The Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program is at risk.
Future conservation efforts in Wisconsin will be devastated if the Legislature and the Governor cannot agree to reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program for another ten years in the state budget. Lawmakers will soon decide whether or not to provide millions of dollars in renewed funding for the Stewardship Program—funding that is crucial to land trusts and their conservation partners around the state.
What are we doing and how can you help?
“Grasstops” Advocacy
Gathering Waters has retained professional lobbyists as our eyes and ears in the Capitol. We are connecting land trust supporters and influential community leaders directly with legislators and traveling around the state to meet with key decision-makers in their home districts.
To make a contribution to these 501(c)3 Grasstops efforts, please click here.
“Grassroots” Advocacy
With a Governor and Legislature that don’t agree on much, it is critical for them to hear directly from constituents that Wisconsin is not divided on this issue. To achieve this, we are providing land trusts and other organizations (nearly 50 in total) with tools and materials to get their members involved.
We are making it simple to reach elected officials with the click of a mouse and contracting a communications firm to reach people in key districts through online marketing, patch-through calling, and more. This is proving to be effective, but more funding is urgently needed. Grassroots advocacy is expensive and there is a legal limit to how much a 501(c)3 can spend on it.
To address this, we have created an affiliated 501(c)4 called the Gathering Waters Advocacy Fund. Contributions to 501(c)4s are not tax deductible, so we must rely heavily on our nonprofit partners for contributions. To make a contribution to these Grassroots efforts, please mail a check made out to “Gathering Waters Advocacy Fund” to 211 S Paterson St, Ste 270, Madison, WI 53703.
