As 2024 draws to a close, we here at The Conservation Alliance are taking time to reflect on the work we’ve collectively accomplished this year to advance conservation for our most cherished wild places.
Over the last 12 months, our community has remained united in our shared love of the lands and waters around us and the need to ensure their protection. No matter where we’re from, how we spend our time, or even who we vote for, we want to see our natural resources protected to serve as the backbone for businesses, communities, and families that rely on the outdoors.
As always, this year, The Conservation Alliance member companies’ investments in land and water protection have made a big difference. Through our two pillars of impact – grantmaking and advocacy – we supported dozens of community-led organizations and saw several key conservation victories across North America.
2024 Conservation Outcomes
TCA’s business-led approach to conservation proves that investing in land and water protection creates jobs, helps local communities, expands access to the outdoors, and protects future generations from the impacts of climate change.
The numbers speak for themselves when we look back on the impact of TCA’s work this year.
Our efforts protected:
- 41,346,981 acres
- 385 river miles
- 4 dam removals
- 1 marine sanctuary
We also saw key victories for priority campaigns, including:
- Protecting 28 million acres of D-1 lands in Alaska.
- Expanding San Gabriel Mountains National Monument and Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.
A Year of Action…
So how exactly did we make this happen? We continued to build on the 35 year history of The Conservation Alliance’s tried and true grantmaking program while expanding our efforts working with companies and grantees on policies from California to Washington D.C.
This year, TCA funded a grand total of 47 projects. Through our four grant programs, $1,651,000 were dispersed across 19 states and territories in North America. This included our first grant in the state of Indiana, which was awarded to the Indiana Forest Alliance! And we’re especially proud of the fact that 37% of grant dollars awarded in 2024 supported BIPOC-led organizations. These grants funded a wide variety of projects led by local experts advocating for the preservation of special places right in their backyards.
We also leveraged the powerful business voice for conservation to advocate for critical conservation issues of regional and national importance. We led two lobby visits to Washington D.C. where companies and grantees met with White House and administrative staff and key congressional offices to discuss priority campaigns. We held over 40 meetings with congress and the administration, where our member companies’ wide-ranging industry representation has proven to enhance our political credibility.
We launched a new event series, Advocate Outdoors, which gives folks the opportunity to experience the land we’re working to protect firsthand, and engage in meaningful discussions about the landscapes and what needs to be done to protect them. Our first two events were held in the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument and the Dolores River Canyon Country, with over 20 representatives from member companies and grantees as well as in-district staff from local congressional offices joining us. We also brought people together in service of important landscapes with our Backyard Collective series in four locations – the Bay Area, Ventura, Portland, and Seattle.
Additionally, we worked on a number of special projects to bring awareness to priority campaigns, including the release of the Mobilizing for Monuments Road Trip Film and the launch of the Protect Alaska’s Homelands campaign. We expanded our Mobilizing for Monuments coalition to include over 100 brand partners, and we’re still adding to the list!
…and A Year of Growth
We saw our community grow in more ways than one this year. First, we welcomed 25 new members to The Conservation Alliance family. Notably, the list of new businesses include 7 fishing brands, which is an industry that has been and continues to remain critical for advancing conservation work.
We also deepened our partnership with two new Pinnacle Members – Peak Design and Osprey. With their increased investment in TCA, Pinnacle Members further support TCA’s highly diversified grantmaking portfolio, corporate advocacy program, and core operational expenses to help shift the landscape of conservation.
Finally, we welcome two new members to the TCA team – Paul Hendricks as Executive Director, and Carla Fox as Membership Director. Their background and expertise have rounded out our staff and propelled our work to reach new heights in 2024 and beyond.
We are so grateful to our entire community of members, grantees, partners, and supporters who helped make our work possible in 2024. Our shared vision for protecting outdoor spaces and wild places and our collective voices for this cause are what continue to make a difference.
