The Long Island Sound Funders Collaborative announces $339,000 in grants awarded to 7 nonprofits through its Long Island Sound Stewardship Fund at The New York Community Trust – Long Island.
The Long Island Sound Stewardship Fund (LISSF) 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 around a common mission to make a positive impact on its ecological health; support programs and projects that align with the federal Long Island Sound Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan 2015 (CCMP); help nonprofits working to restore the health and living resources of the Sound achieve conservation outcomes more effectively and collaboratively; and support capacity building efforts that strengthen nonprofits working to protect the Sound. As part of restoring and protecting the health of the Sound, the CCMP also identifies principles that are important to consider in taking any specific action including supporting communication and environmental justice. Upon comprehensive review, members of the Long Island Sound Funders Collaborative recommended supporting seven (7) grants totaling $339,000.
Long Island Sound is an estuary that provides economic and recreational benefits to millions of people while also providing habitat for hundreds of species of fish and dozens of species of migratory birds. These grants will support organizational capacity building; piloting tools and strategies to improve environmental factors; cleaning waters, restoring habitat, sustaining wildlife, and engaging the public in restoration and protection of the health and living resources of the Long Island Sound.
“This fifth round of grants brings the Collaborative’s total investment to more than $2.2 million,” says David M. Okorn, vice president of The Trust – Long Island . “On Long Island, our quality of life and our economy are directly linked to the quality of our surrounding bays and harbors. The grant recipients have made incredible strides in reducing nitrogen loads, restoring habitat, improving water quality, and educating the public about the Long Island Sound. When donors, environmental groups, and stakeholders share the goal of improving our waters and working together, it ensures that future generations will be able to enjoy a clean Long Island Sound.”
The grantees, grant amounts, and purposes are listed below.
- Alewife Cove Conservancy: $10,000 to evaluate the suitability of cove organic sediments for marsh enhancement.
- Citizens Campaign Fund for the Environment (CCFE): $36,000 to coordinate the Citizens Advisory Committee. CCFE identifies key environmental concerns in New York and Connecticut and through research, public education and lobbying has successfully advanced programs that benefit the natural environment and public health.
- Collective Oyster Recycling & Restoration Foundation, Inc.: $50,000 to recycle shells for oyster reef restoration projects in Long Island Sound.
- Friends of the Bay: $67,000 to mobilize the organization’s growing volunteer base.
- Henry L. Ferguson Museum: $27,000 to pilot eco-moorings, a conservation management strategy for eelgrass.
- Save the Sound, Inc.: $100,000 to pilot ecoSPEARS technology as a tool to decontaminate dam sediment in its natural place.
- The Guardians of Flushing Bay, Inc.: $49,000 to build the organization’s capacity for financial health and sustainability.
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., Jeniam Foundation, Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc., The New York Community Trust – Long Island, McCance Foundation, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, The New York Community Trust, New York Community Bank Foundation, Pamela and Richard Rubinstein Foundation, Rauch Foundation, Ms. Wendy W. Roberts, and The New York Community Trust – Westchester.
