Greater Worcester Community Foundation is pleased to announce the launch of the Worcester County Green Fund, a new initiative dedicated to supporting local climate action efforts throughout the region.
Spearheaded by a generous donor family passionate about combating climate change in Worcester County, the Fund will be seeded with $100,000 a year for five years, matched by Greater Worcester Community Foundation for a total investment of $1 million.
Climate change is a tremendous global challenge, insurmountable by any one person, organization or foundation. We are grateful for the opportunity to launch this new fund, recognizing that while we can’t fix the whole planet, perhaps we can fix where we live by making strategic investments to those dedicated to environmental preservation in the region.
- Pete Dunn, President & CEO of Greater Worcester Community Foundation
The Worcester County Green Fund’s first investments will focus on supporting the land trusts that cover Worcester County, providing capacity-building grants to support their land conservation efforts. In the county, there are 22 land trusts that manage and deliver local programing and 17 of them are led by volunteers. While the land trusts have a long history of community engagement and impact, they struggle with resource and capacity constraints.
Modeled after the Foundation’s existing Nonprofit Effectiveness Grant Program, the Land Trust Capacity-Building Grant Program will provide up to two years of support by investing in activities that will strengthen the capacity of land trusts to do their work, including strategic planning, volunteer management, grant navigation, project management, leadership development, and scaling internal systems.
Based on our research and engagement with the land trusts to date, we believe investing in their capacity will lead to meaningful results. Supporting the land trusts will help strengthen these key climate partners and expand the base of residents who see a way to make a difference in the local climate space.
- Jonathan Cohen, Vice President of Community Impact at the Foundation.
In addition, the Foundation is partnering with Mass Audubon’s Central Region to explore opportunities to form a county-wide climate coalition, bringing together the numerous organizations and nonprofits that are working to address climate change at the local level. This project is in the early stages of research and will identify next steps in 2025.
For donors interested in contributing to the Worcester County Green Fund, please contact Kelly Stimson, Vice President of Philanthropic Services at kstimson@greaterworcester.org or 508-755-0980 ext 112. Gifts to the Worcester County Green Fund can be made online or mailed to Greater Worcester Community Foundation, 1 Mercantile Street Suite 010, Worcester, MA 01608.
