By: Jessica Warren
Back in 2022 and 2023, we were incredibly fortunate to have many supporters who chose to give monthly. At the time, those monthly gifts were tied to our annual campaigns, so when a campaign ended, the monthly donations quietly ended too.
Some of our most loyal supporters noticed right away. They reached out and said, “Hey, my donation isn’t being charged,” and promptly set it back up. Others didn’t realize until they received their annual giving statement and were surprised to see their total was much lower than expected. Their monthly gifts had stopped without them knowing.
That experience reinforced just how important, and truly powerful, monthly giving really is.
Monthly giving allows supporters to spread their generosity across the entire year, making it easier to give in a way that fits their budget. For us, it does something just as important: it helps us plan. Tour and rental revenue is wonderful, but we don’t have a crystal ball that tells us how many visitors will walk through our doors next month. Our monthly donors, the steady eddies, give us something we can count on.
Quite literally, they help keep the lights on.
Monthly giving puts you in control. Right now, we have Preservation Partners giving $5 a month (less than I pay for my latte at the local coffee shop!) and others supporting $200 a month. Every level matters. Every dollar plays a role.
In the fall of 2025, we reimagined our monthly giving program and gave it a name that truly reflects what it means to us: Preservation Partners. Because that’s exactly what these donors are to us, partners in ensuring the long-term success of the Historic RailPark. They help cover the heat bill in the winter, the cooling bill in the summer, and all the everyday costs that make everything else possible.
Over the coming months, I’ll be highlighting our Preservation Partners and sharing why they choose to support the RailPark monthly. Their stories are inspiring, and I hope you’ll see yourself in them, and maybe even be highlighted soon.
Yes, we need support for campaigns and special projects, but none of that matters if we can’t keep the doors open.
I’m proud to be a Preservation Partner myself, and I hope you’ll consider joining me. Become a Preservation Partner today and help keep the RailPark moving forward, month after month.
