Donating
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S-T-A-R, S-T-A-R!
Summer 2008 is now well underway. The Pelicans have already welcomed several conferences and are excited about the rest of the summer. Your support is welcome not only to help us complete another successful conference season, but also to ensure that Star is always ready and available. Our effort this year is to ensure that the buildings and infrastructure of our "magical rock" are on solid ground.
Donations and pledges are accepted year-round at our Portsmouth Office:
Star Island Annual Fund
10 Vaughan Mall, Suite 8
Portsmouth, NH 03801
We also accept credit cards via our secure online form or through the office at (603) 430-6272. We welcome one-time gifts as well as monthly, quarterly, or annual installments.
Please feel free to email our Acting Development Director Irene Bush at to discuss the particulars of any gift.
Donate Online Now! | The Annual Fund | Forthcoming Capital Campaign | The McGill Society & Planned Giving | Grants and Matching Gifts | Hold a Fundraiser | Volunteer
The 2008 Star Island Annual Fund
Our needs for Star this year are many, as always. Our remote island location and the necessity of maintaining our buildings and infrastructure so that they are safe and sound will always be a financial challenge.
A word from our Annual Fund Chair, Tom Kennedy, a Life on a Star Conferee:
It is right and proper for many of us to concentrate on keeping Star and its heritage for our children and their children. But what of new families who do not yet know us? We need them now and we will need them in the years ahead to be part of our community and assume the obligations of stewardship which we now bear.
In 1981, my wife and I and our then two children had never been to Star—we didn't even know anyone who had been to Star. We had recently started attending a Brooklyn NY UU church and, as young professionals in the public sector, had only very limited vacation funds. We chose to camp in Maine for a week and visit Star’s LOAS I conference for the second week. Star's affordability was a critical factor in our selecting the island for what we thought would be a one time vacation.
Twenty seven years later, we have been on Star every year, Sharon is on the SIC Board and we have held leadership positions in our conference. All three of our children have been Pels. Our family now has a strong Star heritage—as just one measurement, of the 40 pictures currently on our refrigerator, 12 of them are from Star—but if the island had not been affordable back in 1981 we would never have found out how much it would become a part of our family and our shared experiences.
This year, to remain viable, we had to raise the room and board charges by 20%. We are close to becoming unaffordable for an average family, especially a family with young children. A typical 4 person family will need to pay $3,000 for a seven day conference in 2008 counting room and board, boat fees, baby sitting, conference registration, and travel to Star. Assuming people like to keep a vacation's cost to no more than two week's take home pay, a family income of $117,000 would be necessary. Contributions to the Annual Fund subsidize room and board rates and, thus, are a critical element of keeping Star within reach of average families.
We also looked at the cost to Star of a couple staying for an average 7 day conference. Room and Board only covers 70% of the cost of a stay on Star. If a couple has room and board of $1,000, Star assumes the burden of the remaining $500. An Annual Fund gift of $500 by that couple only evens the cost to the Island. That hypothetical couple would need to contribute $2,100 to effectively make a gift to Star of $500 when they have stayed for a seven day conference.
Giving to the Annual Fund is so important this year as it is a critical component of Star's budget each year. Last year because of the late opening, our income from room and board was reduced and the $651,000 in Annual Fund income we received represented 33% of our income. Even assuming full occupancy in 2008, the annual Fund receipts are expected to represent 20% of our income.
We need an active Annual Fund program at each conference so that Star can continue to welcome all to the wonderful conferences you all sponsor. Please ensure that your conference has a welcoming atmosphere for the Annual Fund effort and support the Star Island Annual Fund to the fullest extent you are able It is up to all of us to secure Star Island for generations to come.