The Many Layers of Conservation Funding

From a land conservation perspective, the Wolf River Conservancy punches above its weight class (as they say in boxing). This is in large part due to volunteers and donors that enable Conservancy staff to broaden our impact. Yet even with hardworking staff and volunteers, the need for land protection and land stewardship greatly outweighs our abilities.

Donors ensure that our meaningful conservation work is lasting, but priority projects still lack funding. This is where grant funding comes into play. Grant funding plays an integral role in accomplishing key land acquisitions. Our recent success of protecting the #1 property had two grants and an enlarged partnership with Ducks Unlimited to get that project across the glorious finish line. Land stewardship happens every day at Wolf River Conservancy, but to achieve landscape scale improvements additional grants are needed. Every staff member has played a part in crafting grant applications. Recently, the competition nationwide has become exponentially tougher. With fewer public grants available but an increasing number of applicants, grant awards are getting tougher to obtain. As the title of this article indicates, peeling the many layers of conservation funding is complex. However, we do not shed a tear when we receive rejection letters from unsuccessful grant applications. Instead, the Conservancy puts our head down and enacts our yearly plan of conservation to fulfill our strategic plan’s goals.  

Grants come from family foundations, corporate foundations, directly from businesses, and individuals. If you would like to help the Conservancy continue to increase the pace of land conservation and land restoration, consider donating or introducing us to your friends, coworkers, bosses, etc. With sustained giving (yes, volunteerism counts), the Wolf River Conservancy can continue to grow our acres protected and restored.