Begun in 1958 or 1959, the Pawtuckaway Lake Improvement Association (PLIA to its friends) is a nonprofit organization created to conserve, protect, and enhance the natural resources of the water and wildlife of Pawtuckaway Lake to benefit and educate the public, including those who visit the State Park, boat launch, or Town beach.
You can read a rather folksy historical account of the lake’s history and the genesis of our organization on this website, at mr-cromptons-historical-commentary. It may contain some inaccuracies, but its colorful nature outweighs its research value, we think.
In 2013, interested members of the PLIA initiated plans to transform its existing organizational arrangement from an informal entity to one with a nonprofit incorporated structure. It was registered with the State of New Hampshire as a nonprofit corporation, Bylaws were developed, the Mission Statement was expanded, and a Board of Directors was elected at the Annual Membership Meeting in 2014.
Matters involving water quality, natural shoreline, wildlife habitat, recreational resources, safety, and natural resources are the substance of concern and activities of the Association. Through its Board of Directors and its committees, the PLIA monitors and acts upon environmental and safety issues that affect the lake; educates the public on the conservation, protection, and improvement of the welfare and interests of Pawtuckaway Lake; and collaborates with conservation commissions, planning boards, state and federal entities, land trusts, and other conservation organizations working to protect natural resources that have an impact on Pawtuckaway Lake.
For a two year period, the PLIA’s Board of Directors worked steadily toward attaining the status of a tax-exempt charitable corporation, under the leadership of our Treasurer Ed Kotowski. As of September 10, 2015, our nonprofit organization qualified for tax exemption under 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code.
This means that any and all contributions to the PLIA will qualify as deductible from income for tax purposes. The value of any donation, whether in money or property, is greater to the donor when it can be used to reduce income subject to tax under IRS rules and regulations.
In addition, and perhaps even more important for the PLIA, being tax-exempt gives us wider opportunities to apply for grants to fund conservation and improvement projects that keep Pawtuckaway a healthy sanctuary for wildlife and recreational activities. This, in turn, improves the PLIA’s ability “to educate the public on the conservation, protection, and improvement of water quality, natural shoreline, wildlife habitat, recreational resources, safety, and natural resources” (from our Mission Statement).
We hope you will consider making the PLIA one of the charitable organizations to which you make a donation as part of your regular year-end tax planning. We also hope that you already are or will become regular members of our organization, at any time of year. Visit our Membership page for further information.