Dear Members, ECWA Supporters, and Neighbors,

2025 has been a year full of challenges and surprises for the Ellerbe Creek Watershed Association (ECWA). ECWA’s roots in Durham run deep. Over the past 25 years, ECWA has protected close to 500 acres of land, provided vital access to nature in urban neighborhoods, and built a community around environmental stewardship. This land is not only a sanctuary for people and wildlife—it is a crucial line of defense against the effects of climate change, including everything from flooding to extreme heat. On behalf of ECWA’s Board, this is a long overdue update to let you know what has been happening over the past several months and to ask for your help to keep ECWA’s lights on and mission alive.

In January 2025, following prolonged and extensive deliberation, ECWA’s Board made the difficult decision to begin the process of dissolving the organization due to a severe financial crisis and a lack of organizational capacity. Like many small nonprofits, ECWA struggled to scale operations to match its growing ambitions. Five years of leadership transitions, financial strain, mission creep, and the departure of long-time staff placed unsustainable stress on the organization. The dissolution process requires ECWA to transfer all assets to a qualified nonprofit or government entity with a similar mission and suitable capacity. However, dissolution is not a fast process nor a final process until the final paperwork is filed, and ECWA is still here.

Since February, ECWA has been operating with one part-time staff person, volunteers, and its Board, and has reduced any and all avoidable costs, downsized its current operations, and established or reestablished relationships with partner organizations and community members. Importantly, the Triangle Native American Society has stepped forward to partner with ECWA during this time of transition and remains a stabilizing force as ECWA downsizes. Since April, the ECWA Board and a group of dedicated long-time supporters began exploring what it might take for ECWA to re-emerge if ECWA were able to stabilize financially. This means securing funding for the remainder of 2025 so that ECWA can meet its existing obligations, develop a revised organizational model, and test that model to ensure long-term viability. While any future version of ECWA would look different—with a narrower programmatic scope, a leaner staff, and a renewed commitment to transparency and accountability—we believe a viable path forward may still be possible with the community’s immediate financial support.

For ECWA to survive beyond this year, it must raise $75,000 by August 31, 2025, and another $75,000 by November 30th to:

- Develop an organizational plan with clear goals, deliverables, identification of short- and long-term staffing needs, and a sustainable financial framework, among other necessary items

- Test the organizational plan to resume regular operations

- Pay for necessary preserve repairs and cleanup that cannot be completed by volunteer stewards (e.g., fallen tree removals and pathway and streambank repairs)

- Pay our one and only crucial staff person

- Hire a part-time administrative assistant to help with day-to-day needs and respond to your messages in a more timely manner

- Meet contractual obligations and pay off debt

- Pay necessary vendors for professional services, including a Certified Public Accountant. To get the ball rolling, a generous donor has offered a match for the first $5,000 raised by the end of July.

What you can do:

- Donate one time or monthly via ellerbecreek.org/donate

- Increase your existing donation by logging into your donor account or emailing info@ellerbecreek.org

- Spread the word to those who this letter may not reach, including corporate sponsors

- Let us know if your employer has a workplace matching donation program by emailing info@ellerbecreek.org

- Sign up to volunteer by visiting ellerbecreek.org/contact ECWA has always been about more than land—it’s about people and our shared responsibility to care for the place we call home. We are in this creek together.

With hope for a next chapter and gratitude,
The ECWA Board of Directors

Shannon Arata, President X. Lightfoot, Member
Kelly Roth, Vice President Kaili Simien, Member
John Heffernan, Treasurer Rodney Butler, Member
Kevin Primus, Secretary Christy Thompson, Member