtown Westerville.

Fundraising Updates

Fundraising Goals

To fence Phase 1 of the park we will need $15,000 to break ground. To finish fencing and complete the project we will need approximately $25,000. After the budget for fence posts, fencing, concrete, and dog friendly water fountains is finalized we will be able to firm up the these fundraising goals.

Fundraising to date

As of 5/9/05 we have $1500 in donations and brick orders

A Corporate Sponsorship Fundraising Program has been developed by Tracy Hedrick and is under consideration by an area company. More details to be announced later.

Other News

Website Update

Stephene Hohman has been working on a new and improved website. She expects it to go live soon. We will have photos of the site, event schedules, meeting minutes and a connection to Paypal. This Paypal connection will allow us to take donations online. The new website address is www.alumcreekdogpark.com

New Organizational Structure

To promote an efficiently operating organization, we are adopting a new structure, utilizing 4 working groups. Within the next few days I will send out goals and responsibilities for each working group. There is much that needs to be done to make the park happen and the more people who choose to take an active role in this project - the sooner we will all have a beautiful place where our dogs can run and play. Thanks in advance for help.

Site Design & Development Working Group, led by Denis Buehler
Marketing & Fundraising Working Group, led by Tracy Hedrick
Communications Working Group, led by Stephene Hohman
Finance & Legal Working Group, led by Ann Wennberg
Hold your calendar

The next meeting of the Friends of Alum Creek Dog Park will be June 14 at 7:00 pm at the Panera Bread Community Room. This Panera is north of the intersection of Powell Road and Rt. 23, in the shopping center in front of Home Depot. Hope to see you then.