Many of America’s most important natural areas frequently are home to our most economically and socially distressed communities. The Conservation Fund’s Resourceful Communities initiative works with a network of 500 grassroots and community organizations to generate economic, environmental and social justice benefits. Our effective combination of direct support, skills building and connections to resources nurtures real change where it’s needed the most.

Resourceful Communities supports a network of community groups, faith-based organizations, small towns and resource providers. The “triple bottom line” is the foundation of our work: environmental stewardship, social justice and sustainable economic development. This integrated approach to addressing community issues nets sustainable, comprehensive improvements.

We help communities implement the triple bottom line through three primary strategies:

• Strengthening organizations through capacity building – Capacity building ranges from individualized technical assistance, which aims to improve organizational practices, to workshops that provide skill-building opportunities on a range of topics presented by experts and peer educators. Technical assistance and training are designed with partner input and is offered free-of-charge to facilitate participation. Topics might include board development, fundraising and equitable partnerships and community-engagement strategies.
•  Investing in communities through small grants – Our Creating New Economies Fund (CNEF) provides grants averaging $8,000 to $12,000, for projects that reflect the needs and visions of the communities, such as eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture, youth leadership development and alternative energy. Our combination of training, funding and connections to additional resources strengthens community-led efforts and has helped grantees secure, on average, an additional $12 for every $1 of grant support.
• Nurturing our network: We support a growing network of grassroots partners and resource organizations and actively provide network opportunities that connect people across age, race, economic status and geography to share lessons learned and build new partnerships and collaborations. Our network support includes annual convenings, peer learning visits and facilitated connections that provide opportunities for frequently excluded communities to access resources and begin building equitable partnerships.