Great Lakes Stewardship

Geographic Scope: Michigan, Great Lakes region

Focus Areas:

• Increase awareness and understanding of the ecology of the Great Lakes
• Support efforts to make residents advocates for strategies supporting long-term sustainability of Great Lakes fisheries
• Create stewards of the Great Lakes
• Place-based stewardship education (PBSE) in K-12 schools

Program Background: The trust has awarded approximately $15.5 million through the Great Lakes Stewardship grant program. Between 2007 and 2017, the trust primarily supported stewardship efforts through the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI), a nonprofit created with trust support to develop sustainable infrastructure for place-based stewardship education in Michigan K–12 schools.

GLSI Accomplishments:

• 136,369 stewardship experiences provided to students
• 384 schools with place-based education or professional development
• 2,059 teachers in place-based education or professional development
• Active participant in all 38 Michigan schools with embedded place-based education
• One of largest efforts in North America to establish and support place-based stewardship education

Eligibility:

• Nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) IRS designation
• Nongovernmental organizations holding charitable status in their country
• Educational organizations
• Governmental organizations (including tribal)

Contact Information:

• Phone: 517-371-7468
• Fax: 517-484-6549
• Email: [email protected]
• Address: 230 N. Washington Square, Suite 300, Lansing, MI 48933

Application Cycle: Alternating years. Check Opportunities page for current acceptance status.

Application Process

• Applications submitted through online grant proposal submission portal
• Prospective applicants encouraged to contact GLFT staff prior to submission to discuss project eligibility, goals, and alignment with GLFT priorities
• Staff available to assist applicants with navigating the online grant proposal submission process
• Review application guidance documents and relevant policies on program-specific pages
• Application guidance documents identify requirements and priorities based on board of trustees policies

Required Materials:

• Refer to program-specific application guidance documents for detailed requirements