Hello Everyone
I am here to address this post from live4muleys. I work with DSC New Mexico and we have worked hard over the past several years to gain the confidence in our members who might consider supporting our organization. With that being said, we agree our communication of what our organization is all about and what we have done the past several years has been pretty lack luster. We are currently working on getting out all the information posted to our website of all the contributions and support that DSC New Mexico has given in the past several years. This information is now up on our website and future emails about those contributions will be arriving to all our member’s emails in the future.
We are fortunate to have a former Game Commissioner on our side and during his time as Commissioner created many contacts in NMDGF as well as in the Legislature. With his contacts in the NMDGF and the Legislature, he is able to give them a call and have a personal conversation with them about certain issues. That is why you have not seen anyone at the Legislature. When you have contacts sometimes it is better to call those individuals personally, they tend to give you their attention and listen a little better than on the floor.
We agree we needed to have a bigger presence especially at the Game Commission meetings. You will see a DSC New Mexico representative at each and every Game Commission meeting in the future, whether it be in person or via the internet. We will have prepared statements about topics at that particular meeting. The New Mexico Council of Outfitters and Guides are an organization that DSC New Mexico works with and have had discussions about certain issues with them including the trapping ban and coyote contests. We think that they were vigilant and spoke and fought those issues for all New Mexicans and their organizations including DSC New Mexico very well. Although it was probably futile at the time because they banned them anyway. Which we knew was basically going to happen before all public comments were heard because of the Legislative contacts that our former Game Commissioner had already contacted and created in the past. We were very limited in manpower and resources at that time. We were a young chapter of the Dallas Safari Club trying to get our feet on the ground.
Dallas Safari Club and the NRA work hand in hand on the National level. We were ecstatic to know that the biggest 2nd Amendment/Firearm Organization in the Nation was fighting for our rights here in New Mexico. Again, through contacts in the Legislature we voiced our concerns and thoughts to those individuals. In our current New Mexico Government, it was well known that some of those bills were going to pass no matter what. We voiced our concerns through those contacts that had to vote on the bills personally and some of the bills passed but not all of them. I’d like to think maybe we had something to do with swaying a vote or two or three for those bills not to pass.
We have done a few Giveaways prior to 2023, but nothing like in 2023. We are fortunate to have great support and Outfitters that are willing to help DSC New Mexico with some great discounts for some of these hunts that we giveaway. Unless you have really worked with a nonprofit organization and know how they acquire most of these hunts, you might not understand that not all of these hunts are fully donated. As a matter of fact, most of them DSC New Mexico has to pay for, most at a discount. So, there is a cost associated with every giveaway we have done this year. None of the hunts that were given away this year were fully donated nor did every giveaway sell out. There is also the cost of those pesky credit card fees that are associated with every transaction. Another expense is the email company at $650 a month. Our email list is pretty big with members from all over the Nation.
Due to several different factors the $486,000 that live4muleys mentions is not an accurate amount of dollars that DSC New Mexico actually gets to put in the bank. That figure is calculated out to that amount if every single entry was at the full price of contribution for 1 entry. Most of our entry contributions are gained through our entry bundles, which lowers the amount of each entry. It is hard to predict exactly how much each giveaway will make, due to these different scenarios.
Each person that participates in our giveaways, then becomes a DSC New Mexico Trailhead Member. If you look on our website, we do not have a charged membership fee. The membership comes with your support to DSC New Mexico. You can also visit our website and become a Trailhead Member for free.
The Gala does do well Thanks to all our Sponsors and Members that attend the Gala. But there is a cost to do a Gala like DSC New Mexico’s. Remember not all hunts are fully donated and most raffle items have to be purchased. That doesn’t include the cost of the banquet hall and catering. This year we charged $100 per single entry or $175 dollars per couple to attend the Gala. We make $1 on each single entry to better understand what it costs per meal are and that does not include the room and all the audio-visual stuff needed to put on the Gala. We are working on a plan to hopefully get better discounts and more fully donated hunts and raffle items. Hopefully this works out.
Last, we would like to say Thank You for having concern about what DSC New Mexico is doing. You wouldn’t be right if you don’t question some stuff in life. We agree we need a better presence in New Mexico. We are working on that, and you will see more of us in 2024 that is for sure. We are currently in talks with a couple of individuals at the National Forest Service about future New Mexico wildlife/habitat restoration projects where DSC New Mexico has committed to making a substantial contribution to make that happen.
Here are a few links to our website for some of the information discussed here.
www.dscnewmexico.com
www.dscnewmexico.com/contributionstoconservation
DSC Trailhead Membership | DSC New Mexico
After reading this post and visiting our website, we hope everyone has a better understanding of what DSC New Mexico is trying to accomplish and find it in their hearts to support the organization and help us make a difference in New Mexico.
Thank You for time and attention regarding this post!
Dallas Safari Club New Mexico – 501c3 nonprofit organization