The Conservation Alliance announces its 2023 Confluence Grantees

Dec. 18, 2023 – The Conservation Alliance (TCA), a coalition of like-minded member companies advocating for the protection of wild places and outdoor spaces, announces the recipients of its 2023 Confluence Grant Program – Alabama River Diversity Network, Battery Island Drive Neighborhood Association, People of Red Mountain, and Northern Chumash Tribal Council. The Confluence Grant Program, designed to support conservation organizations and projects in historically under-represented communities, is awarding $400,000 to the four organizations. 

Each grantee will receive $100,000 over a two-year period for their effort to protect land and/or water, and to foster a planet where natural places, wildlife, and people thrive together. The TCA Advisory Committee, composed of individuals from grantee organizations, member companies, philanthropy, and TCA staff, reviewed over 50 applications this year, before making final recommendations. The four projects selected for funding reflect diversity in geography, community, and the type of conservation project they are engaging in. 

• Alabama River Diversity Network (Alabama) will lead the creation of a partnership strategy to guide future management decisions of the Alabama Black Belt National Heritage Area, an area with extensive biological and cultural diversity, and strong connections to African American and US history. 
• Battery Island Drive Neighborhood Association (South Carolina) will place a conservation easement on a parcel of historically, culturally, and environmentally significant land on James Island, South Carolina, followed by the creation of a community park that will provide vital natural open space to an underserved community.
• People of Red Mountain (Oregon), formed by the descendants of local tribes native to the McDermitt Caldera, will continue to lift up community voices and create a strategic plan to protect the area from lithium mining claims. 
• Northern Chumash Tribal Council (California) is a women-led nonprofit and California recognized Tribe that is working to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge into the designation and management planning process for the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

“The Conservation Alliance is thrilled to be able to support these four organizations that are working at the intersection of community, conservation, and culture, and lifting up local voices in the protection and restoration of natural places”, said Kim Paymaster, TCA’s Grant Program Director.  “The Confluence Program, in partnership with our Advisory Committee, has allowed TCA to grow and diversify its network of conservation partners and we look forward to building meaningful relationships with our newest grantee partners.”

The Confluence Program, launched in 2021, seeks to expand TCA’s network of grantee and business partners with the goal of intentionally connecting to historically and racially excluded people for the protection of natural places. The program is a first step in TCA’s efforts to help create new systems and structures that bring all of the groups, organizations, and businesses committed to conservation closer together.  For more information about TCA and the Confluence Program, visit ConservationAlliance.com.