The Fund's North Carolina-based Resourceful Communities Program Awarded a $500,000 Grant by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation

January 12, 2010

Contact:

Vanessa Vaughan, The Conservation Fund
(703) 908-5809 / vvaughan@conservationfund.org

Mikki Sager, (919)967-2223, X126 or msagerR@conservationfund.org

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, NC — Mikki Sager, Conservation Fund vice president, announced that its Resourceful Communities Program (RCP) has been awarded a $500,000 grant by the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation. This generous funding will support RCP’s program efforts, including its Creating New Economies Fund and partner workshops which reach community leaders throughout the state.

The Resourceful Communities Program was established in 1991 to serve NC’s natural resource-rich, and socially and economically distressed communities. RCP works with partners to build local capacity to implement “triple bottom line” approaches with balanced outcomes of environmental stewardship, community-based economic development and social justice. For more information, visit www.resourcefulcommunities.org.

The Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation was established in 1936 as a memorial to the youngest child of R.J. Reynolds and Katharine Smith Reynolds. The Foundation has made grants totaling more than $452 million to recipients in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties. Although it makes grants for a wide range of projects, it now gives special attention to five focus areas: community economic development, the environment, democracy and civic engagement, pre-collegiate education, and social justice and equity. For more information, please visit www.zsr.org.

About The Conservation Fund

The Conservation Fund is dedicated to advancing America’s land and water legacy. With our partners, we conserve land, train leaders and invest in conservation at home. Since 1985, we have helped protect more than 6 million acres, sustaining wild havens, working lands and vibrant communities. We're a top-ranked conservation organization, effective and efficient.