$1.5 Million Gift to Support Acquisitions and Stewardship
An extraordinary gift of $1.5 million has been received by Genesee Valley Conservancy to support local conservation. This gift is the single largest donation received by the organization.
“This gift provides a tremendous opportunity to advance local conservation of habitat, open space and farmland” said Executive Director Benjamin Gajewski. “It is truly inspiring to receive such a significant gift. With the cost of protecting land rising, the continuing march of development covering productive farmland and healthy wildlife habitat, and the existential threat of our changing climate, this gift gives us an opportunity to increase the pace of conservation.”
The gift came through an individual’s will as an anonymous bequest. Per the donor’s wishes, this gift is supporting two of the organization’s programs: new acquisitions and ongoing stewardship.
Acquisition Work
Of this most generous gift, $1 million has been allocated to the Acquisition Fund and is being used by the Conservancy to finance new projects. This gives the organization the ability to protect significant places and take on more projects simultaneously than could be done previously. Among the uses of the Acquisitions Fund is the organization’s cooperative conservation program.
The cooperative conservation program is focused on identifying and acquiring critical areas which fill-in, connect, or expand upon existing conservation. Working hand-in-hand with New York State Parks and the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Conservancy negotiates the purchase or transfer of land that fills in donut-holes in a park or connects two sections of a wildlife management area into one. Once the Conservancy acquires these lands, it then works to transfer them to State agency ownership. Increased funding in the Acquisitions Fund is allowing the organization to pursue more places that are actively on the market for sale.
Other acquisition efforts by the Conservancy result in the organization owning land as nature preserves or holding conservation agreements on private property – obligations the organization will forever have to keep these places protected. The Conservancy must work each year to ensure nature preserves are accessible to the public and that conservation agreements are being upheld on working farmland and forestland.
Ongoing Stewardship
A third of the recent gift, $500,000, has been allocated to the organization’s Stewardship Fund to support the ongoing and growing stewardship obligations of the Conservancy.
Since its inception, Genesee Valley Conservancy has maintained a Stewardship Fund to ensure the organization has the financial capacity to properly steward and maintain the lands it has committed to keeping protected forever.
The organization also holds more than 160 conservation agreements with landowners that require in-person visits each year to ensure those properties and agreements remain intact. The Conservancy has taken on an additional 20 conservation agreements already this year, conserving more than 3,800 acres that now become an annual obligation to steward.
The Stewardship Fund supports a wide variety of work. The organization owns 560 acres of land in the form of nature preserves that are open to the community free of charge. These places require ongoing maintenance of trails and signage, as well as investments to improve wildlife habitat and biodiversity.
The organization also holds more than 160 conservation agreements with landowners that require in-person visits each year to ensure those properties and agreements remain intact. So far this year, the Conservancy has taken on an additional 20 conservation agreements, conserving more than 3,800 acres that now become an annual obligation to steward.
The organization currently has two-and-a-half full-time staff to keep up with these stewardship obligations, as well as six seasonal positions to support summer work. As the organization continues to protect new places, increased staffing levels will be needed to ensure these places remain protected.
Legacy Giving
This remarkable gift came from an anonymous donor’s estate. It was a bequest in their will that was paid to the Conservancy upon their passing.
“For most people, their largest capacity to support the people and causes they care about comes not during their lifetime, but at the end of life through a legacy gift” said Gajewski.” “It is a remarkable and selfless way to give, benefiting the community for generations to come.”
The Conservancy has received several legacy gifts over the years, typically from known supporters who donated annually during their lifetimes and used a legacy gift as a final donation to support the organization’s work.
“While annual gifts keep the organization running, we are increasingly relying on legacy gifts to support our growing conservation efforts. Our conservation projects are costing multi-hundreds of thousands of dollars up to a few million dollars per project. To continue to have a positive impact on the future of the Genesee Valley, legacy is essential.”
Legacy giving does not need to be a singular choice. “Every legacy gift we’ve received, including this one, has been just one part of an individual’s total legacy giving. Individuals can support family, friends, and the causes they care about through proper planning.” Contacting a financial or estate planning professional is the first step to understanding how to achieve your legacy goals and ensure your assets benefit the people and causes you support.
August is National Make-a-Will Month, a campaign to raise awareness of the importance of planning for the future and considering how you want your assets to support family, friends, and causes that you care about when you pass. State law dictates how your assets would be distributed upon your death. Legacy planning allows you to make those choices yourself.
Through the end of 2025, the Conservancy has a matching challenge opportunity available – for every new or enhanced legacy gift to Genesee Valley Conservancy, an anonymous donor will provide a $1,000 cash match to support the Conservancy’s efforts this year. This campaign helps fund conservation work today, while lining up important future support for local land conservation.
If you have already left a gift to the Conservancy, please let us know so we can update our files and thank you for including us as part of your estate plans.
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Genesee Valley Conservancy is a nationally accredited non-profit conservation organization working to protect the habitat, open space and farmland in the Genesee River watershed. Over 39,210 acres of natural habitat and productive farm and forest land have been conserved by Genesee Valley Conservancy in partnership with private landowners. The organization also owns nature preserves open to the public for recreation and education. For more information visit www.geneseevalleyconservancy.org.