The Conservation Alliance (TCA), a business coalition uniting to protect lands and waters for future generations, is proud to announce its 2026-27 Confluence Program grant recipients. This year’s grants, totaling $340,000, will support six remarkable organizations: Atsapáq, Giniw Collective, Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative, Seeds of Harmony, Inc., Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, and Wilps ‘Wii K’aax.
Now in its fifth year, the Confluence Grant Program funds conservation projects led by Indigenous, Asian, Hispanic, Latin American, Black, Brown, or additional communities who identify as People of Color. Each recipient will receive funding over the next two years to advance projects that protect vital lands and waters while fostering harmony between nature, wildlife, and people.
TCA’s 2025 Advisory Committee, composed of representatives from grantee organizations, member companies, philanthropic and conservation organizations, and TCA staff, evaluated 55 applications before selecting this year’s awardees. The chosen projects span diverse geographic regions, communities, and conservation goals, demonstrating the program’s broad impact.
2026-27 Grant Recipients and Projects Include:
- Atsapáq (California): Atsapáq is a Quechan-led, land-based nonprofit rooted in the belief that food sovereignty and cultural revitalization are inseparable. Quechan ancestral lands cover a vast territory that extends from Avi Kwa Ame to Baja, Mexico, and from Palm Springs, California to the Phoenix Basin. Atsapáq is a co-leader in The Protect Kw’tsán campaign (PKC), which focuses on safeguarding 388,000 acres of these natural desert homelands from industrial energy development. They will focus on management planning and launching an on-the-ground restoration project to ensure Quechan values shape current activities, while also working towards permanent protection.
- Giniw Collective (Minnesota): The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness/Voyageur’s National Park, located in the Rainy River watershed, is home to several First Nations who have stewarded these waters for generations. This project will leverage local, rural and Tribal voices to show support for protecting this landscape. Giniw Collective will work alongside other Tribal members and conservation groups to engage with local, state and national leaders for protection of the Boundary Waters.
- Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative (Georgia): The Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative (ONPPI) is a community-based group of Middle Georgia and Muscogee (Creek) citizens working together to expand the current site of Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park into Georgia’s first National Park and Preserve. The Ocmulgee River corridor serves as a vital carbon sink, safeguards water quality for hundreds of thousands of residents, and provides habitat for 430+ species.
- Seeds of Harmony, Inc. (Arizona): Seeds of Harmony empowers local tribal communities to practice and maintain a sustainable and healthy way of life while learning from and teaching about their local ecosystems as well as fostering respect and care for their watersheds. Their project to restore and protect the Lukachukai Creek Headwaters will spearhead long-term efforts to protect watersheds, boost groundwater infiltration at the headwaters of a perennial stream and enhance Indigenous land users’ access to their ancestral homelands and practices.
- Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic (Alaska): Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic (SILA) is building capacity to integrate indigenous leadership and voices into the campaign to protect the “Special Areas” within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). These areas include 13 million acres west of the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and carry significant ecological and cultural importance. They work to build an engaged and informed Inupiaq community that understands the impacts of extraction on their lands, culture, and local economy.
- Wilps ‘Wii K’aax (British Columbia): Wilps ’Wii K’aax lax’yip (territory) encompasses 214,193 hectares (529,282 acres) across the Skeena, Babine, and Sustut watersheds, territories of extraordinary biodiversity and cultural significance. Through this project, Wilps ‘Wii K’aax will continue to steward this land and pursue possible pathways for protection from mining exploration, industrial logging, guide outfitting, and lodge developments.
About The Conservation Alliance
The Conservation Alliance is the leading business coalition for conservation. Uniting companies across industries, perspectives, and geographies, we harness the collective power of our members to protect lands and waters for future generations. Since its founding in 1989, TCA and its members have helped protect over 125 million acres of and nearly 5,000 river miles by advocating for common-sense policies and granting $34.9 million to local groups to improve and protect critical landscapes across the country. With natural places facing a barrage of threats, they welcome all brands that value North American landscapes to join them in leveraging the power of business to drive conservation. For complete information about The Conservation Alliance, visit conservationalliance.com.
Media Contact: Lilly Zoller, Director of Communications, Lilly@ConservationAlliance.com
