Blue water, green spaces, clean air for all, forever. That’s the enduring vision of the Friends of the St. Clair River, and they are one step closer to sustainable funding to make that happen through the establishment of their new endowment fund at the Community Foundation.

“It’s part of our strategic plan,” said Sheri Faust, Executive Director of Friends of St. Clair River. “We are always working toward the goal of adequate financial stability. This new endowment fund helps us sustain long term support. We want to make a bold investment to serve our region’s long term environmental sustainable needs.” 

“We started the conversation about launching the endowment at the beginning of the year and getting that approved and then signing off on the paperwork. This is our watershed moment. This summer we are celebrating our 17th anniversary. All of these moves are rooted in getting us to celebrate our 50th anniversary.” 

Since 2007, the Community Foundation has worked with Friends of St. Clair River through grants to help fulfill their mission of protecting and restoring the St. Clair River watershed through community education, environmental monitoring, hands-on stewardship and advocacy.

During that time, over $200,000 in grants have been given for the crucial work of stewarding the Blue Water River Walk, leading regional trails initiatives and fun yet educational projects like storm drain art. In addition, Friends of the St. Clair River offers self-guided tours for families along the Blue Water River Walk.

Most recently, a $24,000 grant from the Community Foundation will help the regional effort to complete the remaining gaps in the bridge to bay trail system.

“The grant was for the regional trails, implementation and project management to support our work and conduct oversight, needed logistics, administration and planning,” Faust said. 

“The scope is actually bigger. We want to connect Lakeport State Park to Algonac State Park. It follows Lake Huron, down the St. Clair River on down to Lake St. Clair. Trail work takes a lot of patience and perseverance. It takes a long time to make these connections. Bridge to bay started 20 years ago. We are continuing the original vision to complete the remaining gaps. It’s 25 miles of bridge to bay right now. We are in the final push to complete the trail system.”

You can also play a part in the future of the St. Clair River through legacy giving. Making a planned gift is a great way for a donor to create a lasting impact and legacy and share in Friends of St. Clair River’s long-term goals. Making a donation also has tax benefits for the donor and supplies personal fulfillment of environmental stewardship. It can also go a long way in inspiring others to help create a lasting legacy as well.

There are various ways to structure planned gifts, including bequests in wills, charitable trusts, retirement plan designations and life insurance policies. This flexibility allows donors to tailor the gift to their own financial situation and charitable goals.

“We were founded 16 years ago simply on the desire to improve the community,” Faust said. “We wanted to make rivers safe for fishing, drinking and recreation. It wasn’t long ago that we were thinking about chemical spills and neglected shorelines. We wanted to help our communities improve. We got to work around this effort and we have passionate members. We were working to change how people interact with the water and their experience. We want to reverse a century of abuse and we are seeing it pay off.” 

With the help of donors, Friends of St. Clair River will continue its mission far into the future. The Community Foundation is a proud partner of Friends of St. Clair River creating sustainable support for its year-round conservation and environmental education initiatives.

If you want to be a part of the health of the St. Clair River and environmental initiatives well beyond that, visit https://scriver.org for more information.