Waterkeepers Alabama and their latest initiative, the Ten Rivers Project, got a valuable shoutout in a Forbes article on March 8th. The feature comes after the coalition received the Mosaic grant, a highly competitive grant that benefits all 10 member organizations of Waterkeepers Alabama. Keep reading for all the details.

Waterkeepers Alabama

Swim Guides For Cahaba Riverkeeper — Swim Guide interns from Cahaba Riverkeeper. (Myra Crawford)

With the limited funding that goes towards protecting the environment, this grant will have an invaluable impact on the already outstanding work that Waterkeepers Alabama does for our local watersheds.

If you’re not familiar with the incredible work that Waterkeepers Alabama does, allow me to introduce you.

Waterkeepers Alabama is an alliance of the 10 regional Waterkeeper organizations in the state, including:

Upper Coosa and Chattahoochee Riverkeeper have offices in Georgia, but are included since they focus on rivers flowing into Alabama.

The goal of each Waterkeeper organization is to protect, preserve and restore Alabama waterways that are especially susceptible to pollution. Each Waterkeeper organization is able to scientifically study their waters as well, gaining an in-depth understanding of the unique Alabama environment. Waterkeepers Alabama works as a whole to bring together, oversee and support each organization.

A valuable surprise

Mosaic is a national grantmaking initiative that supports people who are working to ensure clean air and water, a safe climate, healthy + just communities for all and thriving natural systems.

In their second annual initiative, Mosaic pledged to distribute $6M to fund projects that advance one or more of these core values:

communications
leadership development
advocacy tools & training
data & information
relationships & trust
and philanthropic innovation

Waterkeepers Alabama received the grant last year for their 3 Rivers Project, a collaboration between Cahaba Riverkeeper, Black Warrior Riverkeeper and Coosa Riverkeeper.

This year, Dr. Myra Crawford, executive director of Cahaba Riverkeeper, wrote and submitted the grant application. To her delight, they were selected out of a pool of 685 total applicants.

“I was totally surprised because it was such a long shot. It’s Mosaic’s second year so they’re more well known, and I knew it was going to be a large pool of applicants—so I’m very delighted.”
Dr. Myra Crawford, Executive Director, Cahaba Riverkeeper

Ten Rivers Project

Mosaic selected the Ten Rivers Project for the grant, which is an extension of the Three Rivers Project from the previous year.

This project includes all 10 organizations from across the state. Each group will hold an individual event, which the other nine organizations can attend.

Members of each group can then take advantage of the unique opportunity to come together and share information with their regional counterparts. Through the project, each group will collaborate and gain a deeper understanding of the state’s environment as a whole, allowing them to better provide for their communities.

“This is the first grant that all ten member organizations of Waterkeepers Alabama have received as a coalition,” said Charles Scribner, executive director of Black Warrior Riverkeeper. “I am grateful to Mosaic for supporting Waterkeepers’ increasingly collaborative work in communities that bear disproportionate pollution burdens.”

Check out Waterkeepers’ feature in Forbes and learn more about their work here.

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