- GIVING TUESDAY UPDATE, November 29, 2022 -

Dear BFREE Friends and Supporters,

I hope this letter finds you and your family well. Thanks to dedicated donors like you, we have made it through two very challenging years of the Pandemic. Visitation has resumed with the return of study abroad groups, and long-term research and conservation initiatives continue forward. However, our needs continue to shift as new obstacles arise.

Belize’s economy was hard hit by the pandemic, which in turn has increased pressure to develop land for agriculture, tourism, and resource extraction, including pressure on government-protected parks and reserves. Forested areas throughout the country are being logged, converted to agriculture and cleared for industry, tourism and other development. BFREE is aware of these quick shifts and is responding: sometimes by monitoring and reporting illegal activities and at other times by making recommendations and plans for sustainable, wildlife and forest -friendly development.

To meet these growing demands and to continue our daily operations at the BFREE Field Station, we need additional staff. To that end, we have begun identifying and hiring new members for the BFREE team. Our work must expand in scope and scale in order to meet these challenging times.

Your donations in the past have helped us sustain our operations and support our existing staff. Today we are asking you to help us do more to keep Belize’s wildlands forested and wildlife protected. If you have thought about making a donation in the past but haven’t, please consider it now. Will you donate to BFREE’s year-end campaign? All donations up to $75,000 made between now and December 31st will be matched dollar for dollar.

Donations can be made online here or with a check made out to “US for BFREE,” which can be mailed to 3520 NW 43rd Street, Gainesville, FL 32606. By making a gift today, you will help us continue the vital work of conserving the wildlands and wildlife of Belize for generations to come.

In conservation and stewardship,

Jacob A. Marlin

Executive Director

- Update, October 19, 2022 -

Dear BFREE Friends and Supporters,

We are absolutely ecstatic when we tell you that we met our 24-hour fundraising goal for this year's Day of Giving. Thanks to everyone who shared our story with your friends and family and those who generously donated! An amazing gift from the Calvert-Copeland Charitable Fund brought us over the finish line and helped us reach our goal of $30,000.

Your donation to BFREE is vital to our annual operations, and every gift, no matter the amount, makes a real difference. If you donated to BFREE this week, you are 1 of about 120 people who do every year. These 120 gifts cover about half of our annual operating budget, which provides payroll to BFREE employees, maintenance for our facilities, supplies for the rangers, and so much more. All these things help us do our daily conservation work, which is essential to protecting Belize's wildlife and wild spaces. It would not be possible without your support.

You have helped unlock an additional match!

Thanks to you, we have unlocked an additional match of $45,000. All donations made between now and the end of the year will be doubled! If you haven't donated this year or would like to give a little more to help us reach our goal, please consider making a donation between now and December 31, 2022.

- Letter from our Executive Director, October 14, 2022 -

Dear Friends and Family of BFREE,

Thank you for supporting our work today. BFREE plays a vital role in the conservation of Belize’s flora and fauna, and we could not do it without YOU!

Our location, bordering four other protected areas and lying at the gateway to the majestic Maya Mountains, is critical to preserving this extraordinary tropical landscape. However, the threats to BFREE and surrounding reserves continue. Therefore, BFREE’s dual roles of serving as a research and educational institution as well as a biological corridor protecting and linking the wilderness areas surrounding us remain as important as ever.

Your support today helps us protect wildlife, wild spaces, and the communities that depend on them. Thanks to the generosity of BFREE's Board of Directors, all donations received up to $30,000 raised on the Day of Giving will be matched dollar for dollar.

That’s not all. If we reach our goal on this Day of Giving, we unlock an additional match of up to $45,000 for gifts made prior to December 31, 2022. We have the potential to match up to $75,000 with your support this year!

Your dollar + matching dollar = twice the impact!

In conservation and stewardship,

Jacob A. Marlin

Executive Director

Support BFREE!

All gifts up to $75,000 will be matched!