Denton Greenbelt Alliance
A Look at the Organization
While I am one of those people who tends to think I can do better than some people at subjects I actually put my mind to, time and age have … helped … me realize that there are some things I don’t want to put my mind to for lack of the aforementioned – time.
The reality is that I was thinking a pre-existing 501c3 organization with similar interests, could be a perfect fit for our serious efforts going forward in the Denton Greenbelt Corridor from Ray Roberts to Lewisville Lake.
The Denton Greenbelt Alliance is an organization initially formed with a Board of Directors who, according to the website, were landowners who donated land to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Their goals, as stated on the site, are to raise funds to be used for improvements along the Denton Greenbelt Corridor. Their main fundraising driver is the annual GreenFest on the Greenbelt which I can honestly say, is a pretty well-known event that generates good publicity and participation. It may well be their only means of fundraising as well?
“The Alliance serves as the legal and financial structure for the Lake Ray Roberts Equestrian Trail Association – an important committee made up of trail riders who focus on equestrian trail improvements throughout the Lake Ray Roberts Park complex. For funding and awareness, the Alliance founded GreenFest on the Greenbelt in 2011. This event celebrates outdoor family fun and takes place on the last Saturday of September each year. The Alliance now includes 1170 members.”
Alliance Website 2020
What’s that old saying? “Доверяй, но проверяй,” – Trust, but verify.
Being a 501c3 seems like a pretty open-and-shut thing. The filings of a non-profit are required to continue operation, and non-profits are (typically) subject to a degree of scrutiny that is serious enough as to laborious, and discouraging to anyone who would form a non-profit on a whim. All this adds to the attraction of a pre-existing organization in my way of thinking. But how interested are we in horse trails for this upcoming head-against-the-wall-beating? And how interested are they in the River?
BEAN COUNTING
I am no bean counter – all due respect to my bean counting friends. I have no idea what those 990 forms tell us. Do you? I will toss out a wild guess that non-profits in general, will suffer greatly in 2020 and beyond – as the overall US Economy struggles under the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic fallout.
This is where you come in! If you can translate these forms, feel free to do so. Otherwise, we will have to believe they do not contain any cautionary considerations.
The website, quoted above, “includes 1170 members” but I could not find any information on how to become a member, unless they consider businesses that contribute to the GreenFest “members” of the alliance. So there’s a simple question. And if there is a way to join the Greenbelt Coalition, how do we do that?
PUTTING YOUR BEST HOOF FORWARD
My take on the Greenbelt Alliance, in late 2020, is that it is focused primarily on the horse trails, which have also been hobbled by the Greenbelt Debacle. Of course those horse trails are also used by bikes, hikers and fly fishermen of the past – to fish, and to exercise under the canopy and through the fields filled with natural sights and sounds along the 428-380 stretch of the Corridor. Unfortunately, as you might guess, restoration of horse trails does zero to solve the problems a few yards away in the Trinity River.
It really is no surprise that the horse “industry” is a focus for the Greenbelt Alliance because the world famous “Horse Country” of Aubrey and Pilot Point butt almost right up against this stretch of the Greenbelt Corridor. Not only do horse trails exist there, but Lake Ray Roberts also has a fantastic network of horse trails that run through parts of it as well. So you can imagine, for profit and local industry, these trails have real cash value.
Find the Denton Greenbelt Alliance IRS 990 Forms HERE
Thanks again for reading! Perhaps you already knew all this? I sure didn’t. We will need help in determining whether the Alliance is our best option, or if the less traveled waterway – creating a new organization with a different focus – is in the future. Knowing how those 990’s shape up would help, as would knowing how to be a member of the Alliance. Be sure to hit ALL the links in this article! They lead to the details I am finding elsewhere.
Category: Causes, Science and Environmental, Texas Water Conservation
