Fundraising Strategy & Donor Outreach Toolkit

UNC Asheville’s 45-acre urban forest has been a cherished community resource and wildlife habitat for decades. It’s now under threat of development, despite its status as one of the last remaining urban forests in Asheville. The university plans to replace the forest with a 5,000 seat soccer stadium, market rate housing and retail. The development would indelibly alter the adjacent neighborhoods due to increased traffic, noise and light pollution. In September 2025 our county (Buncombe County) experienced the loss of or damage to 40% of its trees due to Hurricane Helene. This estimate doesn't even cover the loss of trees within urban settings such as the city of Asheville, due to difficulty assessing urban areas. It's estimated that nearly 822,000 acres of forest were damaged or destroyed across Western North Carolina due to storm Helene. The City of Asheville had already sustained an estimated 6.4% loss of its canopy between 2008 and 2018 — a loss of 891 acres of trees according to the Urban Tree Canopy Study. Tree cover also affects disaster resilience and trees play a vital role in our stormwater system. This 45-acre mature urban forest absorbs rainwater, provides carbon sequestration and lowers our heat island index. We are a small but mighty group of organizers, most of whom work full time, fighting to save this forest from destruction and replacing it with impervious surface that will be ecologically devastating to the area. We are seeking pro bono assistance with fundraising.

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