Introducing our Newest Pinnacle Member: Public Lands Fund

Photo: Matthew Provost
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Welcome, Public Lands Fund!
The
Public Lands Fund, a program of The DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation, joins The Conservation Alliance as our newest Pinnacle member. As a Pinnacle member, the Public Lands Fund contributes $100,000 annually into our grant program, which has an impeccable record of vetting proposals and supporting successful conservation projects. 
Pinnacle members rely on The Conservation Alliance as their vehicle for funding a portfolio of projects that protect North America’s wild places. With one annual contribution, Pinnacle members are investing in 50 projects that we carefully select based on political viability, biological diversity, the organization’s history of success, and benefits to people and wildlife. This investment into public lands protection supports communities with sustainable economies and outdoor recreation opportunities and provides natural climate change solutions through carbon sequestration, preserved wildlife habitat, and avoided conversion. 

Public Lands, a new specialty outdoor retail concept, recently launched its first store in  Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania. A second store is opening in Polaris, Ohio, in October 2021. The stores focus on customer engagement through a retail experience that centers the connections between people, gear, and the outdoors. Also a member of 1% for the Planet, Public Lands will be donating 1% of all sales to the Public Lands Fund, which supports national and local nonprofit partners like The Conservation Alliance that protect new lands, improve existing lands, break down the barriers of access to outdoor experiences, and improve inclusion and equity in the outdoors. 
“When we launched Public Lands we did so with the purpose of celebrating and protecting our public lands for all,” said Todd Spaletto, President of Public Lands. “Working with The Conservation Alliance through the Public Lands Fund is a critically important part of our efforts to ensure that our public lands and cherished outdoor spaces are available and preserved for all. We’re excited that the Public Lands Fund will not only be supporting the efforts of The Conversation Alliance but also local partners around our stores and other organizations that have similar missions and goals.”
“It is great to see a major retailer build conservation, public lands education, and advocacy into the bedrock of their stores. Public Lands President Todd Spaletto has been a longtime conservation advocate and supporter of The Conservation Alliance during his time at The North Face and Wolverine Worldwide. We’re excited to see what Public Lands will become under his leadership,” said Brady Robinson, Executive Director at The Conservation Alliance. 
Learn more about the Public Lands Fund.
 

 
Header: Matthew Provost
Pinnacle graphic: Jon Mullen