Since inception, The Long Island Community Foundation has operated as an affiliate of The New York Community Trust.
As part of our centennial celebrations, we are creating a single, unified organization to more powerfully advocate for our region with one voice.
We will still maintain our physical offices in Long Island with the same dedicated staff who will continue to honor and build upon our relationships with local nonprofits and communities.
You can now find us at: https://www.thenytrust.org/long-island/
The New York Community Trust. For Long Island. Forever.
August is National Water Quality Month! What better way to recognize National Water Quality Month than to award nearly a half of million dollars in grants to nonprofits that are protecting and restoring the health of the Long Island Sound?
Photo credit: Save the Sound
The Long Island Sound Funders Collaborative announced $492,000 in grants awarded to eight nonprofits through its Long Island Sound Stewardship Fund at the Long Island Community Foundation.
Initially created to align grantmaking around the protection and restoration of the Sound, the Long Island Sound Funders Collaborative has focused on understanding the myriad of issues facing this tidal estuary and identifying possible solutions. Efforts have resulted in annual Long Island Sound Report Cards and an ongoing Unified Water Study initiative, which have subsequently been funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. These grants will respond to organizational capacity building; piloting tools and strategies to improve environmental factors; cleaning waters, restoring habitat, sustaining wildlife, and engaging the public in the restoration and protection of the health and living resources of the Long Island Sound.
The Long Island Sound Stewardship Fund was established in 2018 to support projects that address pressing challenges and provide for a healthy, productive, and resilient Sound now and into the future. The fund promotes a sustainable Sound by providing opportunities for funders who care about this natural resource to work together to make a positive impact on its ecological health; support programs and projects that align with the Long Island Sound Study, Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan 2015; help nonprofits working to restore the health and living resources of the Sound achieve conservation outcomes in a more effective and collaborative way; and support capacity building efforts that strengthen nonprofits working to protect the Sound.
“This latest round of grants brings our total investment to more than $1.6 million,” says David M. Okorn, executive director of the Long Island Community Foundation. “We have a unique collaboration among funders in New York and Connecticut that enables us to pool funding for greater impact and we are extremely grateful to our grantees who remain committed to protecting the future health and waterways of the Long Island Sound.”
The grantees, grant amounts, and purposes are listed below. Longer descriptions of the projects are available upon request.
Ash Creek Conservation Association – $15,000 to update the ecological master plan for the Ash Creek Estuary.
CUSH, Inc. (Clean Up Sound and Harbors) – $29,000 to produce a water quality report of four estuaries in coastal Stonington and Mystic, Connecticut.
Earthplace, Inc. – $45,000 to pilot a project to synthesize local water quality data to be used in municipal decision making.
Groundwork Bridgeport – $23,000 to build and expand the organization’s capacity to improve the region’s physical environment.
The Guardians of Flushing Bay, Inc. – $50,000 to develop a strategic plan rooted in racial equity and environmental justice.
Save the Sound, Inc. – $200,000 to establish a Long Island Sound River Restoration Network.
Save the Sound, Inc. – $83,000 for completion of a Long Island Sound Community Data Platform, now known as QuickDrops™.
These grants would not be made possible without the generous support from donors and members of the Collaborative. They are Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, Community Foundation of Middlesex County, The Eder Family Foundation, Inc., Fairfield County’s Community Foundation, The Fred I and Gilda Nobel Foundation, Inc., Mrs. Sofia J. Garcelon, Jeniam Foundation, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., Long Island Community Foundation, McCance Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The New York Community Trust, New York Community Bank, Rockfall Foundation, Pamela and Richard Rubinstein Foundation, Rauch Foundation, Ms. Wendy W. Roberts, and The Westchester Community Foundation.
Need help or advice?
Marie C. Smith
Director of Donor Relations and Communications
(631) 991-8800, ext. 223
msmith@licf.org
Need help or advice?
Marie C. Smith
Director of Donor Relations and Communications
(631) 991-8800, ext. 223
msmith@licf.org