OSPREY, FL (October 19, 2022) Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast is honored to be chosen as one of this year’s Impact100 SRQ top ten grant finalists. Grant recipients will be announced on Sunday, November 6, at the Impact100 SRQ Annual Celebration and Award Ceremony. Six of the ten finalists will receive grants in the amount of $110,500. If selected, Conservation Foundation will utilize the grant funds to purchase equipment necessary to better access and steward the land in their care.
“Conserving land is just the beginning,” says Christine P. Johnson, president of Conservation Foundation. “We also need to ensure that the land we protect is managed well so that plants, animals, and people can enjoy it. If selected to receive one of this year’s Impact100 grants, we will be able to more effectively and efficiently care for the land we’re working so very hard to protect.”
Conservation Foundation has quickened the pace of land conservation in Southwest Florida since their 2003 inception, permanently protecting over 19,100 acres across fifty-four properties. This includes almost 7,000 acres within the Southwest Florida Wildlife Corridor, a land conservation initiative stretching from south Tampa Bay to the Everglades and connecting to the more well-known Florida Wildlife Corridor.
As an accredited land trust, Conservation Foundation’s work benefits both people and nature by safeguarding our communities, natural areas, and wildlife for generations to come. The critical lands they protect help capture polluting gases, provide vital habitats for plants and animals, act as natural buffers along coasts and riverbeds, and absorb rainfall from intense storms. Their work also increases people’s access to nature and with it all the benefits of healthy lands, such as clean water, fresh air, nutritious food, and improved mental and physical health.
If awarded one of the Impact100 SRQ grants, Conservation Foundation will purchase equipment to restore, manage, and monitor twenty-four conservation properties totaling more than 3,000 acres. Specifically, the equipment will be employed to restore wetlands on the Myakka River, perform prescribed fire on lands where animals and plants depend upon fire for their existence, restore floodplain marsh, improve water quality, and monitor all twenty-four conservation areas so that they are beautiful and functioning, now and forever.
About Conservation Foundation
Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast protects land and water in Southwest Florida for the benefit of people and nature. Working with landowners, businesses, and government, Conservation Foundation saves land forever, protecting those special places that make this region extraordinary. A nationally accredited land trust, Conservation Foundation purchases natural areas, holds voluntary land protection agreements, and educates for responsible land and water stewardship in Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier Counties. Learn more and join in their mission at conservationfoundation.com.
About Impact100 SRQ
Impact100 SRQ, a 501 (c)(3) organization, is one of more than sixty chapters worldwide and joins its sister chapters in embracing the local collective giving model. Formed in 2018, Impact100 SRQ brings together a diverse group of women that annually fund transformational grants to local nonprofits in both Sarasota and Manatee Counties. The model is simple. At least 100 women each give a $1,000 tax-deductible donation, and together they collectively award grants in increments of at least $100,000 to local nonprofits in five focus areas: Arts & Culture, Education, Environment & Recreation, Family and Health & Wellness. Each member’s annual donation strengthens the power of giving and funds the innovative projects that make a high “Impact” and sustainable difference in our community.