Campaign for Fishtown

Campaign for Fishtown Pledge Form

Why This Campaign Now?

NEW Double-Match Challenge Opportunity
Your donation to The Campaign for Fishtown will help keep Fishtown open and safe. Right now your “Fishtown Shanty Aid” donation will be matched by our double-match challenge:

1. The Jeffris Family Foundation, of Janesville, Wisconsin, has pledged a “Fishtown Shanty Aid” match for donations designated to the rehabilitation of Carlson’s Fishery, the Village Cheese Shanty, and Fishtown’s oldest building, the Morris Shanty. Upon raising $320,000 — Fishtown Preservation will receive $160,000 from the Foundation.
2. To inspire gifts to the Jeffris “Fishtown Shanty Aid” match, an anonymous donor has offered to match to “anyone that loves Fishtown”—dollar for dollar—cumulative gifts up to $50,000 towards the rehabilitation of the three shanties.

Please click the button below and note that your donation is designated to “Fishtown Shanty Aid” or print and mail this Jeffris Fishtown pledge form to Fishtown Preservation, PO Box 721, Leland, MI 49654. For more ways to contribute click here.

The Campaign for Fishtown

It has been two years since the quiet launch of The Campaign for Fishtown in 2017. The Campaign was created to raise the funds needed to repay the final installment of the debt incurred as part of the acquisition of the Fishtown properties in 2007, rehabilitate three shanties not dealt with in our prior shanty projects in 2014, and resolve critical infrastructure and other site issues.

Fishtown Preservation is proud to announce that, on February 7, 2019, we paid the final mortgage installment for Fishtown property. Thanks to the incredible support of our donors, Fishtown now belongs to everyone, free and clear.

What lies ahead are the remaining goals of the Campaign: funding for the rehabilitation of the shanties, the resolution of infrastructure issues, and the installation of a new entryway and landscaping. Not surprisingly, in the last two years the required investment has increased. High Lake Michigan water levels and greater flow over the Leland Dam have revealed additional structural issues. The Fishtown docks require far more than a few new pilings—they need to be entirely replaced. The shanty foundations require more extensive foundation work than originally planned. Construction and materials costs continue to increase. And the need is more urgent than ever.

As a result, the project costs are now estimated at $1,600,000. If you are interested in a detailed breakdown of these costs, we will be happy to provide one. Please join us as we move forward in the final steps to rehabilitate the Fishtown that we acquired in 2007.

You can support The Campaign for Fishtown with:

• One-time gift of cash or securities
• Multi-year pledge forms:
  – Campaign for Fishtown pledge form – payable by December 31, 2021 
  – Jeffris Fishtown pledge form – payable by June 30, 2021
• For more information call Amanda Holmes at 231-256-8878 or email [email protected] 

Your investment now ensures that Fishtown Preservation can take care of Fishtown into the future. In helping to fund this project, you become part of a dedicated group of individuals, families and foundations preserving one of the Grand Traverse Region’s greatest treasures. Fishtown is a place where generations come — where the past and future are both alive.

*Payments on Jeffris pledges must be received by June 30, 2021.