Join Forever Our Rivers, Carlson Vineyards, Sarabella Fishing, Map the Xperience, SOL Paddle Boards and others to raise $100,000 for nonprofits working to create equitable access to clean rivers. It will fund projects in underserved communities and communities of color, and those that center women and people with disabilities. Everyone deserves clean water and healthy, unpolluted rivers.
The Our Rivers podcast will feature the people making a difference on healthy rivers.In our first episode we hear from two Forever Our Rivers grantees, Brown Folks Fishing and Casting For Recovery, as they partner on the Angling for All Pledge to address racism and inequality in the fishing industry. Thank you to our sponsor, Carlson Vineyards.
Despite the challenges of this year and this holiday season, we are filled with gratitude for wild spaces, the rivers that sustain them, and the people working to help them thrive.
So many of us turned to the natural world for solace in 2020, making it a point to get our toes muddy, cast a line, or just sit and watch the current run by the banks of our favorite local river. These moments reminded us how important healthy waterways are to every aspect of our well-being and renewed our commitment to help communities across the Southwest connect to their rivers. We’re planning an exciting 2021 campaign to expand our efforts, recruit more leaders from underserved communities, and help more corporate partners target and amplify their environmental giving to rivers. We’ll tell you about it in January.
Our 2020 Grantees and current River Partners are working hard to connect women, black, indigenous and people of color to rivers nationwide. We also focused on introducing kids to rivers in the Southwest while engaging communities to protect their rivers in Colorado and Arizona.
Our Corporate Partners continue to amaze us with their creativity, generosity, and determination to support these innovative projects in a hard year.
Our grantees include: Brown Folks Fishing, Csting for Recovery, Colorado West Land Trust, Four Corners Water Center, Friends of Youth & Nature, Institute for Environmental Solutions, Purgatoire Watershed Partnership, Roaring Fork Conservancy, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and River Science. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get the latest on how our grantees are doing!
We’re wishing you a happy and healthy holiday! We hope you can carve out some time to sit by your favorite river.
Forever Our Rivers Foundation is proud to announce that we awarded $25,000 in grants to organizations that are connecting people to southwest rivers! The grant cycle was made possible by our generous Corporate Partners. Organizations that received funding include: Brown Folks Fishing, Casting for Recovery, Colorado West Land Trust, Four Corners Water Center at Fort Lewis College, Friends of Youth & Nature, Institute for Environmental Solutions, Purgatoire Watershed Partnership, Roaring Fork Conservancy, San Juan Citizens Alliance and River Science. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to get the latest on how our grantees are doing!
Fish Don’t Live in Ugly Places
In a new podcast series, Forever Our Rivers has been talking with community business partners and learning their tips and stories for managing the new world of COVID-19. In the podcast series you’ll hear how maps are becoming masks, listen to a story of adapting to the new work place, be reminded of the therapeutic benefits of fishing, and learn about the interesting intersection between beer and rivers. Thank you to Map the Xperience, Mayfly Outdoors, SaraBella Fishing and Gilded Goat Brewery for spending your time with us!
Drink great wine and support healthy rivers. Click here to purchase.
Photo by Cailin Portra at Trout Unlimited Gala
Carlson Vineyards and DeYoung Studio have combined fine art with fine wine. When you purchase a Forever Our Rivers Red or White you help support our Community River Grants program. The wine-art partnership presents a win-win opportunity for you to support healthy rivers from your home! Forever Our Rivers White is a blend of Riesling, Vidal Blanc, and Chardonnay and Forever Our Rivers Red is a blend of Lemberger and Petite Sirah. Wines can be purchased for delivery through Carlson Vineyard’s website at by clicking here and you can see more of Derek DeYoung’s amazing work here.
Community River Grant Cycle
We invite our River Health Partners to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to fund projects in the American southwest. Grant priorities range from habitat restoration to connecting communities to their rivers.
Our network of generous corporate partners made this funding cycle possible. Look for our logo on company websites and products, to support future grant cycles.
Only River Health Partners are eligible to apply for Community River Grants. Please review our grant guidelines to determine eligibility and then email Joe Neuhof at [email protected] to complete a partnership agreement.
The deadline for applications is May 15th. We will make selections in June.
Forever Our Rivers Foundation is proud to announce that we are moving forward with our 2020 Community River Grants cycle. Last week we invited our River Health Partners to apply for grants of up to $5,000 to fund projects in the American southwest. Grant priorities range from habitat restoration to connecting communities to their rivers. Our network of generous corporate partners made this funding cycle possible. Look for our logo on company websites and products, to support future grant cycles.
Only River Health Partners are eligible to apply for Community River Grants. Please review our grant guidelines to determine eligibility and then email Joe Neuhof at [email protected] to complete a partnership agreement.
The deadline for applications is May 15th. We will make selections in June.
We Stand Together
Now is the time to stand with our River Health and Corporate Partners. Please do what you can to continue to support businesses that invest in our environment and collective well-being. Purchasing gift cards to use later is a great way to support businesses now. Our River Health Partners always appreciate direct donations. Follow us on social media to learn more!
Well wishes to all of you durning this turbulent time. Take care and stay healthy out there!
Welcome to the movement for healthy rivers.We’re so happy to have you aboard!Join us and our first champion, the Walton Family Foundation, in making thriving rivers the rule, not the exception.“We are proud to support and partner with the Forever Our Rivers Foundation in developing a sustainable river funding model. The Forever Our Rivers model is the best bet to provide reliable and sustainable funding, as public and philanthropic sources often do not meet long-term needs to protect and restore healthy rivers.”– Peter Skidmore, Walton Family Foundation, Charter Partner
A Note From Joe
Joe Neuhof, Executive Director
I couldn’t be more proud to serve as Forever Our Rivers Foundation’s first Executive Director, creating an innovative movement to fund the people and projects making a difference in river health. Rivers and streams are the lifeblood of our communities, connecting all of us by providing clean water, critter habitat and the recreation opportunities we all hope to enjoy. To join the movement email [email protected]. Visit our website to hear more from Joe.
Find us on Social Media Be a friend to rivers! Like us, Follow us, Share and Comment on our posts. Forever Our Rivers will return the favor and introduce you to all our river running, restoring, studying and conserving pals. Let’s go public with our conversation about river health public to keep the movement growing. Tag #foreverourrivers when you talk about or share pictures of rivers, and please say hello @ForeverOurRivers.
We’re Hiring a Corporate Partnerships Manager
Forever Our Rivers looking for a driven and experienced individual to build our corporate partnership and grant giving programs. Location is flexible, although Grand Junction, CO is preferred. Please review and share the job description. Deadline for applications is January 24, 2020.
Our Charter Partners Have Us Hooked! To the companies that have said, “Save rivers? Sign us up!” Forever Our Rivers salutes your passion for running a community-concious business while supporting healthy waterways. We can’t wait to share your commitment to rivers with both your loyal customers and new markets already part of the Forever Our Rivers network. We’re especially impressed with the early adopters in the fly fishing industry. A quick trip to the International Fly Tackle Dealer trade show in Denver last fall introduced us to some truly incredible river champions. SaraBella Fishing is busy building us a beautiful fly rod and Derek DeYoung lent us art for a Carlson Vineyard wine label. Check out our partner page and learn about the great products and services our Charter Partners offer.
Getting. It. Done. In 2019, Forever Our Rivers funded seven projects on five rivers in two states. Our river health partners monitored and maintained restoration sites, built wetland habitat for migrating birds along the central flyway, protected a stretch of the Uncompahgre River, and taught a small army of kids from two nations just how great it is to spend time down by the river. Get the details by checking out our river health stories.
