The numbers are out. Our projects do more than improve the health of the Lake Michigan watershed. They pay dividends in the economy by creating good jobs, raising property values, attracting federal and out-of-state investment in Wisconsin, and building demand for our state’s abundant water-related offerings. Add this to the immeasurable quality-of-life enhancements and the long-term ecological impacts, and our work has an impressive “triple bottom line.”

The Fiscal and Economic Research Center (FERC) at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater recently analyzed the economic impact of our first eight years of grantmaking. Among FERC’s findings, the $23 million we invested in those eight years:

• Added $124 million to the regional economy;
• Created 1,280 full-time, family-supporting jobs; and
• Stimulated $52 million in labor income.

Read the full report here.

For earlier studies on the impact of our grantmaking, see FERC’s previous report, which measures the economic impact of our first five years of grantmaking, and see “One Lake. A Thousand Reasons,” our brochure illustrating the influence our grants and partnerships are having on the Lake Michigan ecosystem and Wisconsin’s communities.