Coalition Announces Grants for Groups to Participate in Great Lakes Restoration Efforts

ANN ARBOR, MI – Today the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition announced it will be awarding up to $104,000 to help groups participate in federal Great Lakes restoration efforts. The Coalition will be providing seed grants of up to $15,000 to groups that are ready to lead Great Lakes restoration projects, but that may not have all of the needed resources or capacity to go after larger federal grants. Coalition grants help groups create partnerships and do initial studies, baseline measurements, community outreach, or other projects that will make their federal funding application stronger and more competitive. The program funds a variety of Great Lakes restoration work, from projects that benefit wetland conservation and remove invasive species to programs that train citizens to monitor stream health. Coalition member Freshwater Future administers the program.

Read about the grant program and see past recipients at: http://healthylakes.org/implementation-grant-program/

Read the request for proposals and apply for the program at: http://freshwaterfuture.org/grants/healing-our-waters-grant-program/

“We want to make sure that groups large and small have the opportunity to participate in Great Lakes restoration efforts, and this program has helped many organizations do that,” said Todd Ambs, campaign director of the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition. “These grants are producing a solid return on investment for the Great Lakes—and for the groups that are fighting hard to restore and protect them.”

The success of the Coalition’s program has been well documented. In 2012, the Coalition awarded $145,000 in grants to 11 different projects. In two years those projects leveraged this initial funding into $11.5 million in funds from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and other programs. This represents an impressive 79 to 1 return on investment.

“We hear great success stories from our past grant recipients, which just shows how instrumental this small amount of funding can be,” said Jill Ryan, executive director of Freshwater Future, which administers the program. “We have more work to do to ensure people can enjoy clean beaches, healthy fish, and safe drinking water—and these small grants can help us get there.”

Over the past five years, the Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition and Freshwater Future have provided $605,000 for groups to participate in Great Lakes restoration efforts. While funding is available to groups throughout the Great Lakes region, the grant program prioritizes funding on eight priority areas around the Great Lakes, as identified by the Coalition. These areas are St. Louis Bay on Lake Superior, Green Bay and the Chicagoland area on Lake Michigan, Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron, the Huron-Erie Corridor, the Western and Eastern basins of Lake Erie, and the Eastern basin on Lake Ontario.

The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition consists of more than 115 environmental, conservation, outdoor recreation organizations, zoos, aquariums and museums representing millions of people, whose common goal is to restore and protect the Great Lakes. Learn more at www.healthylakes.org or follow us on twitter @healthylakes.

Freshwater Future provides grants, shares information, and offers training, as well as planning and strategy consulting assistance. We also encourage participation in protecting and restoring local rivers, lakes and wetlands. Learn more at http://freshwaterfuture.org/ For inquiries about the HOW grant-making program, contact Cheryl Kallio, associate director for Freshwater Future and Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition implementation coordinator, at Cheryl@freshwaterfuture.org or (231) 571-5001.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.