One foundation: Conserving California Landscapes Initiative: Building strategic philanthropy in support of conservation
David and Lucile Packard supported individual leadership, maintained a commitment to effectiveness, and championed those with the capacity to think big. These values guide The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, established in 1964.
In the late-1990s, amid California’s exploding population and accelerating land consumption, the Foundation set out to protect open spaces and working landscapes – central to California’s unique and celebrated sense of place. They sought our help in realizing their vision of a California where the most important landscapes remain protected in perpetuity.
We knew that much more than an ambitious grant-making program was in order. We helped the Foundation create the Conserving California Landscapes Initiative (CCLI) to operate differently than traditional philanthropy.
- Begun in 1998, we designed CCLI to commit $175 million over five years to support the protection of 250,000 acres (later expanded to 500,000 acres) in the Central Coast, the Central Valley, and the Sierra Nevada. This focus increased visibility and regional momentum, which served as a catalyst for action and broadened partnerships.
- We applied a partnership requirement to all transactions. With each land purchase, Foundation funding would leverage funds from outside sources – other foundations, private philanthropists, commercial interests, and government agencies.
- We sought out potential grantees and worked with them to cultivate projects.
- We employed a multidimensional approach shifting focus from individual parcels to conservation of whole landscapes. While fee acquisitions and easements were essential, using a wider range of tools enhanced collaboration and maintained an ecosystem-focused strategy. We used investments in restoration and stewardship, planning, policy, and capacity building to help grow a coalition for long-term protection of California’s landscapes.
To date, CCLI has helped protect more than 400,000 acres, and initial investments continue to support new transactions. Because more than $750 million was leveraged for CCLI-related projects, this work has mobilized pooled funds in excess of $1 billion.
CCLI’s impact goes beyond acres of preserved landscape and the enhanced vitality of conservation groups. This program marked the emergence a new brand of philanthropy and will have lasting implications for the future of innovative grant making.
For more information on the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s current Conservation and Science programs, please visit www.packard.org, and for more information on the Conserving California Landscapes Initiative, see www.usc.edu/schools/sppd/philanthropy/research/publications/paper.