Guidelines & Applications: Land Conservation

Please review our mission and program strategies in Land Conservation before applying for a grant.

  • We do not make grants for land purchases.
  • We do not accept unsolicited proposals for environmental education. If you are an environmental education organization, please call before applying.

Links to our online applications are below. Already started a new application? Login to your account.

To start a new Land Conservation application

  • Project - NOTE: Applications must be submitted using the online system, but if you want to see what the application looks like, a sample application for reference ONLY is available here. 
  • General operations -NOTE: Applications must be submitted using the online system, but if you want to see what the application looks like, a sample application for reference ONLY is available here.

PLEASE NOTE: To be eligible for a general operations grant, we must already have a grantmaking history with your organization. An unsolicited application for general operations support from a group we haven't previously funded is not likely to succeed.

Questions? Please Contact Us!

Application process, grant procedures, deadlines, or reporting requirements:
Susan Clark, Grants Manager 312-977-2700 or sclark@gddf.org

Program questions:
John Sands - Director, Lowcountry Program 843-651-3793
Arthur Pearson - Director, Chicago Region Program 312-977-2709

From the Blog

Sewee to Santee eyes smart growth through regional branding

For rural communities suffering from poverty, development can seem like a no-brainer: if you build it, they will come, bringing jobs and opportunities with them. But as sprawl across the country has shown, development can come at the expense of a rural community’s own character and sense of place, and can leave areas ravaged when companies that built there leave for cheaper pastures. In the Sewee to Santee region of South Carolina, a vision is forming: a better quality of life for its residents built on the belief that a rich rural landscape is an opportunity, rather than an obstacle to be overcome. Read More »

A new way forward for South Carolina’s rural communities

South Carolina’s beautiful rural landscape belies an unfortunate reality of poverty. How can the state's rural communities take advantage of existing assets to achieve long-term prosperity? Read More »

Celebrate National Park Week at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

National Park Week is April 21-29, 2012. You don't have to go all the way to Yellowstone or the Everglades to participate: Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore is just an hour outside of Chicago. Learn more about what the National Lakeshore has to offer. Read More »

Recent Tweets

16 May
In Charleston, @puretheatre and Holy City Shakespeare collaborate on a casual, refreshing "Twelfth Night" http://t.co/cRAQAznD

14 May
Neat to see collaboration among Chicago's dance companies-- in this case Muntu and DanceWorks: http://t.co/ZpRvYhqS

14 May
In case you missed it: on Friday we posted this story about regional branding efforts in #rural SC: http://t.co/1insWBMl #Sewee #Santee

11 May
Thx, happily aboard! RT @chiwilderness #FF newest members of the Chicago Wilderness alliance: @GDDonnelley, @willconserve, @WaukeganPrkDist