Urban legend has it that the flit of a butterfly wing can cause a tornado on the other side of the planet. And, while science may have a thing or two to tell us about that legend’s validity, when one labors in the nonprofit world, like we do here at MTF, one has the privilege of a front row seat to a stage upon which small actions yield colossal impacts.
This month, the 2025 MTF budget was polished and memorialized. Anybody from the nonprofit sector can affirm that budgeting is something of an art in our world. There is very little predictability when it comes to the expenses side of the column, and even less when it comes to the revenue (read: donations) side. For instance, last year, MTF saw two major, unexpected repair bills for equipment critical to summer projects underway. And, as is always the case, financial markets, politics, grant competition, attitudes about charitable giving, and so on, seem to blow with the wind making income projection a moving target.
Enter the butterfly effect: it is because nearly one thousand smaller donations stack up each year that MTF has the capacity to weather unforeseen gusts, soar on windfalls and continue the mission to build, maintain and protect trails. It is the small shimmies of many donor wings that create an updraft which keeps MTF – and the trails we care for – aloft year after year.
On behalf of the board of directors, crew and trail lovers, I thank our donors, big and small, for their faith in this organization.
