Healin' Wheels

Major gift · One wagon, end to end

One wagon. Six months of master work. $25,000.

This is the level at which a single donor underwrites a complete accessible heritage covered wagon — from raw white oak on the saw bench to a wheelchair rider boarding for the first time. The suggested giving level is $25,000, and it's a real number drawn from the workshop's actual cost of building. Below is what that number pays for, what a sponsor is recognised with, and the honest legal posture while our 501(c)(3) recognition is pending.

The rough material breakdown for one wagon.

These are working estimates from Kelly's shop ledger, rounded to the nearest hundred. They'll shift a little year to year with lumber and iron prices, but the shape is right. Nothing on this page is for sale — this is what the workshop expends to build one accessible wagon, full stop.

Materials & hardware

About a third of the build.

  • White oak — ~$3,200. Frame, bed, side rails, the rear-gate ramp. Sourced from East Texas mills whenever possible. About 600 board feet, kiln-dried, hand- selected for grain.
  • Iron & banding — ~$1,400. Bar stock for tires, brackets, kingpin, brake hardware. Forged on the shop anvil. Includes coal for the forge.
  • Leather & canvas — ~$1,800. Vegetable-tanned bench leather, harness leather, heavy canvas for the bonnet. Hand-stitched bench.
  • Accessibility hardware — ~$1,100. Two wheelchair tie-down systems (the real ADA-grade ones, not the discount ones), ramp hinges, grab handles, low-step tread.
  • Finish — ~$400. Linseed oil, beeswax, iron oxide. No urethane. The finish is a recipe.
  • Trailer & tie-down hardware — ~$700. Transport rig accessories, ratchet straps, wheel chocks for road delivery.

Materials subtotal: ~$8,600.

Labor & shop

The other two-thirds.

  • Master craftsmanship — ~$13,000.Six months of Kelly's time at a number well below what the trade is worth on the open market. This is the line where Kelly's donation of labor lives — the workshop charges itself less than market, on purpose, to make the build possible.
  • Shop overhead — ~$1,800. Six months of electricity, heat in winter, blade replacement, sandpaper, oil, rags, hardware miscellany.
  • Insurance & compliance — ~$900. Builder's insurance, accessibility audit by a third party, transport insurance for the first delivery.
  • First-ride delivery — ~$700.Hauling the wagon to the inaugural event — diesel, lodging, feed for the team.

Labor + overhead subtotal: ~$16,400.

Total: ~$25,000. Honest within a few hundred either way.

These are tokens of thanks, of nominal value, and they are provided as a courtesy. None of them is a service rendered. We'll write that distinction into your acknowledgement letter, because it matters for tax purposes once 501(c)(3) is granted.

One

The wagon dedicated in your honor.

Major-gift sponsors may suggest a wagon name — a family name, a memorial, a place, a phrase — subject to the workshop's approval. The name appears in the wagon's serial record and in the workshop's ledger for as long as the wagon rolls.

Two

A hand-burnt name on the rear spar.

Kelly burns the sponsor's name into the white oak rear spar himself, with the workshop's pyrography iron. About three inches tall, plain serif lettering, no logos. It is the one place a sponsor's name lives on the wagon itself.

Three

An invitation to the first ride.

When the wagon rolls for the first time at a real event — rodeo, parade, ranch ride — the sponsor and a guest are invited. We'll seat you on the wagon if you want to ride. If you'd rather watch, we'll hold a place at the staging area with a coffee.

Four

Real photographs. A real letter.

Mid-build, completion, and first-ride photographs, mailed. A handwritten note from Kelly with each. A printed letter for your records, signed. Sponsors are also listed on the workshop's annual report.

From phone call to first ride.

No card form on this page, no checkout button, no donor portal we don't yet have. A sponsorship at this level is a one-on-one conversation that ends in a check or wire and starts a wagon.

The steps

Six of them.

  1. A phone call. Twenty to thirty minutes with Kelly — what you have in mind, who's underwriting, what name you're considering, any timing constraints.
  2. A written one-pager from us within the week — scope, name, recognition language, build calendar, delivery target.
  3. Your review. Tax advisor, attorney, family, whichever applies. Edits welcome.
  4. A signed letter of intent. Both parties keep a copy. We do not draw funds on the letter of intent itself.
  5. Funds move by check or wire. Made out to Healin' Wheels, mailed to 7242 Wiseman Road, Midway, TX 75852, or wired with details we'll send only after the letter of intent is signed.
  6. The build begins. First raw oak goes on the bench inside thirty days. Mid-build photo at three months. First ride invitation at six.

Open the conversation

Underwrite a wagon. Put a name on the spar.

Call Kelly. The first conversation is twenty minutes. If we're a fit, you'll have a one-pager in the mail by the end of the week, and a wagon on the bench inside a month.

Call KellyEmail Kelly

+1 (936) 436-3884 · [email protected] · 7242 Wiseman Road, Midway, TX 75852