“For me, it’s so important to have a conservancy in a community like Lancaster because once land is developed into something like apartments, single-family homes, a hotel or commercial buildings, that land can never be developed into a peaceful nature preserve with trails for people to enjoy. Everybody benefits from a conservancy,” said Sandy Cross.
Sandy and Gary Cross (Photo courtesy of Sandy and Gary Cross)
Back in 2021, Gary and Sandy Cross established the Cross Family Fund and made a generous gift for the Climbers Run Barn (now the Russo Family Foundation Barn & Education Center) to support Lancaster Conservancy while sharing with their family two values that are important to them – conservation and philanthropy.
“Sandy has a favorite saying that she says constantly: ‘Everything I have I was given, so I am going to give it back to the community.’ And she has,” said Gary Cross.
When Lancaster Conservancy saves natural lands, it makes a promise that those acres of forest, meadow, or wetland will be cared for and protected, forever. To keep that promise now and far into the future, the Conservancy looks to continuously strengthen its endowment. An endowment is a pool of funds that is invested and set aside so that the original assets grow over time. A percentage of the income from that investment then becomes available annually for the Conservancy to use towards our mission, while the endowed funds themselves stay invested, are never spent, and continue to grow. By choosing to contribute to the Conservancy’s endowment, you are providing a permanent annual investment in our work.
Family Named Endowment Funds, which can also be named for businesses, foundations, or in honor or memory of individuals, are one way dedicated supporters can help strengthen the Conservancy’s endowment as we pursue our mission as a land trust in perpetuity. Family Named Endowment Funds continue to grow over time and are recognized each year in the Conservancy’s annual report.
“There is a permanence in what supporters like Gary and Sandy Cross have established with the creation of their family fund, and that permanence is reflected in the work their endowment fund will support every year, in perpetuity,” said Kelly Snavely, Vice President of Development and Marketing for the Conservancy.
Sandy has loved the outdoors since she was little and went for walks with her family. When she worked as a flight attendant, she would seek out parks and natural places in the cities to which she traveled. Gary developed an appreciation for nature when he and Sandy built a home on an island in South Carolina that was designed as a “nature island,” as he described it. Its focal point was a nature center, and Gary became involved with the nature center as a volunteer monitoring bluebird boxes. The Crosses were impressed with how that nature center connected both children and adults with the outdoors and sparked a love of nature in others. That was one of the reasons they were motivated to support the Lancaster Conservancy with their gift to Climbers Run and to establish their Family Named Endowment Fund in order to support the Conservancy in its efforts to connect the community with nature.
Elementary school students visit Climbers Run Nature Center (Photo by Peggy Eppig)
“I think not only educating the school children who come to the Climbers Run Nature Center, but the opportunity the adults have to learn about the fauna and the flora, the wildlife, the trails, the streams and what the streams afford, I just think the whole adult community and the young people can benefit from the Conservancy,” Sandy shared. “Recently, I opened one of the Conservancy’s brochures and I was looking at all the little dots along the Susquehanna and inland as well, going over into York County… and I thought, oh my goodness, you’ve got over 50 nature preserves. There are opportunities for all those people living in all those different locales to go on a trail within half an hour of where they live, so they can escape to nature when they need it. In today’s world we are asked to do more with less time, so we need that peaceful quietness and rest that nature affords us.”
Sandy and Gary think about the present benefits of conservation, but also the need for conservation and places to recreate outdoors and learn about nature for upcoming generations. Seeing how their children and grandchildren are falling in love with nature, they are hopeful about the future of conservation.
“I think the young people are much more aware of nature, conservancy, the natural world than our generation ever was, so that gives me hope for the future. We have four children, and they all love nature, they love being out in nature, they’d rather be outside than inside. They recycle everything. They take care of the grounds where they live. They take care of the environment so much better than we ever did. I think the younger generation is much more attuned to supporting the environment,” said Sandy.
“That’s why we’re excited because we really do feel that the Cross Family Endowment Fund is going to be continually supported while we’re living by our children but even after we pass away, it’ll be supported not only by our children but our grandchildren,” Gary added. “Fortunately, our children and the grandchildren are very involved with nature, and they have made contributions to the Cross Family Endowment Fund already, and there’s no doubt in my mind that that will continue.”
For questions about contributing to the Conservancy’s endowment or to set up a Family Named Endowment Fund please reach out to Kelly Snavely, Vice President of Development & Marketing, at (717) 392-7891 x207 or ksnavely@lancasterconservancy.org.