Rochester Area Community Foundation recently awarded Rochester Ecology Partners a $20,000 grant to launch an organizational landscape analysis project that will lead to a better understanding of environmental nonprofit organizations in the Rochester region. The commitment of these resources to the project will lead to a greater connection between organizations and stronger alignment in efforts to build a more equitable and sustainable environmental movement regionally. This project furthers Rochester Ecology Partners’ mission of connecting all people to nature where they live, work, and play by fostering relationships and developing publicly available resources for community members seeking to influence a more just and sustainable future for our community.
Rochester Area Community Foundation has awarded this grant to Rochester Ecology Partners as part of the Foundation’s efforts to advance environmental justice and sustainability. This grant, along with support from the Emil Muller Foundation, represents a significant commitment to building a more connected community of nonprofits working towards environmental goals in our region. Rochester Ecology Partners is looking forward to facilitating this project for the next eight months. The project will provide valuable insight into what we as an organization, and all organizations in our region, can do to create change that benefits our entire community.
Designed to be a community-driven effort, the organizational landscape analysis will gather and share information about the different organizations in the nine-county region that are working on issues related to the environment, sustainability and environmental justice. At the core of this project will be community engagement in the research as well as sharing the results of our research publicly. Ultimately this project will lead to a more connected environmental movement locally, the application of resources in ways that lead to change for those who need it most, and a shared vision that has been developed and adopted by the community.
Rochester Ecology Partners sees this work as central to a nature-based approach to improving our natural, built, and social environments. Connectedness and diversity are essential to healthy ecosystems, and the same is true for our organizational ecosystems. Little work has been done in our region to understand the level of diversity in the work of environmental organizations and to build a network of organizations that is mutually beneficial. We also see it as an important step as the definition of an environmental organization evolves to be more intersectional and include efforts to address equity and justice. This project will guide our community to a new understanding of how the environment and community health are connected.
About Rochester Area Community Foundation
The Community Foundation, in partnership with generous philanthropists and community partners, works to improve the quality of life for people who live and work in the eight-county region through its leadership and strategic grantmaking.
About Rochester Ecology Partners
Rochester Ecology Partners serves people in Greater Rochester through nature-based experiential learning and activities that cultivate community connectedness. We believe that by employing integrated and innovative approaches to helping people find nature where they live, work, and play, we can improve our community’s capacity to co-create a hopeful future.
Reach out to us for more information or to contribute to this initiative. contact@rochesterecologypartners.org
