In Profile: Great Results in the Great Lakes

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Like any property for sale, vulnerable and important landscapes often appear on the market quickly - sending conservationists scrambling for capital. Thanks to its Revolving Fund, The Conservation Fund can act when the need is urgent. In the Great Lakes, this ability to provide bridge financing to protect priority lands inspired the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to invest in The Conservation Fund, creating the Great Lakes Revolving Fund - a conservation success story.

“At the Mott Foundation, we believe that protecting the Great Lakes over the long term requires a mix of ingredients, including the direct protection of ecologically important sites. The Conservation Fund, through the Great Lakes Revolving Loan Fund and other programs, is making a very important contribution in this area. We're very pleased to be able to help The Conservation Fund in its work."

- Sam Passmore, Program Officer, Environment, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

Summary

In 2001, The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation made a generous multi-year commitment of $7.5 million to create the Great Lakes Revolving Fund. The foundation gave additional funds to create a position, called a “circuit rider,” to provide technical support to land conservancies in the Great Lakes Basin.

Challenge

The establishment of the Great Lakes Revolving Fund addressed the critical need of land trusts and public agencies to respond quickly to land or conservation easement purchase opportunities with ready funding.

Because the average wait for public funds or private fundraising campaigns can be 18 to 24 months, the bridge funding provided by the loan fund can make a tremendous difference. In the case of many of the Great Lakes Basin projects, homes most likely would have been built on the property and the biological, scenic and public access resources would have been lost forever.

Results

The Great Lakes Revolving Fund highlights the tremendous impact a well-managed gift can have on conservation efforts. The Mott Foundation's investment has been leveraged more than seven to one - loans by the fund totalling $17.5 million have protected properties valued at more than $56 million.

In seven years, the Great Lakes Revolving Fund has helped protect 15 sites of environmental significance, securing nearly 20,000 acres of priority land for preservation. The circuit rider position is its own success story, assisting over 100 groups in the Great Lakes Basin with vital technical support.