Emerging Conservation Opportunities (ECO) Program
In June 2022, Keep It Colorado received funding from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) to a collaborative opportunity called the Emerging Conservation Opportunities (ECO) Program. ECO is designed to advance land conservation and support a thriving land conservation sector with a multi-year commitment of investments that can be allocated among discrete focus areas to respond to the highest priority needs and opportunities facing the conservation community. Two program areas that resulted are the Conservation Catalyst Fund and Land Conservation Community Health and Sustainability, and their major initiatives are highlighted here.
Conservation Catalyst Fund
Transaction Cost Assistance Program
In 2021, Keep It Colorado partnered with GOCO to establish the Transaction Cost Assistance Program (TCAP). TCAP regrants funds to nonprofit land trusts to help cover the costs associated with conservation easement transactions. It enables landowners who have urgent opportunities to conserve their properties, but who face financial barriers to facilitating the transaction, to conserve more land more quickly – thereby protecting critical habitat, local food systems, iconic viewsheds, wetland and river corridors, and places of historic and cultural significance. With this assistance, Keep It Colorado eases the financial burden on landowners and enables them to move forward with protecting critical landscapes that are imminent risk of subdivided or converted to other uses. Today, additional investments from GOCO, and new investments from Ducks Unlimited and the Walton Family Foundation, have enabled the TCAP program to grow and support more land trusts and landowners across Colorado - protecting thousands of acres.
Mesa Verde landscape, protected through a partnership between Montezuma Land Conservancy and landowner Josh Boren, thanks in part to a TCAP grant.
Land Conservation Community Health and Sustainability
Organizational Advancement
In 2023 Keep It Colorado partnered with the Land Trust Alliance to provide programming in response to increased coalition member demand for support advancing their organizational work. Learning that members are highly dedicated to expanding their work and missions to support community-centered conservation; becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive conservation movement; and sustaining their efforts as organizations of excellence in conservation, the partnership focused on providing support in these areas. With generous funding from GOCO, Keep It Colorado and the Land Trust Alliance successfully delivered grants, learning sessions and a cohort program that helped land trusts act on their strong commitment to invest in their organizations and innovate new practices. In 2024 the partners are continuing these offerings, thanks to GOCO and new investments from the Gates Family Foundation.
Members of the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice (DEIJ) cohort gathered for three days of learning and connection through the Organizational Advancement Program.
