Planning and Conservation League - CA

Since 2007, with guidance from NWF, PCL has embarked on a capacity building plan to overhaul its direct mail system, improve contact with major donors, advance foundation grant tracking and ensure individual and organizational members are being utilized to the best possible advantage of our organizations and the needs of the environment. 

With this NWF mini-grant, the League will expand its individual and organizational membership in underserved areas and increase our effectiveness as an NWF affiliate.  This effort includes a focused strategy to partner PCL with new organizations and individuals. Part of this request also includes obtaining an independent license for the donor database Raiser’s Edge to assist with membership tracking and major donor relations.

PCL currently has several thousand individual and organizational members statewide.  We also have about 6,000 readers who chose to stay informed about statewide conservation and legislative issues via our weekly e-newsletter, the PCL Insider.  Approximately 10% of those readers respond to our calls to action.  An increase in membership will improve our effectiveness by increasing our regional representation, enlisting the assistance of more activists, increasing our financial capacity and growing the united coalition that makes up the League.

Delaware Nature Society

The DNS, partnering with Junior Achievement, Delaware Futures, and the DuPont Company, will pilot a program in summer 2010 that will connect underserved teens with nature with a focus on addressing the problems related to nature-deficit disorder. The program will introduce a group of 25 rising 10th grade minority at-risk students from the City of Wilmington to a marsh ecosystem in a week-long program. The students will experience a hands-on citizen science study of a marsh ecosystem, participate in a restoration project and learn its impact on the marsh, engage in the history of the Wilmington Riverfront, and explore potential future career paths through lectures regarding ethics and economics of environmental resources.

The Delaware Nature Society, aligned with NWF’s mission and Strategic Plan, has made “Connecting People with Nature” a priority. This program’s goals aim to do that by immersing a group of students that have not spent quality time outdoors into nature in an in-depth program.

 
The Earth Conservation Corps - DC

The ECC will be using the NWF MiniGrant to supplement the cost to develop organizational capacity through website development.  Website development will allow the ECC to be more strategic and effective at fundraising, communicating with its stakeholders, recruiting donors, sharing media, distributing our newsletters, and in the future for developing our membership process.

 
Michigan United Conservation Clubs

MUCCs Michigan OutofDoors University (MOOD-U) will increase awareness and understanding of the biological, economic, and social science supporting natural resources management decisions to ultimately motivate citizens to be active and dedicated stewards of Michigans natural resources. MOOD-U will provide a year-round comprehensive public education and outreach campaign that will include surveys, streaming video, symposiums, workshops, webinars, and broad dissemination of findings and outcomes related to the science of natural resources management.

MUCC will be refining its e-communications tools and website in order to promote MOOD-U events and share multi-media information about the topics selected; including How-To videos and interviews with biologists and experts. This will also include improving online event registration, archiving workshop presentations and related video content, and developing an e-advocacy tool to encourage participants to put their knowledge into action.

MOOD-U will kickoff in 2010 with four events on sportfishing and habitat, hunter/angler anti-harassment laws, shooting range stewardship, and forest management for wildlife.

 
Conservation Federation of Missouri

In honor of CFM’s 75^th anniversary, our Board of Directors will award up to $75,000 in grants for two separate grant programs, with maximum grant awards of $2,500. Teaming With Wildlife partners will be eligible for a total of $25,000 in grants focused on the state’s Conservation Opportunity Areas, and CFM’s affiliated organizations will be eligible for the remaining $50,000. In May of 2009, CFM hosted “A Summit on the Future of Missouri Outdoors.” Through the summit, CFM took a significant step to unite, inspire and empower Missourians, and furthered our efforts to create a broader, stronger and more diverse conservation movement. The challenge for CFM is to keep momentum moving forward, and lines of communication open, while initiating meaningful action to address the summit priorities. The CFM affiliate mini-grant program will empower citizen conservationist to take the first tangible actions designed specifically to address the summit’s top recommendations (1. Connect families with nature and 2. Protect habitat.). Through these projects we will strengthen existing partnerships, broaden our base and create greater awareness of CFM and NWF, while having a measurable impact on Missouri outdoors today and tomorrow.


Nebraska Wildlife Federation

The NEWF is using NWF mini-grant funds to provide information booths at key fish and wildlife events and trade shows across Nebraska, collecting participants and contact information for our new Wildlife Action Network and future direct mail efforts. The Wildlife Action Network is our new free weekly email update and alert system to provide information on state and federal legislation that impacts Nebraska fish and wildlife, as well as wildlife-related events. The NWF funding will be matched through NEWF   staff and volunteer time to set up and staff the booths and process information collected. Our initial goal is to acquire 1,000 people in our Network, to begin to give us grassroots capacity that will make us more effective on policy issues. We also hope to leverage the information booths and Wildlife Action Network list to grow our paid membership, eventually allowing us to hire full-time policy staff.

 
North Carolina Wildlife Federation

NCWF Board, Staff and Chapter leaders will convene February 20 and 21 to create NCWF’s 5-year Strategic Plan.  Subsequent workshops will be held in March and April with the general membership of each of NCWF’s 10 local Chapters to build general membership understanding and buy-in, and to create cross-chapter unity.  Our objectives are to build a 5-year strategic plan to guide NCWF energy and resource allocation, and to strengthen NCWF’s alignment with National Wildlife Federation strategic objectives, and to launch NCWF activity for 2010 with a coordinated and effective team.We expect 100% participation from Board, chapter leaders, and staff. The plan will be a success if over time, we not only meet the new strategic objectives, but new leaders are emerging, and existing leaders are re-energized - taking ownership and responsibility for carrying out the plan.

 
South Carolina Wildlife Federation

Coming soon

 
Vermont Natural Resources Council

VNRC has spearheaded an effort to bring together and coordinate a collaborative working group called the Forests, Wildlife & Communities Project (FWC) to raise awareness around the importance and functions of large blocks of forestland for wildlife habitat in the Mad River Valley (MRV) of Vermont. To date, resource protection and management efforts in the MRV have been addressed primarily within individual town boundaries, rather than across regional and landscape scales, which has curtailed effective conservation of forestland and wildlife habitat. The goal of the collaborative is to implement a regional and landscape level approach to conservation by engaging, educating, and assisting local officials, landowners, planners, realtors, and residents about community oriented and landowner based strategies for forest land and wildlife habitat conservation. As part of the project, VNRC and the FWC Steering Committee will prioritize key wildlife resources and habitat areas that are in need of conservation and influence local land use development by promoting smart growth principles and creative land use and zoning mechanisms to conserve key wildlife resources and habitat areas, such as core forest areas and travel corridors.

 
Washington Wildlife Federation

The WWF was founded in 1989. Since then we established one of the country’s most successful wildlife habitat protection and outdoor recreation programs in the country; built a nationally award winning Teaming with Wildlife Coalition in Washington State; influenced the management and conservation of our state’s wolves, sage grouse, mule deer, Canadian Lynx and other species; and operate the state’s most comprehensive outdoor education program for women. However our membership has fallen from where it once was, as we focused more on the work to be done and less on the messaging of those efforts. With the knowledge that a strong member base is necessary to sustain us, we are focusing on our growth.

The WWF’s receipt of a National Wildlife Federation MiniGrant will be matched with other donations to double our ability to increase membership. With these funds, the WWF will actively promote our conservation successes, grow our membership and engage more of our state’s citizens in the effort.