Contribute – Nearby Nature

Thanks so much for supporting Nearby Nature. Your contributions help Nearby Nature thrive and grow. Thanks so much!

Check out our 2024 Celebrating Students and Supporters mailing here! Scroll down for a link to information about our Every Child Outside (ECO) Fund. Scroll down for a link to Make a Program Payment of Any Amount.

Become a Nearby Nature Member and enjoy:

FREE events (Nature Quests, Green Start Play Days, and the Haunted Hike). See our Calendar for current events.
Youth program and merchandise discounts
Our print newsletter plus monthly eNewsletters
Yearly membership starts at $60 and payments are processed by our program registration platform, Active Network. Click on the green Membership icon to renew your existing membership or join as a new member today!

General Donations & Specific Funds

General donations and contributions to specific funds can be made at the links below.
Recurring monthly contributions are welcome in any of these categories.
To contribute by check, please mail your donation to: Nearby Nature, P.O. Box 3678, Eugene, OR 97403.
You can also support our work as a volunteer!

Note: Friends of Cynthia Waters: Please scroll down and click on The Cynthia Waters Everyone Belongs Fund (WEB Fund) for information about this fund and a link to donate online. Checks may also be sent to Nearby Nature, PO Box 3678, Eugene, OR 97403.

EVERY CHILD OUTSIDE (ECO) FUND
We believe every child needs a chance to discover, learn, and grow in nature nearby. Can you help us get EVERY CHILD OUTSIDE?

This fund provides financial assistance for children from low income families and schools to participate in our summer daycamps, field trips, No School Day Adventures, after school programs, and more. It also helps us expand our outreach to underserved communities and provide affordable youth nature programs.

$50 will pay for a No School Day Adventure scholarship

$100 will pay for a school field trip for 25 kids

$250 will pay for a week-long daycamp scholarship

Your contribution of any amount will make a difference!

*Note — the ECO Fund replaces our former Youth Scholarship Fund.
CYNTHA WATERS EVERYONE BELONGS (WEB) FUND

Established in Memory of Cynthia Waters (March 2, 1970-February 8, 2023), Nearby Nature Volunteer, Board Member, & Friend from 2012-2023

Here at Nearby Nature we believe that everyone, no matter what burdens they bear or life challenges they face, belongs in nature nearby. Time spent in the woods, by the water, and with the wild can heal, inspire, soothe, teach, and comfort those in need.

Cynthia Waters was a dedicated Nearby Nature volunteer and a friend of our staff for over 10 years. She lead school nature walks, helped with outdoor adventures at daycamps, and staffed special events. She raised money for our programs, tended native plants in our Pollinators Playground, fought graffiti with our TAG Team, and served on our Board of Directors. She loved children, plants, her natural neighbors (spiders especially!) and the people she worked with. She will be missed but her legacy will live on as we weave a web of connection between people and nature through this fund.

Donations made to the WEB (We All Belong) Fund will help Nearby Nature open its doors to children who would benefit immensely from connection with nature, but who perhaps need more individual attention or special accommodations to make their participation possible. Extra support staff, professional development for teachers, and Learnscape enhancements are just a few ideas for how we hope to put your donations to work to honor Cynthia. We welcome your contribution (click on the green DONATE box to contribute online), your ideas for how to use these funds, your participation in our programs, and your time as a volunteer as we move forward. Thank so much for your generous support.

A generous donor will match all contributions up to a total of $5,000!

Donations may also be mailed to Nearby Nature, PO Box 3678, Eugene, OR 97403.
GENERAL DONATIONS
COMMUNITY FRIENDS MEMBERSHIPS

Nearby Nature believes everyone in our community should have the opportunity to discover, learn, and grow in nature nearby. Your purchase of a $60 Community Friends Membership will allow us to grant membership benefits to a family in need. That family will get to attend our Nature Quest, Green Start, and Citizen Science programs plus our Haunted Hike for free for the next year — plus get discounts on No-School-Day Adventures, Nature Neighbors After School, Wonder Keepers, and Summer Daycamps!
PARK CARETAKING FUND

Caring and advocating for our public parks is essential if we want them to be healthy, beautiful, and safe for visitors from all walks of life. Every year, hundreds of Nearby Nature volunteers spend thousands of hours on native plant restoration, litter patrol, and graffiti abatement in Alton Baker Park.

Your contribution to our to our Park Caretaking Fund will help facilitate volunteer coordination, work party planning, native plant purchases, and more.
LEARNSCAPE FUND

Nearby Nature’s Learnscape Garden and Outdoor Classroom is a wonder! The site’s unique combination of gardens, outdoor playspaces, and models for living lightly provides a wonderful home base for many of our outdoor education programs.

You can help support the upkeep and continued enhancement of this amazing site with your donation to our Learnscape Development Fund. Your contribution will help us purchase needed gardening supplies, plants, and tools. It will also help pay for intern stipends and volunteer management.
Make a Program Payment of Any Amount

Other Creative Ways to Contribute

Share When You Shop

Here at Nearby Nature we have a “less is more” approach when it comes to shopping. We love thrift stores, sharing resources, and getting the most out of everything we already possess. However, everyone does buy new things from time to time.

So how can you share when you shop? Read on to learn about two ways you can support Nearby Nature without spending anything beyond what you already spend every day. Your purchases can help power our programs and allow us to serve thousands of kids, their teachers, and their families every year!

1. eScrip

Register your credit and debit cards at eScrip.com and designate Nearby Nature as the recipient of your donations. (Note: eScrip contributions can be split up to three ways just in case you are already supporting another group.) Each time you use a registered card at Market of Choice (or any of the other merchants listed on eScrip’s website), 2-4 % of your purchase cost will automatically go to Nearby Nature.

2. Fred Meyer Community Rewards:

How do you join? If you already have a Fred Meyer Rewards Card, go to fredmeyer.com/communityrewards and find the Re-enroll or link your Rewards Card now link. Choose Nearby Nature (LT795) as the benefactor of your Fred Meyer purchases and a percentage of each purchase you make will go to Nearby Nature. If you don’t have a Rewards Card already, you need to set up a digital account. Once you have done that, follow the directions on the Community Rewards page to start supporting Nearby Nature!
Green Giving

Does your business support Nearby Nature’s mission? Would like your artistic creations to “contribute” to the community? Are you a musician or a writer whose tunes or tales feature nature nearby? If you answered YES to any of these questions, we hope you’ll become a Green Giving Partner.

Green Giving Partners support our mission by sharing skills (such as construction or design work) or donating a portion of their profits (over a period of time or on a particular product or service) to Nearby Nature. Some sponsor a specific program or project.

We are grateful to all our Green Giving Partners — past, present, and future — for their generous support. These donations help sustain everything from school programs to scholarships to park restoration projects.

To learn more about joining contact Director Beth Stein.

2021 Green Giving Partners

BRING Recycling

Dave Egbert & The Carpet Company

Jeff Faust

Quentin Furrow, Photographer

Ed Kousky

Gary Raze

Ian Whitelaw, Design and Construction

Glassblowing in the Garden

2020 Green Giving Partners

Track Town Pizza

Oakshire Public House

Papa’s Pizza

Village School

Ian Whitelaw, Design and Construction

Quentin Furrow, Photographer

2019 Green Giving Partners

Capella Market

Cornucopia

Dave Walp, Naturalist

Down to Earth

Eugene Science Center

Falling Sky

Ian Whitelaw, Design and Construction

Kohl’s Associates in Action Program

Ninkasi Tasting Room

Quentin Furrow, Photographer

Sundance Natural Foods

Track Town Pizza, Franklin Blvd.

Village School

2018 Green Giving Partners

BRING Recycling

Capella Market

Corie Hinton, Talking Walls Murals

Dave Walp, Naturalist

Eugene Science Center

Ian Whitelaw, Design and Construction

Kohl’s Associates in Action Program

Ninkasi Tasting Room

Oregon Wine Labs

Quentin Furrow, Photographer

Track Town Pizza, Franklin Blvd.

True Value on Willamette

Village School
Benefit Days

Several times per year, Nearby Nature hosts benefit days at local restaurants and businesses. Check our calendar and this page frequently to learn about upcoming events!

Thanks to recent benefit day sponsors Track Town Pizza on Franklin, Ninkasi Tasting Room, Oakshire, Papa’s Pizza on 11th, Falling Sky, and Oregon Wine Labs.
Annual Raffle

Every year at our Haunted Hike in October, we sponsor a fun raffle. 50+ local businesses and individuals regularly contribute and friends and members win all sorts of great prizes — from nights out on the town to amazing artwork. THANKS so much to our generous past donors!

If you would like to buy tickets ($1 each, 6/$5, or 12/$10), give us a call at 541-687-9699. Need not be present to win! Each category has multiple chances to win. Just let us know which categories you would like us to put your tickets in when you call.

HAUNTED HIKE RAFFLE (updated yearly when we have a new raffle)
Wish List
Check out our wish list and let us know if you are able to help us with any of the needs below. Thanks!

Established perennial herbs for our new Herb Spiral

Book donations for our Little Free Library

Work gloves for restoration work and litter patrols

Kid-sized rain boots for our borrowing box for wet days