Fund For Lake Michigan

Mission & Values


Our Mission

Lake Michigan is one of Wisconsin’s greatest assets, and its water is critical to the state’s future. The Fund for Lake Michigan is here to help sustain the Lake on behalf of the people and places that depend on it. Our goal is to have a deep, positive impact on the health of Lake Michigan and on the communities of Wisconsin, now and into the future.

Goals

We invest in water quality initiatives that promise tangible near-term and long-term benefits to the plants, animals, and people of Wisconsin. Our grants make beaches safer and drinking water cleaner. They restore and improve habitats to support fish and other species that are critical for healthy ecosystems and key to a strong economy. And they also promote human health and safety, an educated workforce, increased tourism, and a bright future for Wisconsin’s businesses and communities.

Accountability & Transparency

We seek input from a range of stakeholders to ensure funds are invested in organizations that are doing work strongly supported by the community. We and our grantees operate with low overhead, promote activities and solutions that ensure future cost savings. We are transparent about how the Fund’s dollars are spent, we communicate with the public through various channels, and we track and report on the outcomes of our work.
UW Whitewater Economic Report

Racial and Environmental Justice

The Fund for Lake Michigan stands in solidarity with those calling for racial justice, government accountability and an end to violence against our own citizens.

The horrifying and senseless killing of George Floyd, coupled with other recent incidents of brutality toward African Americans, has laid bare the systemic and pervasive racism that plagues our nation. At the Fund for Lake Michigan, we know these injustices also extend to the natural and built environment.

Across the country and here in Wisconsin, communities of color are disproportionately exposed to air and water pollution, flooding and unsafe drinking water.  As a result, people of color experience higher rates of asthma, lead poisoning and other serious health concerns.  These underlying conditions are one reason the COVID-19 pandemic has had such a devastating impact on black and brown lives.

For these reasons, we believe that racial justice and environmental justice go hand-in-hand.  We will not succeed in our efforts at achieving equality unless we tackle both issues as one. Advancing our water quality mission also means promoting environmental, economic, and social justice. Partnerships with communities of color and work with organizations led by them are what drive many of our most meaningful projects.

To the underserved, we promise to lift your voices and embrace your efforts. We promise to check bias on a regular basis and listen intently with an open heart. We promise to have zero tolerance for violence in any form. And most importantly, we promise to do more to address the injustices of the past and help guide a new path forward.