Recipients to be announced during Nov. 6 ceremony
The Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast is honored to have been chosen one of the top 10 finalists this year for the Impact100 SRQ grant, the nonprofit has announced.
The grant recipients will be announced on Sunday, Nov. 6, during the Impact100 SRQ Annual Celebration and Award Ceremony, a news release explains. Six of the 10 finalists will receive grants in the amount of $110,500, the release points out.
If awarded one of the grants, the Conservation Foundation will purchase equipment to restore, manage and monitor 24 conservation properties totaling more than 3,000 acres, the release explains. “Specifically, the equipment will be employed to restore wetlands on the Myakka River,” perform prescribed fire on lands where animals and plants depend upon fires for their existence, restore floodplain marsh, improve water quality and monitor all 24 conservation areas, “so that they are beautiful and functioning, now and forever,” the release notes.
“Conserving land is just the beginning,” said Christine P. Johnson, president of the Conservation Foundation, in the release. “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,” she added in the release.
Since it was created in 2003, the Conservation Foundation “has quickened the pace of land conservation in Southwest Florida,” the release continues. It has permanently protected more than 19,100 acres within 54 properties, the release adds. “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,” the release points out.
An accredited land trust, the Conservation Foundation works to safeguard communities, natural areas and wildlife for generations to come, the release notes. These critical lands “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,” the release adds.
The nonprofit’s 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.”
Learn more about the Foundation’s mission at conservationfoundation.com.
Impact100 SRQ, a 501 c)(3) organization, is one of more than 60 chapters worldwide that embrace “the local collective giving model,” the release explains.
Formed in 2018, Impact100 SRQ brings together a diverse group of women who annually provide grants to local nonprofits in both Sarasota and Manatee counties, the release adds.
“The model is simple,” it continues. “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.”