KAMO June, 2020 Newsletter
For comments related to this document, contact Mike at brownmtjc@gmail.com

President?s message

Hello KAMO members,

This is KAMO President Mark Walters with my part of the newsletter. Running an organization or in reality being an active member of KAMO requires a lot of thought in difficult times like we are currently living in. With Covid 19 the world is experiencing on a daily basis the type of economic loss and loss of life like we have not witnessed in decades. I think that all of you are aware that I have
always been one of KAMO’s biggest cheerleaders/ motivators.

Wanna make my day, all I have to do is open a Newsletter and see that all of our chapters have been getting kids into the outdoors over the last month! Fast forward to watching today’s news and I cannot in good conscience ask you to go through the time and effort to actively take a KAMO kid on an outing. I am not saying that members should not take kids fishing, hiking or hunting, I am just saying that I fully understand if you don?t. I believe that in time Covid 19 will be a part of our past and we will all do our best to keep the KAMO fire going burning.

This morning I spoke with Mike Brown and I suggested that we cut chapter dues to the state in half from $600.00 to $300.00 per year. This will have to be approved by the BOD, but I honestly think that will not be a problem.

In early March we were experiencing one of our largest growth patterns in years and I know that we can get that back!
As always, I want to thank everyone of you for everything that you do for KAMO.

Mark

General – If there have been changes to a members email or phone number, please report them to Mike, so he can make the update in the directory and the group emailing contact list. Almost every month when informational emails go out, there are some undeliverables which means there has been a change or mistake somewhere.

The Wisconsin DNR opened hunters education classes back up to resume as early as July 13th. There are two certification paths – traditional and online.

Kids and adults can both opt to take a traditional class to get the certification. A traditional class typically meets four or more times over a period of a week or two. The last meeting is a practical and written test. Time on the range at the end is now optional.
Minors who take an online class are required to complete a demonstration/ testing day known as an internet field day (IFD) afterwards. Adults taking an online class can get certified without the IFD just by submitting their online completion certificate to the DNR.

The classes are run primarily by volunteers and the availability of classes varies widely throughout the state. Even with a push to certify more instructors over the last few years, classes can be tough to find in some areas. This is increasing the importance of the mentored hunting law that our group so often works within.

To find out about an upcoming class near you, go to Gowild.wi.gov, log in, scroll down on the homepage, in the bottom right corner click “student”, “enroll”, then select “hunter” or “hunter internet field day” and select a county or statewide and hit “search”.

Website – The small business in La Crosse that maintains the site is always considerate of our nonprofit status when they do updates or adjustments.They get the changes done promptly and are reasonable on cost.
.Someone from your chapter should visit your chapter?s page periodically and check for accuracy. When viewers come on our site, out of date information does not reflect positively. Just a couple weeks ago, Northwoods reported that their page had some text overlapping the pictures.
Does your chapter have procedures for taking in donations mentioned on your chapter?s page? It can be the difference between your chapter receiving an unexpected check from a donor or not.

Insurance – Our policy expires in mid-October. Our agent is going to attempt to find another carrier that doesn?t have as many exclusions before then. If you are curious about what our exclusions are, I can send them to you electronically. What are we covered for? Whatever is not on the exclusions list.

KAMO Mentor Handbook – This manual was developed in 2017. It is basically a 43 page frequently asked questions document about having a KAMO chapter. It can be forwarded to you electronically.I am hoping some people will take the time to read it and offer suggestions about how it can be improved.
Sections include: Rationale for having a group/ being a mentor, parent info, general chapter operations – activity set up, fund raising, attracting new people, things to do with kids, and an appendix.
The handbook is intended for chapters to use as a resource. It is not intended for making major decisions – the group has a separate policies and procedures document for guidance on important matters.
If you are curious about the handbook or policies, please contact Mike.

Fundraising Ideas – Now is probably a great time to compare notes on what our chapters do to stay funded.
If you are fortunate enough to attract donations, keep in mind that some donating groups enjoy recognition while others prefer to remain anonymous.
Any number of times, KAMO chapters have heard from potential donors about a contribution they intend to give that does not materialize. Be careful about making plans that involve expense unless you have funds already available.

Here are several fundraising strategies:

Every year, chapters receive a copy of a raffle license from someone in our group that made the application. Raffles are popular in KAMO. A starting point is for your chapter to receive a donated or bargain item that?s desirable to others.The more broadly popular the items are, the more potential there is for selling tickets. Some chapters have great success selling tickets just for firearms.
There are a few rules for running raffles. The raffle license number must appear on the raffle ticket, for instance. To view additional regulations, see Chapter 563 of the Wisconsin Statutes – Bingo and Raffle Control.

Local grocery stores or businesses may offer the opportunity to sell food and drink items outside their stores on weekends. If you have a Festival in your area, they are totally set up for this in the form of brat fries. The profit from a food selling event depends on the weather, shopping population that day, etc. They can be profitable and get your chapter’s name out in public. Some chapter’s original kids came from a parent inquiry at a food stand.

Some chapters have an arrangement to collect cans periodically from local establishments to take and sell at a recycling facility.

If you are having an outing worthy of media coverage, it?s not only a good way to gain recognition that your group is active in your area, but can also draw donations from locals. Television coverage can be especially effective.
Is there a community calendar (such as your local newspaper, magazine, chamber might offer) your chapter can advertise its activities on?. Media people looking for a story often look at activity calendars.

If you have a clinic or hospital system in your area,they often give out funds to local nonprofits seen as doing activity that is beneficial to members of the community.. KAMO?s work with youth outdoors can easily catch the attention of these institutions. Time spent outdoors is becoming scarce, yet is increasingly recognized as having substantial physical/ mental health benefits for youth.
You can apply for these funds by finding a contact person in the clinic’s community outreach branch who will guide you through this process. Distributions generally range from $1,000 – $2500.

Community foundations may periodically award applicants funds to help cover their operational expenses.

Local banks or credit unions often have foundations that give out funds to groups like ours. Next time you are at your financial institution, ask if they have such a program. Distributions are generally under $500.

Private Corporations may have foundations that make distributions. A phone call to the public relations person at a local company to inquire about any programs they have can be well worth the effort. When the public relations person ?encourages? you to apply, that is a meaningful vibe to get, and it does happen. Golfing groups operating through corporations or independently often raise funds for local nonprofits through events they put together.

Do you have a grant writer available to your chapter? Grants can be a terrific revenue source. They may or may not come with some ?reporting your activity? requirements that are easy for you to provide, especially if you keep records of your outings – time,date, event, number of adult/ child/ attendees, tallies of any costs incurred.

There may be some stores in your area that have a program in which a small portion of their sales are given to nonprofits. In La Crosse, the People?s Food Coop has a Beans For Bags program and the RootInCrown Thrift gives a portion of their sales to local nonprofits based on a point system. A check from one of these places is an occasional occurrence, usually in the amount of $200 – $300, but requires only a one time sign up.

Whitetails Unlimited Wisconsin has a 40 year track record of giving over 2 million dollars/ year to groups like ours and that?s just in Wisconsin. They may hold banquets in your area on an annual basis and may give your chapter some of the proceeds by helping with that banquet. That beats trying to have your own banquet. They also have a program in which they award funds to applicants for purchases of equipment for shooting sports/hunting events. There is a person in WU who sets all the banquets up and knows about the grant programs. You could call and find out who it currently is.

There is a couple living in Missouri that own a lodge in their home state as well as in South Africa – the Wildebeest Lodge. To promote/ market this establishment, they donate safaris to groups like ours to be sold off as a raffle or auction item. The trips typically sell for $1,000 – $1500. If you decide to try this as a fundraiser, please have a well thought out plan for how your chapter is going to present/ sell it beforeaking the call to inquire about it.
Safaris can be billed as a trip for the hunter or the wildlife enthusiast armed with a camera. The Lodge’s U.S, Representatives are Ron and Diane McDaniel who live in the Holmen, Wisconsin area. Their contact info is 608-792-4863/ mcdaniel.wwbeest@gmail.com

Chapter Reports –

Baraboo –
The Baraboo chapter met at Kevin Seymour’s house on June 8 for our monthly meeting. There was not a lot to discuss as things have been very quiet with the covid issue still interrupting things in so many people’s lives. We did decide to go ahead with our camping trip as we had this planned for over a year. We just completed the trip over the past weekend, but it was a very small event with only two mentors and 2 other kids that were not family members. Weather was great, did fishing. swimming, smores, and campfires. We already booked 3 sites for the same weekend next year. We have still been making contact with kids during this time but have put off group events as recommended by the BOD. We are still looking forward to this years Joe Hunt, assuming it will still be allowed to take place. Remember this year?s hunt will be one week later than normal as another group booked ahead of us, so the dates will be December 18,19, 20. I know with this being so close to Christmas, it may affect who is able to attend but we will still have a great time with whatever group size we end up with. Just a reminder that a kid can only attend the event 2 times and they don’t not need a license or hunters safety and (ALL) kids that come will be under the learn to hunt rules which was verified by the DNR. All first time mentors be sure and get your DNR background check completed. Any questions regarding the hunt, please let me know. Enjoy the summer while you can. Tradition Forward

Rick

Coulee (La Crosse) –
No outing activity to report. Members of the community in general are being seen enjoying the outdoors on an unprecedented scale – partly because of gorgeous weather, river levels at a near normal depth, and their general eagerness to be out there. Some members have been spending a lot of time in the sloughs directly adjacent to the city fishing – relearning old spots and discovering new ones shaped by the ever changing currents. There sure are numbers of smallmouth out there. It is amazing how quiet it can be in the backwater sloughs off the main channel even with a bustling city a few thousand feet away. It has been great to see families out camping the sand bars with their kids.

Mike

Meadow Valley – (New Lisbon)

We had 9 members attend our June conference call meeting.
We reviewed the KAMO BOD guidance stating one on one mentoring could now be done as a KAMO function.
It was decided we would hold our July meeting at the Heritage park practicing the social distancing requirements.
Upcoming events:
Shooting Day in June was canceled
August ? Conservation Trailer at Hustler Fest has been cancelled.
October ? Pheasant LTH with the New Lisbon Sports Club

Bob

Northwoods (Florence) – No activity or outings to report. Hoping to have an October pheasant outing.

Mick