Supporting Grassroots Projects in Michigan’s Saginaw Bay

Challenges

• Impact the quality of life in local communities
• Support local projects that protect natural resources and strengthen economies

Solutions

The largest watershed in Michigan, Saginaw Bay is located between the thumb and forefinger of Michigan’s “mitten” on the state’s eastern boundary with Lake Huron. The watershed includes more than 7,000 miles of rivers and streams and 175 inland lakes. It is home to more than 90 fish species and is a path for migrating songbirds and waterfowl travelling along the Mississippi Flyway. It’s also home to 1.4 million people and to many agricultural and industrial resources that drive Michigan’s economy.

“We understand that investors want to see great returns, and by connecting Dow with a range of people, resources, organizations and programs at the grassroots level, we’re making their investment go further and creating a real difference in all facets of the quality of life in the region, and in Saginaw Bay.”

—Michael Kelly, Director, Great Lakes Office and Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network, The Conservation Fund

Dow and The Conservation Fund's partnership helps remove dams to improve passage for spawning fish and recreational   kayakers and canoers. Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District.

Learn More

• 2020 Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network Annual Report

Bringing the Outdoors Online and Using Technology for Good

Challenges

• Use technology as a tool to help people explore some of the most iconic and historically significant landscapes in our country.
• Engage new audiences by giving them opportunities to experience the great outdoors that they otherwise might not have.
• Bring awareness to the importance of land conservation in America.

Solutions

The Conservation Fund and its local partners teamed up with Google Maps to create virtual tours of some of America’s most important places—its parks, waterways and even battlefields. Our staff borrowed and set out with Trekker, a 4-foot-tall, 40-pound camera and backpack, that’s part of Google’s project to create a digital reflection of the world for people to explore and enjoy. Now, these spectacular places are online in Street View in Google Maps for the world to see.

“Much like Google, we are innovators. We find creative ways to engage people in conservation, and this partnership with Google is a brilliant illustration of that. Trekker expeditions spark curiosity, and give people all across the globe a view of the world they may never get to see in person. These treks will inspire a new generation to discover the outdoors and will foster a compassionate, respectful relationship with the natural world.”

—Jazmin Varela, Information Manager, Strategic Conservation Planning, The Conservation Fund

Results

The result is a virtual tour of 14 sites across the country where The Conservation Fund played a role in permanent protection. Some of these sites include:

Food for Thought: C&S Wholesale Grocers Makes a Commitment to the Environment

Chances are, you’re a customer of C&S Wholesale Grocers, and you just might not know it. As the largest wholesale grocery supply company in the U.S., C&S supplies a supermarket near you with products ranging from seafood to soap. While C&S is making a big impact inside on store shelves, it is also making an impact outdoors by working with The Conservation Fund to address climate change and its forest supply chain by making investments in forests that result in healthy, resilient communities.

Challenges

• Address the company’s environmental impact in a way that produces tangible results.
• Create a more sustainable forest-based supply chain.
• Enhance the communities where the company’s employees live.

Solutions

For more than a decade, C&S has partnered with the Fund to protect and restore forests in an effort to address climate change, create habitat for wildlife, engage employees and enhance communities. The company recently announced it would commit to a more sustainable forest-based supply chain. While C&S doesn’t use a lot of paper or make paper-based products or packaging, C&S transports large quantities of food and goods to its network of retailers across the country. Nearly everything it ships to a grocery store near you is stacked on wood pallets.

C&S worked with The Conservation Fund to measure its “forest footprint” for those pallets, and committed to offset a portion of that use by protecting responsibly managed forests. The timber sustainably harvested from these forests will help offset approximately 20,000 wood pallets. 

“The willingness of C&S to forge new ground with forests demonstrates the company’s leadership and commitment to a sustainable forest supply chain. C&S has made a significant and lasting impact in the protection and restoration of forests across America, especially in states where it has operations and employees.”

—Jena Thompson Meredith, Vice President, Business Partnerships, The Conservation Fund

C&S Wholesale Grocers’ commits to a more sustainable forest-supply chain with the ongoing conservation of Success Pond Forest. Located within the Mahoosuc Gateway Initiative, Success Pond is part of a broader conservation effort of 30,000 acres that includes protection of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in New Hampshire’s North Country region, which is considered a scenic gateway between Maine and New Hampshire. Photo by John Van Hoesen.

 

Looking Forward

At C&S Wholesale Grocers, we make it a priority to give back in ways that make our employees proud and our communities stronger. We recognize that protecting the environment is a key area where we can make a meaningful difference. Our team is honored by the results we have achieved with The Conservation Fund over the past decade. Together with the Fund, our employees and business partners, we look forward to developing new ways to make lasting, positive impacts for conservation and communities across the U.S.”

—Gina Goff, Senior Director of Community Involvement at C&S Wholesale Grocers

 

Would you like to help your company offset its carbon footprint? 

Contact Jena Thompson Meredith, Vice President of Business Partnerships, to find out how you can become a Go Zero partner.

Learn More

• Press Release: C&S Wholesale Grocers and U-Haul Announce Commitments to Protect Forests and Fiber Supply Chains
• Press Release: "C&S Wholesale Grocers Renews Climate Commitment, Plants 46,000 Trees With The Conservation Fund’s Go Zero^® Program"
• Blog Post: Five Reasons March Is The Perfect Month
• Visit C&S Wholesale Grocer's website
• Learn more about the Fund’s Business Partnerships 

Transporting Nutrition to Communities in Need

The Conservation Fund’s tailored approach to conservation gives us the flexibility to work on our partners’ priorities. Our long- standing partnership with CSX demonstrates how we develop unique strategies to help businesses achieve sustainability and corporate social responsibility goals.

Challenges

• Connect CSX with local organizations to make the greatest impact in the places that need it most.
• Educate youth about their connection to nature and encourage them to live greener lives.
• Help communities along the CSX network that have little access to fresh, healthy food.

Solutions

A partner since 2007, CSX and The Conservation Fund created a small grants program for transporting healthy food, aimed at improving local transportation and distribution of fresh produce, perishable food to communities in need across 22 states. As CSX efficiently transports agricultural products across its network, and The Conservation Fund protects the natural resources that food and fiber depend upon, the joining of forces to fill a gap in the local freight distribution of healthy food seemed a perfect pairing. In conjunction with the grant program, CSX also created a more targeted program in West Virginia that has provided increased access and funding for healthy foods for hundreds of at-risk children and families living below the poverty line in some of the state’s lowest income counties.

“With CSX’s partnership, we’re not only helping to connect America's families to healthy, fresh fruit and produce, but we’re also supporting our local farmers and working farms. The Fund works in communities across the country with partners like CSX to fulfill their conservation priorities through creative initiatives that protect and enhance landscapes where Americans work, play and experience our natural heritage.”

In an effort to help reconnect children with nature, The Conservation Fund and CSX created a school curriculum unit that teaches kids about the environment, math, science and economics through real-world freight transportation scenarios. CSX has also helped restore critical wildlife habitat at two national wildlife refuges through the donation of more than 13,000 trees.

            
Over 23 million Americans have limited access to fresh food, due in part to an inability for the people growing the food to get their product to market. We're working with transportation leader CSX to bring fresh, healthy food to the places that need it most. Photo by Ezra Gregg.

Results

More than 23 million Americans across the country have limited or no access to fresh produce, dairy, meats and seafood. One of the contributors to these so-called “food deserts” is the lack of local freight infrastructure to distribute fresh food to markets. The Grant Program for Transporting Healthy Food offers grants up to $10,000 to local government and nonprofit entities that distribute fresh, local foods in 22 states where CSX operates. These grants are used to address gaps in local food distribution by providing funds to enhance delivery capabilities with support for a range of activities related to transportation, such as:

• acquiring refrigerated vehicles for direct delivery to markets; 
• financing “veggie vans” to bring fresh food to isolated communities;
• providing better access to food hubs or other sites where produce, dairy, seafood and meats can be stored safely for distribution; and
• purchasing produce boxes and cold storage bins to keep unsold food fresh for the next day’s farmers market or wholesale purchase.

Since the program’s establishment in 2014, grant funding is projected to enable recipient organizations to collectively serve an additional 150,000 families with more than nine million pounds of food and increase the number of meals provided by 4.5 million.  

In West Virginia, CSX and The Conservation Fund worked with the West Virginia Extension and Mingo County Diabetes Coalition to provide coupons and vouchers to thousands of children and families to help make locally-grown fresh foods more convenient for purchase, and give them hands-on training on how to cook, store and prepare seasonal fruits and vegetables. The West Virginia program has also offered financial assistance for mobile and school-based farmers markets, as well as classes on vendor recruitment, customer service and basic accounting to assist with the long-term viability of the farmers markets.

“The Conservation Fund’s trusted relationships with communities and proven experience in conservation have helped our company make a positive difference in support of the communities we serve. We’re honored to work with the Fund and excited by the success we’ve seen in our programs together to bring healthy foods to local communities.”

Looking Forward

The health of our children is one of our nation’s most pressing issues. This partnership is evolving and continues to draws on the strengths of both CSX and The Conservation Fund to address the systematic barriers to access healthy food for families by focusing on capacity building, economic development and access to financing, community planning, preservation of natural resources important to farmers, public health and science and technology.

Video: Connecting Food and Families in West Virginia

Setting big goals, taking action, creating a legacy

As an industry leader in environmental sustainability, Dell is committed to bringing real change that benefits people and the planet. The Conservation Fund’s unique ability to use market-based approaches to conservation made us an ideal partner when the company sought business-minded solutions for its ambitious sustainability efforts. Together, we are inviting Dell’s customers and employees to join us in creating a Legacy of Good to improve our environment and strengthen communities.

Challenges

• Invite customers to join Dell in decreasing the environmental footprint of their IT equipment.
• Plant trees and protect forests that benefit our climate, clean the air we breathe, filter the water we drink, provide habitat for wildlife and deliver benefits to our communities and our economy.

Solutions

In 2007, Dell and The Conservation Fund launched the Plant a Tree program to engage customers in addressing two of the greatest environmental challenges of our time: habitat loss and climate change. Dell created a convenient way for its commercial customers and individual consumers to add a small payment (just $2 for a laptop) to their order. These donations help The Conservation Fund to protect forests in Northern California and plant trees in national wildlife refuges across the country.

Dell has also led multiple marketing initiatives to increase awareness and engage all people, not just customers, to join in. It’s made gifts of trees on behalf of employees and customers, encouraging each of us to join a broader coalition of champions working to protect and restore America’s forests. As a result, hundreds of thousands of trees have sprouted at wildlife refuges across Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland and Texas that will restore habitat for ocelot, black bear and eagle and will help control flooding.

“Our partnership with Dell merges smart conservation with innovation, producing measurable results that make a lasting difference. Dell’s commitment to engaging its employees and customers in its vision for progress and the environment is nothing short of inspiring.”

—Larry Selzer, President and CEO, The Conservation Fund

Results

All told, support from Dell and its customers has resulted in more than one million trees planted.

In Louisiana’s Upper Ouachita National Wildlife Refuge, Dell-sponsored trees are restoring areas vital to the survival of the Louisiana black bear. The bear was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1992, but thanks to vast support for restoration from public and private leaders including Dell, the bear was removed from the list in 2016. In addition to supporting habitat for wildlife, restored forestlands can act as sponges, soaking up rising waters and protecting downstream communities from flooding.

In Kansas, Dell is a partner in the Fund’s ongoing efforts to restore more than 1,400 acres of native oak and hickory trees at Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge. Today, the budding forests are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for migratory birds including the yellow-breasted chat and indigo bunting. They are open to the public for wildlife-dependent recreational uses.

Dell also supports The Conservation Fund’s Garcia River, Big River and Salmon Creek forests in the coastal redwood region of Northern California. Here, we are implementing sustainable forest management practices that keep these forests financially viable and environmentally healthy. Through changes like light touch harvesting and widening impaired riverfront buffers, we have improved water quality and habitat for coho salmon and steelhead trout and habitat for spotted owl. Dell’s support of improved forest management here will trap more than 8,700 tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of almost 21 million miles driven by an average passenger vehicle.

“Now more than ever, it’s not enough to just do less harm. At Dell, we’re looking for ways to use technology to build a lasting legacy—to drive more “good” through everything we do. Our efforts to protect and restore forests are an important part of that: since we began working with The Conservation Fund in 2007, Dell employees and customers have helped us plant more than one million trees—trees that benefit our climate, restore habitats and support green entrepreneurs.”

—David Lear, VP Sustainability at Dell

Looking Forward

Since the start of our partnership, Dell’s environmental initiatives have evolved tremendously. Today, our work complements Dell’s 2020 Legacy of Good plan, which outlines Dell’s commitment to doing 10 times as much good as the footprint that Dell is leaving behind.

Munchery – What’s for dinner? San Francisco-based Munchery delivers wholesome prepared dinners from top local chefs throughout the Seattle and Bay Area. To make sure your filet of fresh fish is not just sustainably caught, but also sustainably brought, Go Zero plant trees to offset every delivery. Yum!

“We all work and live in the same community, starting with our employees and chefs, to the network of purveyors and local farms we source our ingredients from, and of course our customers. We owe it to ourselves to build a company with a long lasting legacy we all can be proud of.”

— Tri Tran and Conrad Chu, Co-founders, Munchery

Learn More

Munchery Wants To Take a Bite Out Of The Food Delivery Business. October 19, 2013.

U-Haul, the largest do-it-yourself moving company in North America, wanted to give its customers renting equipment at more than 21,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada and on uhaul.com a simple way to make their move a little bit greener. Beginning in 2007, the company partnered with The Conservation Fund to offer customers a chance to donate $3, $5 or $10 at checkout to plant trees and offset their moving-related emissions.

“Since 2007, our partnership with U-Haul has served as a model for corporate social responsibility programs aimed at engaging customers and inspiring employees, and it’s rooted in a continued commitment by U-Haul and its customers to conservation and community.”

—Jena Thompson Meredith, Vice President, Business Partnerships 

Overwhelmingly, customers choose to give back: more than 1.7 million U-Haul customers have elected to offset their emissions, raising over $6 million to plant 756,000 native trees on behalf of The Conservation Fund and National Wildlife Refuges nationwide. So far, U-Haul donations have restored more than 1,900 acres of forest—that’s the size of 1,440 football fields—or two of New York’s Central Park. Over the next 100 years those trees will trap an estimated 448,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide.

Donations have also helped to protect working forests along California’s north coast, including Garcia, Big River and Salmon Creek forests in Mendocino County.
 

I am extremely proud of the partnership U-Haul company has shared with The Conservation Fund over the past decade. The Conservation Fund has enabled our moving customers to offset carbon emissions from their move, enhance the beauty of the landscape they see during their move and have an overall positive impact on the environment while pursuing the dreams that moving allows.”

—JT Taylor, President of U-Haul International

Tree planting at Rouge Park in Detroit. Photo by Ivan LaBianca.In 2013, U-Haul also began supporting urban restoration, starting with Rouge Park in Detroit where 1,600 trees were planted over 2 acres. The plantings were done in partnership with Greening of Detroit as well as volunteers from Quicken Loans and CSX.  To support green job creation, we also launched the Growing Detroit’s Green Economy Fund which is making small grants to Detroit organizations that support entrepreneurs who use natural resources responsibly.

Following the success in Detroit, in 2014 U-Haul pledged $375,000 over three years to our Parks With Purpose program in Atlanta. The company’s support has helped create Lindsay Street Park, the first park in the English Avenue neighborhood of downtown Atlanta, as well as Vine City Park and Boone Park West. These parks will bring cleaner air and water, safer places to play and more job opportunities to an underserved neighborhood. And the establishment of the Growing Atlanta’s Green Economy Fund, funded by U-Haul, is building long-term sustainable solutions for at-risk populations through grants to green or entrepreneurial programs working in some of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods.

In 2017, U-Haul began expanding its urban restoration efforts to additional cities:

• In the Marlborough community of Kansas City, Missouri, U-Haul is helping develop public green space around a wetland basin built by the city, which will include community gathering space, playground areas, an outdoor amphitheater, recreational opportunities and native gardens, all designed with extensive input from the community. Support from U-Haul also provides workforce training opportunities for residents and will generate additional economic investment within walking distance from the green space.

• U-Haul and The Conservation Fund are supporting the efforts of Pogo Park, a grassroots community development corporation working in Richmond, California’s tough, inner-city Iron Triangle neighborhood, to transform broken and neglected local parks into safe, green and vibrant public spaces. U-Haul is providing support for the expansion of Pogo Park’s Harbour-8 Park on the Richmond Greenway.

• As part of a two-year commitment to support urban conservation and green job creation in Chicago, U-Haul and The Conservation Fund have teamed up with Space to Grow, a program of Healthy Schools Campaign and Openlands, to transform schoolyards from gray to green, starting with Nathan S. Davis Elementary School in the Brighton Park neighborhood. These improved schoolyards benefit the entire community by providing beautiful and functional spaces to play, learn and be outside. The schoolyards also use special design elements to help reduce neighborhood flooding.

In its home state of Arizona, U-Haul designated a portion of customer donations to the Upper Granite Creek Aspen Restoration Project in Prescott National Forest. This collaboration with the National Forest Foundation is helping reduce the threat of wildfires by hand-thinning 150 acres of aspen and surrounding pine forests. The project also improves trail conditions to minimize erosion and enhance recreation opportunities. In 2018, U-Haul received an Environmental Excellence Award from Arizona Forward for its support for the Upper Granite Creek Aspen Restoration Project.

Most recently, U-Haul embarked on an initiative to protect forest-based supply chains by working with The Conservation Fund to measure its wood fiber use—from pulpwood to cardboard paper products (e.g. U-Haul’s top-selling boxes)—and create equivalencies to help offset portions of that use. Through this effort, U-Haul is helping to conserve 8,700 acres of working forestland surrounding Success Pond in Northeastern New Hampshire. With the ongoing production of responsibly harvested timber, the land will continue to support more than 20 local and regional jobs for loggers, truckers, foresters and road contractors, while providing timber to mills in New Hampshire, Maine and Canada. The Success Pond Forest is located within the Mahoosuc Gateway Initiative, a broader conservation effort of 30,000 acres that includes protection of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in New Hampshire’s North Country region, which is considered a scenic gateway between Maine and New Hampshire.

Learn More

• Press Release: The Conservation Fund And U-Haul Make A Big Impact In Urban Atlanta
• Press Release: C&S Wholesale Grocers and U-Haul Announce Commitments to Protect Forests and Fiber Supply Chains
• Press Release: U-Haul Customers Contribute To Planting Two Million Trees
• Press Release: U-Can Do It: U-Haul Makes It Easy For Customers To Offset Emissions At Checkout (Sustainable Brands)
• Press Release: Planting Trees, Restoring Acres, Changing Lives: One Million U-Haul Customers Give Back
• Press Release: U-Haul Customers Give $1 Million to Charity
• U-Haul Sustainability
• U-Haul: Tree Planting Partnerships

We protect America’s most critical lands and waters to provide greater access to nature, strengthen local economies and enhance climate resiliency. Top-ranked for efficiency and effectiveness, we have worked in all 50 states since 1985 to protect more than 8.8 million acres of land.

At The Conservation Fund, we believe in conservation that makes economic sense. Every project places conservation at its center, and our entrepreneurial staff create and implement innovative, practical ways to benefit the natural world and the well-being of Americans from every walk of life. We inspire new, innovative models that prove strategic conservation is good for both people and the environment.

Eastern North Carolina 

Natural Capital Investment Fund is excited to announce that Partner Community Capital™ is our new name!

Partner Community Capital (PCAP) is a U.S. Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that makes loans from $25,000 to $1,000,000 to small businesses who can’t access traditional sources of funding. Over 50% of our borrowers are women and people of color, and 85% are in rural or economically distressed communities. We specialize in supporting businesses that create jobs, provide vital community services, and enhance natural resources. We lend across North Carolina and West Virginia, and also serve the Appalachian regions of surrounding states (MD, OH, KY, TN, VA, SC and GA).

We’ve chosen Partner Community Capital as our name to better reflect what we do and how we do it. Since our founding in 2000, we’ve relied on partnerships—with our borrowers, community leaders, small business support entities, and other funders—to support jobs and positive environmental and community impact.  And, our new name is more inclusive of the broad impact PCAP seeks. We support locally owned, environmentally responsible small businesses, because they are key to building thriving and resilient communities. They create wealth for entrepreneurs and their families, providing products, services and improvements that all families need to prosper.

President and CEO Marten Jenkins said, "Over 20 years, we’ve expanded beyond our pioneering work as a “green” lender to address the needs that people in underserved communities have for quality childcare, healthcare, and other vital infrastructure. As we looked for a new name, we heard over and over from our clients and peers that they value how we work in partnership with them.  We know this approach will be more important than ever as we and other CDFIs take a leadership role in addressing the economic, social and environmental challenges we all face.”

To learn more about Partner Community Capital, our lending, special programs, and impact, please visit our new website:  www.partnercapital.org.

NCIF recognizes that small enterprises often need more than just capital to grow.  That’s why we provides business advisory services along with loan capital.  Since inception, NCIF has provided over 17,000 hours of advisory services to over 900 companies.

NCIF’s strategic initiatives use targeted funding to “double down” on particular sectors, taking this combined approach of loan capital and business advisory services to the next level. Visit the NCIF website for more on our strategic initiatives. 

NCIF’s current strategic initiatives include:  Farmers of Color, Energy Efficiency, Local Food Systems and Southern West Virginia Tourism. 

For more information, visit the NCIF website. 

At Natural Capital Investment Fund, our management team maintains a fiscally healthy organization with growing assets and positive trends in its loan portfolio. 

Our ability to do this is made possible with generous support from individuals, foundations, corporations, and government agencies. As such, we are committed to accountability and donor transparency in our operations.

Below are PDF downloads of our most recent audited tax and financial information:

• 2014 Form 990
• Financial Statements (Years Ended December 31, 2014 and 2013)

• 2013 Form 990
• Financial Statement (Years Ended December 31, 2013 and 2012)
• 2012 Form 990
• Financial Statement (Years Ended December 2012 and 2011)

By signing up for our e-newsletter, you agree to receive periodic communication about the latest news and work done by Natural Capital Investment Fund. You can easily unsubscribe at any time, and we commit to only contacting you with pertinent, timely information. (See our Privacy Policy for details.)

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Read NCIF's latest e-newsletter here.

Past NCIF e-newsletters 

Fall 2016 Newsletter
Spring 2016 Newsletter
Fall 2015 Newsletter
Spring 2015 Newsletter

Resourceful Communities offers a variety of training opportunities to strengthen community programming. Our trainings are designed to meet the needs of grassroots organizations and take many forms: workshops, individual trainings, and peer learning visits. Support is provided at no cost.

We hope you’ll join us at one of our network events listed below. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for additional information or give us a call if you have questions!

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2023 Upcoming Events

Social Media 101

May 11th, 10-11:30 AM
Online training

Social media can be a great tool to engage your community, volunteers, and even funders with your organization’s work but it can also feel overwhelming. In this webinar you will learn the best practices to make your social media stand out with Erin Miller-Carter, The Conservation Fund’s Digital Marketing Manager.

Register here: https://tinyurl.com/2s3b7usx

 

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The following information applies to all events:

COST:  There is no charge to attend, but ALL participants must register in advance.

MEALS:  Snacks and lunch will be provided as needed.

MILEAGE ALLOWANCE:  A mileage allowance is provided, limit one allowance per car.

LODGING:  Lodging may be offered to those driving more than 2 hours to the workshop closest to your home.

QUESTIONS?  Contact Donna Pratt at dpratt@conservationfund.org.

 

 

By the Numbers:

Resourceful Communities has awarded more than $6.8M in grants awarded to community organizations 2,200 local “green” jobs supported $12 to $1 return on investments in community solutions. Our triple bottom line network engages more than 500 community and resource partners, creating environmental, economic and social justice benefits for communities that need it most.

Many of America's most important natural areas are frequently home to our most economically and socially distressed communities.  Resourceful Communities creates opportunities that preserve the rural landscape, lift people out of poverty and celebrate our partner communities’ unique cultures.  Working with a network of 500 grassroots and community organizations, we take a balanced 'triple bottom-line' approach that generates economic, environmental and social justice benefits.  Our effective combination of direct support, skills building and connections to resources nurtures real change where it’s needed the most.  By bringing together communities and conservation, people and places, we have created or retained over 2,200 jobs, and advanced a $12 to $1 return on investments in community solutions.

A specialized program of The Conservation Fund, Resourceful Communities supports a network of community groups, faith-based organizations, small towns and resource providers. The triple bottom line is the foundation of our work:  environmental stewardship, social justice and sustainable economic development. Rather than addressing community challenges as isolated issues, this integrated approach nets sustainable, comprehensive improvements.

Our work is built on values and practices that uplift our partners. Our triple bottom line mission grounds our work in helping communities build on their greatest resources: natural, cultural and human assets. 

We help communities implement the triple bottom line through three primary strategies:

Strengthening Organizations: Capacity Building

Resourceful Communities typically works in economically- and socially-distressed places. Our capacity building efforts are designed to meet the needs of limited-resource organizations and takes many forms: workshops, individual trainings, and coaching. All support is provided at no-cost and builds the capacity of the organizations to deliver more effective community programming.

Resourceful Communities offers a variety of training opportunities to strengthen community skills. Capacity building ranges from individualized technical assistance, which aims to improve organizational practices, to workshops that provide skill building opportunities on a range of topics presented by experts and peer educators. Technical assistance and training is designed with partner input and is offered free-of-charge to facilitate participation. Topics might include board development, fundraising and equitable partnerships and community engagement strategies.

Investing in Communities: Small Grants

Through our small grant program, the Creating New Economies Fund (CNEF), we invest in innovative triple bottom line projects.  Grants average $8,000-$12,000, with a maximum award of $15,000. The grants are as unique as the organizations we support, but all funded projects reflect the needs and visions of the communities. Funding has supported a variety of projects, including:  eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture, youth leadership development, alternative energy, and more.

Since CNEF began in 2001, Resourceful Communities has awarded more than $6.8 million in grants, and thanks to this investment, grantees have secured an average additional $12 for every $1 of grant support. Funded projects include development of food distribution centers, green job training programs, paddle trails and more. Our combination of training, funding and connections to additional resources strengthens community-led efforts and results in broad community benefits.

Grant applicants receive training in general grant writing as well as effective project planning strategies. Resourceful Communities continues to provide support to strengthen community projects through improved project design (timeline, budget, evaluation plan, etc.), community engagement and sustainability through connection to additional resources.

We thank our supporters, including the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, the Oak Foundation, USDA Rural Community Development Initiative, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the Overhills Foundation and private donors. If you are a current applicant or grantee, please visit our Tools and Forms section to download grant materials, or contact us at dpratt@conservationfund.org. To see a complete list of grantees, click here.

Nurturing Our Network

Resourceful Communities started and continues to support a growing network of grassroots partners and resource organizations (organizations and agencies that provide resources such as training, funding, technical assistance and expertise). We actively provide network opportunities that result in: reduced isolation, shared lessons learned, new partnerships and collaborations, replication of successful models, and new resources for grassroots organizations. Our network connects people across age, race, economic status and geography and help build a movement that advocates for the triple bottom line.

We support our network through:

• Annual convenings where participants connect with each other and resources and learn about broad trends that affect their communities;
• Peer learning visits provide opportunities to learn about specific topics and replicate effective strategies by visiting successful projects and engaging with community practitioners;
• Facilitated connections that provide opportunities for frequently excluded communities to access resources and begin building equitable partnerships.

Video: Resourceful Communities Prioritizing Community Land Preservation