TRAIL celebrates its
first anniversary!
Looking around the room at the more than 120 members, volunteers, vendors, donors and friends assembled for TRAIL’s first anniversary celebration, TRAIL board chair Maggie Elliott said it was hard to believe how far this small nonprofit has come in just one year’s time.
In sharing the group’s accomplishments during the May 16 anniversary event, Elliott said, “Virtually every statistic, from the number of members to the number of donors, is well above what the board had forecast just a year ago.
“Although we were purposefully conservative in our estimates,” she continued, “our success to date is enormously gratifying, and tells us that TRAIL is meeting important needs in Johnson County.”
TRAIL’s year-one milestones include:
- 154 total members since April 2017, with a more than 90% renewal rate to date
- 67 trained volunteers, including members of board committees, member support specialists, and member-service volunteers
- TRAIL volunteers fill between 25-30 member service requests each month, from transportation and tech support to yard work and home checks
- A growing number of member educational and social events, 12 in May alone
- More than 35 local prescreened service providers help members with projects and tasks beyond the scope of volunteers
- 100+ TRAIL donors have made gifts or pledges totaling more than $135,000
Looking ahead, Elliott explained that the TRAIL board has begun a planning process to determine its top priorities. The board will target two areas of focus.
“First, we want to look at how to grow our membership in a sustainable way,” she said. “What is a reasonable and supportable member base? What would it mean if we were to double or triple our membership numbers in the next few years? Will we be able to recruit and train and retain enough volunteers to serve our members’ needs?”
The board also will examine organizational management and operations, particularly in regard to staffing and services. At present, TRAIL Executive Director Hillary Ramaker is the organization’s only paid staff member. In anticipation of continued growth, Elliott said, the board will examine the need and capacity for additional staff to augment TRAIL’s trained volunteers.
“One thing we know for certain as we move into year two is the need to remain flexible and be prepared to have our expectations challenged,” Elliott observed. She noted that when TRAIL was launched, the board assumed that the organization would be of greatest interest to older or even frail adults in need of help around the house.
“But that’s not quite how it’s turned out,” Elliott said. “While we do have some members who fit that description, most are what you might call ‘younger elders’ who are capable of doing things for themselves. They’ve discovered that TRAIL membership can free up their time for the activities they enjoy, and also make them part of a community of individuals who share many of their interests and experiences.”
TRAIL’s anniversary celebration was held at Terry Trueblood Lodge and featured a presentation by local actor and playwright Maggie Conroy, who delivered an original monologue written especially for TRAIL.