2024 Year in Review
The past year has yielded a number of successes for the Great Outdoors Foundation as we advance conservation through innovation, collaboration, and stewardship. Take a look below at our 2024 highlights and featured reads as we recap our year together.
2024 Highlights
Google Provides $1.3 Million in Support to Conservation Acceleration Fund
This support from Google will enable a 47-site grade stabilization project in partnership with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS), various Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and Drake University. Google joins other key investors in the CAF with private contributions totaling more than $5 million to date.
LEARN MORE >>
Great Outdoors Foundation Launches New Brand, 30th Anniversary
The Great Outdoors Foundation (GOF) has launched its new brand as the kickoff of its 30th anniversary, the organization announced last night. Attendees of the Wild Prairie Showdown, GOF’s joint event with ICON Water Trails, were the first to see its new logo in this video. The organization also revealed a new website, complete with short case studies of some of the conservation and recreation initiatives it has contributed to over the course of its history.
Wild Prairie Showdown Achieves Record Fundraising
The Great Outdoors Foundation and ICON Water Trails are pleased to announce that the Wild Prairie Showdown — Presented by Hubbell Realty Company — has raised more than $160,000 for conservation and recreation. The event, held Oct. 10 at the Community Choice Convention Center Ballroom, had nearly 400 in attendance and earned more than $40,000 over last year’s competition.
2024 Featured Reads
Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit: Creative Conservation
On Thursday, May 2, Great Outdoors Foundation CEO, Hannah Inman, had the opportunity to give a short talk on Creative Conservation at the Midwest Regional Sustainability Summit. She covers the “secret sauce” of Creative Conservation and applies it to three case studies: the Wetland Wave, ICON Water Trails, and the Conservation Acceleration Fund. You can watch her presentation below, and learn more about the business case for conservation, here.
ICON Receives $1M Boost from Federal Government for Felur Drive Dam Project
ICON Water Trails has received $1 million from the federal government to help fund a project that will turn the low-head dam on the Raccoon River at Fleur Drive into a hub for water recreation. The funding was announced during a news conference Friday morning at Gray’s Lake, near the site where the work will take place. It is in addition to earlier funding announced for the project.
ICON Water Trails Project Hits $100 Million Fundraising Milestone
Iowa Confluence Water Trails has officially surpassed $100 million raised for the project that will connect more than 150 miles of waterways at 86 sites across central Iowa. It’s a major milestone for ICON, which first launched its grassroots fundraising campaign in 2021. The $780,000 investment — Hubbell Realty Co.’s second contribution to the project — secured the West Des Moines-based company naming rights for the Hubbell Trailhead unveiled Thursday night at the Wild Prairie Showdown.
CoBank Originates Its First Sustainability-Linked Loan with Heartland Co-Op with Support from EDF
CoBank today announced the launch of its first sustainability-linked loan in partnership with its customer, Heartland Co-op. CoBank, a cooperative bank that serves agribusinesses, rural infrastructure providers and Farm Credit associations throughout the United States, is one of the largest private creditors to the U.S. rural economy. Through this partnership, Heartland Co-op will receive a slight interest rate reduction on its operating line of credit with CoBank if it achieves ambitious goals related to water quality conservation practices and farmer engagement. Environmental Defense Fund supported the development of the loan and advised on the water quality targets.
READ MORE >>
For Generations to Come
As a fundraising organization, it’s easy to assess our value in terms of dollars and cents, which of course, are vital to advancing our mission. For example, in the last 18 months, we’ve secured more than $5 million for the Conservation Acceleration Fund (CAF), unlocking upward of $20 million in water quality investments, conservatively. Numbers certainly demonstrate scope, but to me, stories convey impact. Earlier this fall, I had the opportunity to meet Joe Jardon, a multigenerational farmer and veteran who is benefiting from our recent partnership with Google, activating 37 grade stabilization sites led by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship.
