National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Wells Fargo Announce $2 Million in Grants from Resilient Communities Program

WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 25, 2017 -- The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced $2 million in grants to eight nonprofit organizations to increase community capacity to plan and implement resilience projects and improve the protections afforded by natural ecosystems by investing in green infrastructure and other measures across the United States. The grants will generate $11 million in matching contributions for a total conservation impact of $13 million.

The grants were awarded through the Resilient Communities program, a $10 million, four-year partnership between NFWF and Wells Fargo. The projects supported by the eight grants announced today will address coastal conservation in Florida and New Jersey, improve water quality in Iowa, improve water quantity in New Mexico, support healthy and fire-resilient ecosystems in California, and assist cities across the United States in building capacity for resilience challenges. These projects will benefit healthy ecosystems for fish and wildlife while increasing community resilience.

In 2017, NFWF and Wells Fargo launched the Resilient Communities program to increase the capacity of communities to prepare for impacts associated with changing sea levels and unstable shorelines, water quantity and quality issues and longer fire seasons. The program empowers communities to take advantage of and enhance natural features like wetlands, resilient shorelines, urban tree canopies, natural forests and healthy upstream watersheds. The Resilient Communities program places special emphasis on inclusion and helping traditionally underserved, low- and moderate-income communities build capacity.

“Our partnership with Wells Fargo demonstrates the impact that public-private efforts can have for wildlife habitat and for local communities,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “The eight grants we announced today will enable communities to support natural habitats and resilience as they encounter future conservation challenges.” 

“Wells Fargo continues to respond to natural disasters in the communities where our customers and team members live and work with financial and volunteer support,” said Stephanie Rico, senior vice president of environmental affairs at Wells Fargo. “Our resilience work with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation strives to get ahead of these events and prevent or minimize their effects in the long term.”

The 2017 Resilient Communities grant recipients were selected from a highly competitive pool of more than 280 applicants. The projects that earned grants involve a high level of conservation expertise, partnerships with stakeholders and dedication to the communities they serve.

A complete list of the 2017 grants made through the Resilient Communities program is available here.

About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Chartered by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and restores the nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate and individual partners, NFWF has funded more than 4,500 organizations and committed more than $3.8 billion to conservation projects. Learn more at  www.nfwf.org.

About Wells Fargo
Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,500 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 271,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked Wells Fargo No. 3 on its most recent list of the top corporate cash philanthropists. In 2016, Wells Fargo donated $281.3 million to 14,900 nonprofits and Wells Fargo team members volunteered 1.73 million hours with 50,000 nonprofits. Wells Fargo’s corporate social responsibility efforts are focused on three priorities: economic empowerment in underserved communities, environmental sustainability, and advancing diversity and social inclusion. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

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Rob Blumenthal
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
(202) 857-0166
[email protected]