OSPREY, FL (November 22, 2022) Earlier this month Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast was honored as a 2022 Impact100 SRQ grant recipient. The 663 members of Impact100 SRQ gathered on Sunday, November 6 at their Annual Celebration & Award Ceremony to hear presentations from ten nonprofit grant finalists and then voted to determine which six initiatives they would fund with grants. Conservation Foundation’s Improve Land Saved for the Benefit of People and Nature initiative was selected, and the organization received a grant in the amount of $110,500.
The impact this grant will have on Conservation Foundation’s work is both substantial and far-reaching. 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.
The Impact100 grant funds will be used to purchase equipment necessary to better access and steward the land in Conservation Foundation’s care. The new equipment will allow the organization to create a prescribed burn program, enabling them to restore habitat for species like the gopher tortoise, Florida burrowing owl, quail, and Florida scrub jay. It will also allow them to expand educational and engagement programming for children and adults, including those with mobility challenges.
“This new equipment is desperately needed to restore wetlands on the Myakka River and perform prescribed fire on lands where animals and plants depend upon fire for their existence,” says Christine P. Johnson, president of Conservation Foundation. “It will also help us connect our community to nature, restore floodplain marsh, improve water quality, and monitor more than twenty different conservation areas so that they are beautiful and functioning, now and forever. We are incredibly grateful to the members of Impact100 and truly honored to have been selected as one of this year’s recipients.”
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. Their most recent conservation success was the protection of the 191-acre Crowley Museum & Nature Center in northeastern Sarasota County. More information about land saved and community programs is available online at conservationfoundation.com.
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.