2025 Annual Report: A Year in Review

In 2025, the Great Outdoors Foundation celebrated its 30th anniversary. A year full of both accomplished moments and new challenges to meet, we are reflecting with pride on an impactful year with our valued partners. We invite you to read our full 2025 annual report, and see below for a letter from our Chief Executive Officer, Hannah Inman.

As I was thinking about what I wanted to share with you in this year’s letter, I was met with a bit of a challenge. It’s no surprise to say that the tenor and tone around water quality this past year is in stark contrast to the usually positive nature of an Annual Report. There is much to celebrate, and still, we know there is so much left to do. It’s in these seeming dichotomies that the Great Outdoors Foundation continues to thrive. We don’t see this as an either/or but as yes/and.

In 2025, water quality was front of mind for just about everyone in Iowa. In the background of reduced public funding and concerning data, we had a water usage ban in our region, highlighting that water quality can be water scarcity. All of this can leave one feeling less than optimistic.

Several years ago, before we could have anticipated the circumstances we’re discussing today, we at the Great Outdoors Foundation launched the Conservation Acceleration Fund (CAF). I’m thrilled to share that to date, the CAF has yielded:

• More than $51 million unlocked for conservation practices.
• More than 100 water quality projects activated across the state.
• More than 24 million pounds of lifetime nitrate mitigated from our waterways.

This is only the beginning, but it gives me hope about the future of water quality. Not just in Iowa, but in the entire Mississippi River Watershed. All eyes are on us, and it’s time to rise to the occasion.

Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the Great Outdoors Foundation (GOF). We’ve taken various strategies to advancing our mission over the last three decades, and naturally, as we stand at the crossroads of GOF’s history and future, we’re asking ourselves: what’s next?

The Great Outdoors Foundation has acted as a convener throughout its existence. We don’t have all of the answers, resources, or capacity, but we can certainly act as a connector for those who do. Urban and rural. Upstream and downstream. Right and left. Ag and conservation. It will take radical collaboration to move the needle on water quality at the pace and scope that these circumstances demand. And we’re ready for the challenge.

In the year ahead, you’ll see our focus on this exact model of conservation, bringing all parties to the table to enact solutions where they’re needed:

• Athene Watershed26 will bring together a wide spectrum of partners tackling water quality at the intersection of agriculture and conservation.
• A new on-ramp program will provide technical assistance and resourcing to conservation agronomists implementing conservation through the co-op network.
• Investments from the Conservation Acceleration Fund will be used to provide gap funding for high-impact projects.
• Alternative conservation financing will deliver the patient capital needed to fund practices at scale.
• The Happy Disruptors Podcast will uplift and amplify the voices of expert partners, implementing creative and innovative strategies in their respective sectors.

The Great Outdoors Foundation will continue to operate in this space that is both practical and optimistic. Determined and celebratory. High expectations and high hopes. The challenge ahead of us demands all that we have, and we want you to know we’re giving it everything we’ve got — including relentless positivity. We’re inviting you to do the same.

Thank you for your unwavering support,

Hannah Inman, CEO