HOWELL, Mich. (WXYZ) — Last week, we brought you the story of the financial struggles that plagued the Howell Nature Center after donations drastically decreased. After our story aired, the nonprofit says they have raised $90,000 of their $100,000 end-of-year goal.
On Thursday, we shared the story of how the perfect storm of rising costs, decreasing donations and less schools and groups taking field trips to the nature center left the organization struggling to retain staff and keep programs open.
They closed their Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic that takes in 2,000 injured animals a year in October due to the strain. By Friday, the nonprofit saw a significant increase in donations.
Watch our previous report about the Howell Nature Center's financial strain below:
“Friday alone brought in $48,000... I still get chills just saying that right now," Howell Nature Center CEO Tina Bruce said. “And it took 824 people to get us there.”
Hundreds of donations later, the nonprofit is now just $10,000 shy of their end-of-year goal.
"I left with like a sense of hope," Bruce said. “In this case, it’s a perfect example of every little bit makes a huge difference."
Bruce says this gets them out of their financial hole, but they still have a long way to go to make sure they are never in this type of situation again. The Howell community says they are not surprised that everyone came together to support the nonprofit.
“That it happened that quickly, that just shows how important community is and how powerful community is," Howell business owner Lauren Deaven said.
As a thank you, the nature center is opening to the public Saturday with no admission fees. They are now looking at rehiring staff and getting critical operations back up and running. The Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic will reopen by the end of this week.
You can continue supporting the Howell Nature Center by donating on their website or checking out some of their events like their annual Christmas tree sale that runs daily starting Nov. 29.
