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Support the TSS and Texas Caving
THE TSS MISSION The primary mission of the TSS is the compilation and management of Texas cave and karst data in support of research, exploration, education, and conservation. THE TSS IS:
The TSS would be pleased to receive your help in many forms. CRITICAL SUPPORT: SUBMIT YOUR CAVE DATA TO TSS FOR ARCHIVING Our most important need is data/information on caves. Have you been caving? Have you found new caves, karst features, or passages? Do you have photos or videos? Fill out our Data Submissions form; give us what you know, and add links to where we can download your media. Use your phone to get a gps coordinate, and add it to the description. Fill out a (release form) -- we can hold the data private, or release it only to trusted parties. We'll contact you if we need more information, or if it turns out you (re)discovered a known cave or feature. Don't worry about how "good" your description is or isn't -- we just need you to share, so that we can better serve our mission with your help. OTHER EFFECTIVE SUPPORT OPTIONS Volunteering Our next critical need is for volunteers to help with announced and organized work days. Watch our Facebook page or subscribe to the TexasCavers mailing list for announcements. If you'd like to volunteer (as anything between sweat equity and specialized skills), contact info@texasspeleologialsurvey.org, and someone will contact you directly. . Donations of Materials When people quit caving, move away, or pass away, their cave-related belongings are lost or tossed,
or remain untended in storage. Texas caving has lost irreplaceable materials, including:
You can help preserve the history and documentation of past cave exploration by donating your unwanted caving-related materials to the TSS. Use this media release form (PDF) to make your donation to the TSS. If your materials duplicate our holdings, they will be auctioned to help defray TSS expenses (see below), and as part of a permanent TSS endowment. Financial Contributions Donations to the TSS General Fund are used to defray office expenses (maintenance, needs for organizing and cataloging existing and incoming information) involved in acquiring new data, and in maintaining and organizing existing and incoming information. All donations are tax deductible -- we are a 501(c)(3). non-profit organization. The TSS uses financial contributions:
The easiest way to donate is to use PayPal to send your contribution from your account or a credit card, in US$.
Use the button below (the PayPal email is treasurer@texasspeleologicalsurvey.org). OR you can write a check to "TSS" and send it to: The Texas Speleology Center 14045 North Green Hills Loop Austin 78737-8619 In either case, please be sure to indicate whether your donation is intended for either the General Fund (for office and archival expenses) or for the Publications Endowment Fund. In PayPal, please add a note about that at checkout. Also be sure to provide your best contact information so that you can receive a receipt as documentation of your tax-deductible contribution. Contact the TSS Treasurer if you need additional information or have questions regarding TSS financial donations, or info@texasspeleologicalsurvey.org for other types of donations. |