The Fund Principles

The Great Lakes Protection Fund supports groups of innovative individuals who combine their strengths to produce a healthier Great Lakes ecosystem. These teams identify opportunities where targeted work can produce tangible improvements, and they explore new technical, legal and practical approaches to sustaining the natural resources of the region. Several fundamental principles guide the work of project teams and accelerate the process from idea to action to impact.  

Innovation
The Great Lakes Protection Fund strives to be the go-to early investor for people who want to test new ideas not yet being tried by any other organization, business or government. The Fund incubates collaborative, regional experiments in science and practice to make the Great Lakes healthier and more valuable.  

Collaboration
The Fund supports diverse, multi-disciplinary project teams, knowing that complex problems can best be solved by employing multiple perspectives. Project teams encompass the complete spectrum of essential expertise, including those institutions and individuals who will ultimately use and deploy the project’s creations.  

Leadership
The Great Lakes Protection Fund invests in people who lead—sometimes leading a team, sometimes leading a field. They are passionate about improving the health of the Great Lakes basin and can marshal the necessary cross-sector resources.  

Catalytic Change
One success can change the world. The Fund supports project design that will inspire individuals, businesses and governments to see the opportunities for change and seize them. Teams will embed pathways to system-wide consequence, and engage early adopters to replicate results to benefit the basin and the world beyond.