Thanks to a tremendous response to its first endowment campaign, The Everglades Foundation has announced that it exceeded its goal, raising $76 million in gifts and pledges from 80 donors to establish the endowment.
“The pioneering supporters of this endowment have played a vital role in a historic legacy,” said The Everglades Foundation’s CEO Eric Eikenberg. “We are deeply grateful to these philanthropists who share our vision for a healthy and vibrant Everglades, perpetually protected by skilled scientists, policy experts, and educators working to protect this global treasure.”
During the three-year ForEverglades Endowment Campaign from 2022 to 2024, the Foundation witnessed a remarkable response from individuals, foundations, and companies who embrace the bipartisan spirit of Everglades restoration and want to protect forever what the Foundation is devoted to saving.
The endowment significantly strengthens The Everglades Foundation’s agility in addressing top priorities and responding to emerging challenges, as well as the Foundation’s long-term sustainability. Additional funds have been established for endowment gifts dedicated to the organization’s three pillars of science, advocacy, and education.
“We are proud that 100% of our Board of Directors committed to this endowment, which will continue to grow, to ensure our work endures for generations to come,” said The Everglades Foundation’s Board Chairman Carlos de la Cruz, Jr. “Our freshwater, economy, wildlife, and way of life in the beautiful state of Florida depend on it.”
The national endowment campaign has been led by ForEverglades Endowment Campaign Chairman Marshall Field V, a Foundation Board member, active outdoorsman, and head of one of the country’s most historically philanthropic families.
“After restoration is complete, the Everglades will continue to be threatened by encroaching development, saltwater intrusion, and greater demands for its freshwater,” Field said. “We must protect that water from being wasted, polluted, or diverted for private industry’s exclusive use. Freshwater in Florida is the public’s resource, and it must be valued for the biodiversity that depends upon it. This campaign is about where we want the Everglades to be long after all of us are gone.”
To learn more about the Foundation’s new endowment, please contact:
Vice President of Development Jodi Farrell at jfarrell@evergladesfoundation.org
or 305-331-3361, or visit EvergladesFoundation.org/endowment.
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