SALT is only $10,000 away from gaining $500,000 for flood recovery, but the clock's ticking.
That $10,000 will give Schoharie Area Long Term recovery $250,000 in donations, which in turn will trigger another $250,000 from Fenimore Asset Management in Cobleskill.
FAM offered SALT the $250,000 challenge grant last August, on the one-year anniversary of Irene's destruction in the Schoharie Valley. One condition was that SALT had to raise its $250,000 by this spring.
SALT Executive Director Sarah Goodrich said Monday that they're about $10,000 short of their goal and want to reach it March 1, Friday.
"We're very close," Ms. Good rich said. "We're following up pledges and just need a few people to follow up on their good intentions."
She called March 1 a soft deadline but one SALT was shooting for.
Anne Putnam, vice president of FAM and FAM Funds, agreed with the soft deadline but added that there's still more time.
"When we announced it, we said spring without necessarily setting a date, but there is a time sensitivity," Ms. Putnam said. "To me, March 1 isn't spring."
And she left no doubt about whether SALT would reach its goal.
"I'm on [SALT's] Fund Development committee," Ms. Putnam said, "and I will tell you that we will make it."
Although Ms. Goodrich and Ms. Putnam said the $500,000 will go a long way towards flood recovery, both noted that fundraising can't stop now.
"$500,000 is only the tip of the iceberg," Ms. Putnam said, adding that recovery needs total some $3 million.
While they've been fundraising, SALT workers have been conducting a survey to determine what's still needed. They'll have made 1,000 contacts by the time the survey's done, Ms. Goodrich said.
"The needs are still significant, everything from wells and septic to property damage and erosion," she said. "There are some homes that still need everything, across the board."
In some cases, recovery and further flood protection could cost $40,000 per house--with many homes needing that work.
So although $500,000 will put a dent in the total bill, it won't cover it all.
"We know this will have a huge impact, but it still won't cover all we need," Ms. Goodrich said.
There are three ways to make a donation:
•Call the SALT office at 702-5017.
•Visit saltrecovery.org.
•Write a check to SALT and mail it to SALT Recovery, Box 777, Schoharie.