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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260407T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260530T170000
DTSTAMP:20260418T031024
CREATED:20260407T113224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260407T130908Z
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SUMMARY:The O'Brien Prize for Refuge Friends
DESCRIPTION:An Opportunity For Your Refuge Friends Group\nEach year the National Wildlife Refuge Association awards the O’Brien Prize to very deserving Refuge Friends organizations. The prize is named after Donal O’Brien III\, a past Board Chair and longtime enthusiast of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Don was a generous supporter of the great work we do for national wildlife refuges and was always very impressed by the dedication and effectiveness of Refuge Friends groups. \n2026 RFP is Available!\nThe National Wildlife Refuge Association is pleased to announce our seventh O’Brien Prize. This prize is a grant that will be awarded to one or more Refuge Friends groups whose project(s) will help build their connection with their community. This application will be used to determine which Friends group(s) will receive the grant(s). Please submit a request for any amount up to $7\,500. \nProjects must: (1) heighten the public awareness of the Friends Group\, (2) bring an enduring value to the Friends Group and bring benefit to the refuge\, and (3) the prize money must cover the full or nearly full cost of the project. \nProposals are due Friday\, May 30th\, 2026. Please submit your applications and direct any questions to Courtney Phelan at cphelan@refugeassociation.org or 202-577-3200. \nClick here to download the application!
URL:https://coalitionofrefugefriends.com/event/the-obrien-prize-for-refuge-friends/
CATEGORIES:Grant
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260408T190000
DTSTAMP:20260418T031024
CREATED:20260406T192421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260406T192421Z
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SUMMARY:State of the System Report: President's Budget\, Refuge Funding\, & What Comes Next
DESCRIPTION:Join Desirée Sorenson-Groves\, President & CEO of the Refuge Association\, for a timely State of the System briefing focused on the FY2027 President’s Budget\, what it signals for National Wildlife Refuge System funding\, and what to watch as Congress shapes budget decisions. We’ll also share ways supporters can help strengthen refuges in the months ahead. \nPresenter \n\nDesirée Sorenson-Groves came back to the Refuge Association in October 2024 as the President and CEO. Her career has been focused on protecting and enhancing the National Wildlife Refuge System\, first as a grassroots organizer for the National Audubon Society\, then as the Vice President of Government Affairs for the Refuge Association. After 14 years at NWRA\, Sorenson-Groves became the Director of the Arctic Refuge Defense Campaign where she managed an Indigenous-led\, multi-pronged effort to stop any development in the Arctic Refuge. She comes back to NWRA after leading Defenders of Wildlife’s public and private lands programs as their Vice President of Land & Habitat Conservation. She has a B.A. in Geography from George Washington University and resides in Fort Valley\, VA with her husband and two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.\n\nSign Up!
URL:https://coalitionofrefugefriends.com/event/state-of-the-system-report-presidents-budget-refuge-funding-what-comes-next/
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260413
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260425
DTSTAMP:20260418T031024
CREATED:20260413T141934Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T141934Z
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SUMMARY:Written Testimony for House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior\, Environment\, and Related Agencies
DESCRIPTION:As in past years\, interested parties can submit written testimony to be included in the House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior\, Environment\, and Related Agencies. \nAn electronic copy of your testimony must be recieved no later than 5pm eastern on Friday\, April 24\, 2026. \nThe National Wildlife Refuge Association (NWRA) will be sending to Friends organizations suggested talking points. NWRA will request $761 million in the FY 27 budget for the National Wildlife Refuge System. \nClick for complete instructions. \nExample of testimony submitted in 2024
URL:https://coalitionofrefugefriends.com/event/written-testimony-for-house-committee-on-appropriations-subcommittee-on-interior-environment-and-related-agencies/
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260415T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260415T150000
DTSTAMP:20260418T031024
CREATED:20260406T191908Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260406T191908Z
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SUMMARY:Endowment for our Refuge's Future
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a quick start to thinking about an Endowment to help secure the future of your Refuge.  There are many details involved\, but on this webinar\, we’ll give you an outline of how to start\, and what challenges to expect. Such as: \n\nDeciding what the purpose of your Endowment would be. This will vary a lot from refuge to refuge but deserves a lot of thought.\nFinding a Foundation or other organization to maintain and invest your Endowment\nCreating a starting mailing list\, or group of founding donors\nForm a committee to deal exclusively with the Endowment and fundraising\nMaintaining records and documenting progress\nReaching goal and deciding on disbursements\n\nOur presenters were instrumental in starting the endowment at Hakalau Forest NWR HI in 2015. It is now just short of $3M and they plan to reach $3.5M by the end of this calendar year. \nPresenters \n\nSharon Scott\, Board member of Friends of Hakalau Forest NWR\, and Chair of the Endowment Committee.  Co-Founder of Hakalau Endowment\nMike Scott\, Former Board member of Friends of Hakalau Forest\, and co-founder of Hakalau Endowment.  Mike was also a USFWS endangered species biologist in Hawaii from 1974-84\, and conducted a 5-year survey of all native forests on the main islands of Hawaii\, which contributed to identifying Hakalau Forest as a native bird “hot spot”\, and helped get the Refuge established.\n\nSharon and Mike have been involved with Hakalau for over 40 years\, and still work toward protecting its species and habitats. \nSign Up!\nWe look forward to seeing you then\, \nNational Wildlife Refuge Association &\nCoalition of Refuge Friends & Advocates
URL:https://coalitionofrefugefriends.com/event/endowment-for-our-refuges-future/
CATEGORIES:Webinar
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ORGANIZER;CN="Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates (CORFA)":MAILTO:coalitionrefugefriends@gmail.com
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260426T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260426T170000
DTSTAMP:20260418T031024
CREATED:20260412T115358Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260412T115358Z
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SUMMARY:Drones Over Kuaihelani
DESCRIPTION:Join Friends of Midway Atoll for their upcoming live webinar\, Drones Over Kuaihelani\, featuring guest speaker\, biologist & drone operator Anna Vallery! She will take you behind the scenes of how cutting-edge drone technology is transforming seabird monitoring on Midway Atoll. The presentation will include a slideshow and a live Q&A session at the end! \nSave the Date – Sunday\, April 26\, 2026 \n\n11:00am Hawai’i Time\n2:00 PM Pacific Time\n5:00 PM Eastern Time\n\nDuring this webinar\, Anna will discuss: \n\nThe challenges and opportunities of working with seabirds in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands\nHow drones are being used to support monitoring efforts\nHow imagery from drones can be analyzed to count birds\, distinguish between breeding and non-breeding albatross\n\n…and more!  \nSpots are limited—reserve yours now:\nhttps://friendsofmidway.org/register-for-our-live-webinar-drones-over-kuaihelani/ \nThis is your chance to experience Midway in a whole new way—and connect more deeply with the impact you can make as a valued part of our FOMA community. \nMahalo for being part of this journey\,
URL:https://coalitionofrefugefriends.com/event/drones-over-kuaihelani/
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260428T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260428T170000
DTSTAMP:20260418T031024
CREATED:20260416T140303Z
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SUMMARY:Friends SHARE Call
DESCRIPTION:Get ready to SHARE! The next Friends SHARE Zoom call is on Tuesday\, April 28th at 4pm Eastern and we’ll be focusing on nature stores. \nOur speakers will be: \n\nJoan Van Gorp\, long-time member\, and past president of Friends of Neal Smith NWR and active participant in CORFA programs. Joan is heading up an effort to build a “nature store resource group”– we’ll let her explain it!\nSally Dery is the Merchandising Team Leader for Friends of Plum and Pilot Islands NWRs. They have a physical store (on an island!) and an online store.\nJanelle Wicks\, ED\, or Jill Bachman\, Nature Store Manager\, representing the Friends of Malheur NWR\, will describe their physical nature store and online shop. Janelle is also on our SHARE call planning team.\nMaria Montag\, President of Friends of California Condors Wild and Free\, will share their experience\, and hardships\, of experimenting with an online store. Maria is also on our SHARE call planning team.\n\nWe will also have time at the end of the call to reconvene and field any hot topics or urgent issues you may have. If you have a critical issue for the call\, that you’d like to discuss with other Friends\, or you’re looking for expertise on a specific subject\, please let us know when you RSVP and we’ll do our best to be prepared and find help! The sooner you can let us know\, the better. \nThe Zoom call is only for a member of a Friends group or their staff. Feel free to share this invite with your board members and other Friends groups. To ensure everyone can fully express themselves\, ask tough questions\, have their comments heard and respected\, and be assured that conflict will be respectful the call will not be recorded\, and we ask all participants to review and agree to our Safe Space Guidelines. \nDate: Tuesday\, April 28\, 2026 \nTime: 4:00 PM ET\, 3:00 PM CT\, 2:00 PM MT\, 1:00 PM PT \nRSVP: To coalitionrefugefriends@gmail.com by April 26th with Friends SHARE in the subject line. Register in advance to receive the zoom link. In the body of the email tell us the name of your Friends. \nWe are looking forward to getting together. \nCORFA’s Friends SHARE Team \nMike Baldwin\, Ceal Craig\, Cheryl Hart\, Joan Patterson\, Polly Sheppard\, Willem Stoeller\, Joan Van Gorp\, Kathy Woodward\, Tom Worthington\, Maria Montag\, Janelle Wicks \nP.S. We thank the National Wildlife Refuge Association for providing Zoom for the call.
URL:https://coalitionofrefugefriends.com/event/friends-share-call/
CATEGORIES:Friends SHARE
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ORGANIZER;CN="Coalition of Refuge Friends and Advocates (CORFA)":MAILTO:coalitionrefugefriends@gmail.com
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