Our mission is to protect Southwest Florida’s unique natural environment and quality of life ... Now & Forever.
When we protect nature, nature protects us.
As we take stock in what we enjoy most about Southwest Florida, we are reminded that protecting our water, land and wildlife is the only way we can sustain the quality of life we all treasure.
That’s why we call on you to partner with us as advocates, champions and generous donors.
I invite you to read more about the Conservancy’s first major campaign in more than a decade. This is our opportunity to meet the urgent challenges of the day and also prepare for an unknown future.
Together, we will protect and sustain the natural beauty around us. Together, we will protect our treasured quality of life — Now & Forever.
— ROB MOHER PRESIDENT & CEO
Our mission has never mattered more.
Continued surges in population growth. Changing weather patterns and record-breaking heat. Increasingly powerful hurricanes. Damaged mangroves and estuaries that put coastal communities at risk. More red tide alerts and beach closings.
This is the reality we face — today and far into the future — if we sit idly and choose to do nothing.
Let’s be clear. Some of these disruptions are here to stay. None have quick fixes. These are not someone else’s problems; they belong to those of us who live here.
And, most importantly, we can manage and lessen the impact if we stand together to protect our environment and our quality of life.
Clean water and healthy estuaries and rivers. Spectacular beaches and coastal preserves. Beautiful open spaces and parks. Native wildlife sanctuaries. The wonders of the Western Everglades.
This is what’s at stake. This is why our work is more urgent today than ever.
Why us? What sets us apart?
Until you need us, I don’t think you realize how important we are.” Those words from a staff member speak to the quiet impact the Conservancy has had on our quality of life for over six decades.
We’ve earned our reputation and the trust of the public in large part because of these points of distinction:
STAYING THE COURSE
The Conservancy has served alongside the residents of Southwest Florida for more than 60 years. We’ve proven we can go the distance to get things done and that we’ll be here for the long run.
TAKING ON THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES
We don’t shy away from a tough fight or complex issues. We stand for what we — and you — believe in, always protecting our quality of life even if it means running up against powerful interests.
SMART GROWTH, NOT ANTI-GROWTH
The economy and environment are inextricably linked. The Conservancy is a team of experts who advocate for “common-sense conservation” and resilient communities.
GOOD AND WISE STEWARDS
We’re lean on staff, with 400-plus volunteers helping to carry out our mission. You can be sure your gift will be used wisely.
Why now? What’s at stake?
Environmental organizations and conservation groups across America are facing stiff headwinds. It’s no wonder many are playing it safe. Cutting back on services. Unwilling to think big.
Not the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. Complacency is not in our genetic makeup, even as we recognize the challenges ahead:
WATER QUALITY
Our economy, health and quality of life depend on the condition of our waterways. And make no mistake: Our water quality is at risk, threatened by pollution, excessive nutrients, the loss of natural wetlands and a failure of regulatory agencies to enforce rules without exception.
SURGING GROWTH
Projections call for continued surging growth and development in the region, often driven by short-term profit with little regard to long-term vision or the effects on our natural environment.
RISING COSTS
The rising cost of living is placing increased demands on the Conservancy’s capacity to recruit and retain the most talented workforce — the smart, dedicated people who deliver results. We need a Conservancy at its best to
Now & Forever: The Campaign to Protect Our Quality of Life
The success of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida depends on your partnership and support. Together, we can secure the quality of life you and your loved ones enjoy and count on.
Our preliminary campaign goal, at $70 million, is bold — as is our vision for the future. Two pillars rise to the level of urgency and large-scale investment needed to drive the change we envision.
Campaign Working Goal:
$70 Million
OUR PEOPLE, OUR PROGRAMS Sustaining Our Impact for Today and for Future Generations
Preliminary Goal: $50M
($5M Immediate Use, $45M Endowment)
OUR CAMPUS
Creating a Transformative Nature Experience to Inspire Visitors of Every Age
Preliminary Goal: $20M
“I’m willing to get chest-deep in water to wrestle a giant snake; it’s just part of the job.”
—IAN ESTERLING, BIOLOGIST
I an Easterling never saw himself as “a snake guy.” It’s not something to which he ever aspired. “I was not that kid,” he says.
Nor is it a label he fully embraces: “I’m a scientist. I’m a biologist. I’m an educator. That’s what drives me.”
That said, hunting down massive Burmese pythons, one of the largest snake species on the planet, is all part of a day’s work for Ian, who started at the Conservancy in 2015 as an intern.
He has been a key figure in the Conservancy’s worldrenowned python research and removal program. In just over a decade, the small team has removed nearly 1,300 pythons from southwestern Florida.
That includes capturing the heaviest Burmese python ever found in Florida: a colossal 215-pound female nearly 18 feet long — the average height of an adult giraffe — loaded with 122 eggs.
Ian isn’t in it for the adventure, though he tells gripping stories about getting clubbed, battered and bitten.
Nor does he put himself in physical danger for the publicity, even with billions of social media hits.
“We don’t measure our success in clicks,” he insists. “We’re interested in the science and what this program means for our natural environment and for our community.”
Our People, Our Programs Sustaining Our Impact
With the challenges before us, it’s paramount that we invest in our staffing and programs to fully deliver on our mission to protect our water, land and wildlife — and our future.
The rising cost of doing business in Southwest Florida continues to challenge us, especially as the cost of living spirals. Simply sustaining what we’re already doing places severe pressure on the operating budget.
Additionally, we must balance present realities with future challenges. Even as we invest in immediate priorities, we must also build our endowment to sustain our mission and impact far into the future.
RECRUITING AND RETAINING TOP TALENT
Our staff — from researchers to policy experts, educators to wildlife rehabilitation specialists, and all who support them — are the pulse of the Conservancy.
Investments in staffing will expand and bolster key initiatives, including adding a dedicated position to oversee land management, a critical area of expertise currently lacking at the Conservancy.
We must also ensure that our staff can afford the increased cost of dayto-day living as the price of everyday necessities continues to rise. A prime example: Apartment rentals in Southwest Florida are now only slightly lower than in cities like Los Angeles and San Diego.
Securing investments to attract and retain the most accomplished professionals in the field is one of our top priorities. The enormity of the challenges ahead demands no less.
By growing our endowment — including endowing and naming key leadership positions and programs — we will further position the Conservancy as a destination for world-class talent.
The most important lesson the Conservancy has learned in 60-plus years is that we are only as good as the people who work here.
“Education is the public face of the Conservancy.”
—LORI
HEATH THORN, PUBLIC PROGRAMS MANAGER
Why are ecosystems so important — and so threatened? What happens when a pelican swallows a fishing hook? Are summer days really hotter than they once were?
These are the kinds of questions
Lori Heath Thorn hears often from kids and adults who engage with the Conservancy. She almost always has answers, and often times her own question: What’s our role in protecting our water, land and wildlife?
That question embodies Lori’s desire to marry conservation with education — a passion she discovered as she studied biology, vertebrate zoology and ecology.
“Conservation,” she says, “is now a lifelong endeavor. And, as they say, knowledge is power — to solve problems, to enact change. I’ve seen that firsthand.”
Lori has worked at the Conservancy for more than a decade. She oversees a growing suite of public education programs, both on-campus and in the community.
These efforts reach 30,000 children and adults annually, including underserved students, giving all children the opportunity to learn about nature.
Her 6-year-old son, Aiden, provides inspiration. “I want him to experience the outdoors like I did as a kid. We at the Conservancy want that for other kids as well.”
Our People, Our Programs Sustaining Our Impact
STRENGTHENING CORE INITIATIVES
With your support, we will meet the moment by endowing critical programs within the four departments that shape our identity and protect our quality of life in the five-county region:
Science and Research, providing impartial, objective research to develop real-world solutions to conserve, manage and restore our natural ecosystems.
Policy and Advocacy, as we steward smart growth in our region, balancing conservation with economic health.
Education, including on-site activities for all ages as well as school programs for PreK-12 students, after-school offerings, summer programs, internships and our mobile classroom.
Wildlife Rehabilitation and the von Arx Wildlife Hospital, which treats more than 4,000 native birds, small mammals and reptiles each year.
ENDOWMENT OPPORTUNITIES
An endowment is a pillar, not a piggy bank — a perpetual savings account funded by gifts of cash, securities and/ or real property.
You have the opportunity to direct your gift to a staff position, a program or a cause that matters most to you, Now & Forever.
For example, a gift of $1 million can:
• Fund three internships a year, often times steering a young professional toward a career in conservation
• Support one staff position in any of our four program areas, year after year
• Fund a specific program that matches your interests, such as kids and education, water quality, at-risk wildlife, smart growth and development and more
Kayaking on the Gordon River provides an intimate journey
“Nature surprises me every day.”
—LAUREN
BARKLEY, WILDLIFE REHABILITATION MANAGER
The lessons Lauren Barkley learned as a young child were a harbinger of what was to come. Set high goals, find something you love doing, give it your best … and good things happen.
At age 11, the quest was straight As in school. The payoff? A beautiful Sheltie named Daisy. As a high school senior, the reward for hard work? Admission into University of North Carolina Wilmington, where she majored in marine biology.
Lauren’s diligence eventually led to an internship with the Conservancy in 2015. She now serves as Wildlife Rehabilitation Manager at the von Arx Wildlife Hospital.
In a typical year, the hospital treats more than 4,000 injured animals — from rabbits to raccoons, water turtles to gopher tortoises, pelicans to bald eagles.
“No day is easy,” Lauren says. “There’s always something unexpected waiting to happen.”
She has a slew of fascinating stories to back that up.
The bald eagle trapped on the roof of a construction site in Naples. The swallowtail kite whose wings were badly singed by invisible landfill flares. The renesting of a baby barn owl, reunited with its screeching mom.
“Nature surprises me every day,” she notes. “It really does take a village to maintain such a complicated ecosystem. That includes our donor community.
“When you give to the Conservancy, you give back to our region. Everything is interconnected.”
This fledgling great horned owl, treated at the von Arx Animal Hospital, will grow to develop a wingspan of up to five feet.
Our People, Our Programs Sustaining Our Impact
Each of our program areas will take on added significance in the years ahead. One prime example: restoring and protecting the Greater Western Everglades.
The wetland ecosystems that form the Greater Western Everglades not only provide critical habitat for endangered species, like the Florida panther; they also provide enormous benefits to people.
The Everglades serve as a vital source of clean water for the region, support Florida’s $1.2 billion fishing industry and act as a natural flood control system to protect communities from storm surges. But make no mistake, the future of this vital asset is at risk.
Most notably, the Rural Lands West development has tried to gain approvals since 2008—a testament to its flawed location and destructive threat to our natural resources.
Known as Rivergrass and Longwater Village, this project would add another 3,000 acres of new homes and commercial developments to this environmentally sensitive area.
The project is close to breaking ground. Its last major hurdle is a federal permit under the Clean Water Act Section 404, which will be decided by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Floridians love the Everglades and other special places and naturally rich landscapes. Together, we will fight for their preservation.
Challenging Rivergrass Village solidified a key victory for Florida citizens, giving them the power to oppose development that encroaches on the Western Everglades and affects protected habitats.
APPROVED FOR DEVELOPMENT RIVERGRASS 2,500 HOMES LONGWATER VILLAGE 2,600 HOMES BELLMAR 2,750 HOMES SKYSAIL 1,800 HOMES AVE MARIA 11,000 HOMES
PENDING APPROVAL TOWN OF BIG CYPRESS 1,382 HOMES BRIGHTSHORE VILLAGE 2,400 HOMES IMMOKALEE ROAD RURAL VILLAGE
4,042 HOMES KINGSTON 3,000 HOMES
TOTAL HOMES 31,474
The challenges shaping the Conservancy’s future agenda extend well beyond the Greater Western Everglades. Other urgent priorities — each of which threatens our quality of life — include enhancing coastal and community resilience and protecting wildlife, habitat and biodiversity. Here’s what’s at stake if we lose these fights:
Florida’s panthers, our state animal, are dying at a nearrecord rate, increasingly squeezed by new developments and busy highways. The dwindling population is now estimated between 130 and 230. Protecting natural lands along their migratory routes is the best way to ensure that panthers thrive in the future.
A recent study found that the next big algal bloom in our region will result in billions of dollars in financial losses and job losses topping 40,000. Steps to avoid this crisis include preventing additional loss of wetlands, protecting critical lands for water and wildlife and implementing consistent water quality monitoring.
Red tide events, increasingly common in our region, are incredibly harmful. They poison sea life, threaten our health, force beach closures and disrupt our tourist-based economy. The Conservancy remains committed to protecting our waterways and the aquatic life that rely on clean water.
Our People, Our Programs Sustaining Our Impact
ENDOWMENT IS ESSENTIAL
From a long-term fiscal perspective, nothing is more important than growing our endowment. Only then can the Conservancy move from a point of future vulnerability to future strength.
Currently, only about 20% of our annual operating revenues come from endowment, compared to 50% or more at many leading nonprofits. This leaves us overly dependent on yearto-year fundraising.
Endowments have historically proven to be a reliable and enduring source of funding. By growing our endowment, we will keep the Conservancy strong and vital for decades to come.
ANTICIPATED BUDGET
5-YEAR PROJECTION
$50 MILLION
Our current endowment, roughly $50 million, is frankly too modest for an organization of our age, influence and aspirations.
$2.5 MILLION
With a 5% draw, our endowment yields roughly $2.5 million a year for current-use funding. That’s 23% of our current $11 million annual budget, and less than 17% of our expected budget of $15 million by 2030.
$95 MILLION
With this campaign, we seek to nearly double our endowment, adding $45 million within five years. It’s an ambitious but essential undertaking — one that will create long-term, sustainable impact.
$5 MILLION
A successful campaign will position the Conservancy to generate close to $5 million annually from the endowment by the end of the decade, covering nearly one-third of our projected $15 million operating budget.
The Conservancy welcomes the opportunity to discuss a range of naming opportunities available for endowed gifts, as well as possibilities for estate planning.
“I want the Conservancy to be even stronger 60 years from now.”
—CRAIG BLACK, VOLUNTEER BOAT CAPTAIN
Following a successful career as an electrical engineer, Craig Black chose to retire at age 59.
Like many retirees relocating to Southwest Florida, he turned to leisurely attractions: walking on the beach, sitting by the pool, hitting the links.
But that wasn’t enough. “I knew,” he says, “that I had a lot more runway left to do other kinds of things.”
Craig now volunteers as a boat captain with the Conservancy. He leads informative tours on the scenic Gordon River as well as eco-cruises on the Good Fortune into Rookery Bay.
“I knew I wanted to get involved with this unique, rare and fragile environment,” he says. “But I was just an electrical engineer. I didn’t know a whole lot.”
Craig has since become a certified master naturalist — positioning himself as a fount of knowledge when it comes to promoting awareness, understanding and respect of the region’s natural world.
“My job is to get more people engaged with the mission — as volunteers, advocates and donors,” he says. “Getting the community involved is a powerful thing. We can do great things together.”
Craig senses the urgency. “I’m not a gloom and doom guy. But we have something special here, and we’re going to destroy the whole damn thing if we’re not careful.”
Leisurely, informative and fun cruises along the beautiful Gordon River remain a popular attraction at the Conservancy.
Our Campus Creating a Transformative Nature Experience
The Conservancy’s campus has undergone major renovations over the last several years. We’re now an environmental educational hub for Southwest Florida with the renovation of the Dalton Discovery Center and the new John & Carol Walter Discovery Wing. Both are essential parts of our 21-acre Nature Center which features a wide range of exhibits, activities and experiences.
Now we seek to further transform the visitor experience.
Our vision is to create an even more dynamic and interactive Nature Center and campus. One that is a goto destination for everyone wanting to learn more about the value of our natural world — and our shared responsibility to protect our quality of life for future generations.
We are competing for eyes and ears in a world driven by fast-paced (and high-priced) entertainment options. It’s imperative that we enrich our on-site public facing guest experience and reach and engage more people of all ages who believe in our mission and want to carry this work forward into their daily lives.
The more we can connect people with nature, the more willing they are to protect it. A reimagined Nature Experience will give us that opportunity.
Our Campus Creating a Transformative Nature Experience
SUPPORTING THE NATURE EXPERIENCE
The Conservancy’s influence continues to grow. Our campus, especially the Nature Center, serves as a welcoming front door to our mission work, attracting 30,000 annual visitors.
With strategic investments in our public-facing facilities — and a rebranding of the entire public experience—we can imagine a dramatic expansion of visitation over a five-year period.
The increase will extend our reach to new cohorts of conservationists and help diversify our revenue model to support our mission.
A renewed Nature Experience will center on the design and buildout of a new, state-of-the-art welcome complex that serves as an interactive gateway to the nature experience at the Conservancy.
AN UNPRECENDENTED GIFT
The John & Carol Walter Family Foundation accepted our invitation to transform the Nature Center into the John & Carol Walter Nature Experience with a $25 million grant, including two permanent endowments.
Their generosity lays the groundwork for a broader campaign to protect Southwest Florida’s natural resources for generations to come.
This visionary grant serves as a catalyst, inspiring others to invest in the Conservancy’s mission of preserving our water, land and wildlife—by reimagining how residents and visitors engage with nature through immersive exhibits, hands-on learning and sustainable practices.
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
The continued transformation of the Conservancy public-facing guest experience transcends bricks and mortar. Investments in the on-site experience will:
• Elevate our public profile, bringing more awareness and visibility to the environmental challenges ahead and the solutions we bring.
• Increase our membership base, resulting in a steadier and more robust stream of revenues to the Conservancy.
• Connect us to a wider group of potential volunteers, donors — and future conservationists.
“I feel a sense of responsibility, greater and deeper and more intense than I did several years ago. I’m not taking away from any other organizations in town, I’m saying this one here is really a building block. This is one of the most important times for this organization to really make an impact in the community.”
— JOHN WALTER
John & Carol Walter Nature Experience at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida
What If? Tracking the Conservancy’s Impact
Imagine how Southwest Florida might be different today had the Conservancy not been there to protect our quality of life?
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has been creating life-changing “What If” solutions like these — and so many more —for 60-plus years.
With your support, we will continue to deliver results for the next six decades, and beyond.
WHAT IF … we hadn’t played a leading role in advocating for water quality standards and protecting our bays, mangroves, estuaries and sea life that depend on those habitats?
WHAT IF … we hadn’t protected more than 320,000 sea turtle hatchlings since 1982 through our Sea Turtle Monitoring and Protection Program?
WHAT IF … we hadn’t reached more than 40,000 children and adults each year through public awareness and community outreach programs?
WHAT IF … we hadn’t helped create Picayune Strand State Forest — once slated for the world’s largest subdivision and today a critical habitat for wildlife and a haven for recreation?
WHAT IF … we hadn’t established the world-renowned python research and removal program, which to date has eliminated 1,278 invasive Burmese pythons from our region?
Please join us — we can’t do this alone.
We need a Conservancy at its best to take on the challenges before us and ahead.
A Conservancy that brings common-sense solutions to complex problems. That acts on science, not emotion.
A Conservancy that stands for nature — and stands for you.
To meet our working goal of $70 million, we invite you to partner with us and invest in us.
Together, we will protect our quality of life in Southwest Florida. Now & Forever.
