While some nonprofits may feel they need to compete with nearby peer organizations, three Central Alabama Riverkeeper organizations have experienced firsthand the power of collaboration. 

In 2014, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham selected three Waterkeeper organizations in Central Alabama – Black Warrior Riverkeeper, Cahaba Riverkeeper, and Coosa Riverkeeper – to receive shared annual grants from its Roy G. and Betty A. Bartlett Advised Fund. 

“To inspire more frequent and robust partnerships between the three organizations, the grant required quarterly reports on shared activities and an annual report relaying statistics on common pursuits,” said Charles Scribner, executive director of Black Warrior Riverkeeper.  “Rather than being onerous, these required reports incentivized us to form new synergies that we have truly enjoyed, and more importantly, have benefitted public health, wildlife habitat, and recreation throughout Central Alabama.” 

The three organizations now regularly partner on public events, pollution patrols, legal actions, educational outreach, and assisting other environmental groups, Scribner added.  

“The benefits to Cahaba Riverkeeper from the collaboration with the Roy G. and Betty A. Bartlett Advised Fund have been two-fold,” said Dr. Myra Crawford, founder and executive director of Cahaba Riverkeeper. “First, this invaluable support has allowed us to deepen our relationships with our closest Riverkeeper partners, Black Warrior and Coosa, through collaborative field and scientific investigations. Second, rarely does substantial giving come unrestricted so that it can be used to support administrative efforts, which, for example, has allowed us to free staff to work on behalf of Waterkeepers Alabama and community outreach projects.” 

When Justinn Overton, executive director and staff riverkeeper of Coosa Riverkeeper, was asked how the collaboration has helped her organization, she said, “There are too many ways that we’ve benefited to really count!” 

Overton went on to say that the collaboration has been “energizing” and “empowering.”  

“It is so incredibly powerful to be able to get on the water with other organizations’ leaders, to see my river through their lens and see opportunities,” she said. “Fostering better relationships between our organizations is not only helpful for our rivers, but it’s really helpful for our region because the Black Warrior River, the Cahaba River and the Coosa River all provide drinking water for many folks in Central Alabama.” 

The organizations collaborate on data collection, workshop ideas together, and partner to investigate issues their rivers face. Staff members from one Riverkeeper organization can confer with those of a different organization for guidance on best practices and ways to make the organization more effective. 

“I cannot say enough good things about this collaboration, and I think that we’re all better for it,” Overton said. 

The Roy G. and Betty A. Bartlett Advised Fund 

Roy and Betty Bartlett didn’t have children but were determined to leave a legacy, determined to set a plan in motion that would benefit their community in a lasting way after they were both gone. They decided to do so by establishing an Advised Fund at the Community Foundation.  

“Few things are more basic to life and well-being than access to good, clean water,” said Melinda Mathews, advisor to the fund. “But not long after the Fund was established, it became obvious that the health of a number of Alabama Rivers was in decline. Levels of sediment, nutrients, toxic chemicals, pathogens, and hormones in the water were increasing at an alarming rate. Fishing and swimming areas were often contaminated, but levels of contamination were not being measured or reported.” 

The Riverkeeper organizations were on the frontlines fighting to keep our waters safe, but with little to no communication or coordination between the groups, their efforts were often inefficient.  

“Although their commitment and enthusiasm were high, much of their efforts overlapped, and services were either duplicated or were supplied by somewhat haphazard and uncoordinated arrangements,” Mathews said.  For example, one organization had access to a boat but needed a motor while another had the offer of a motor but no boat.  

“In 2014, the Bartlett Advised Fund made a grant to each of three Riverkeepers (Black Warrior, Coosa, and Cahaba) for the specific purpose of funding their collaboration on efforts, knowledge, and the sharing of personnel and special skills that each Riverkeeper had but the others lacked,” Mathews explained. “The Bartlett Fund provided a means of encouraging and leveraging resources that enhanced the effectiveness of each of the Riverkeepers.” 

Along with the collaboration, the funds have also helped the organizations conduct better studies of the rivers.  

“We have been able to expand our water quality monitoring to include the purchase of new water quality monitoring meters, and those meters allow us to take more water quality and water chemistry samples more quickly,” Overton said. “It’s also given us additional funds to do more investigations.” 

Seeing the benefits of the collaboration orchestrated by the Bartlett Advised Fund, the Riverkeeper organizations started successfully applying for shared funding from other local and national foundations and corporations.  

“Our funders benefit from these shared grants as well, since our organizations’ synergies stretch their generous funding further as we fill each other’s gaps in various forms of knowledge,” Scribner said. “However, the biggest winners of all in our partnerships have been the people and wildlife that we protect in our adjacent service areas: the Black Warrior, Cahaba, and Coosa River watersheds.  We are so grateful that the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham catalyzed our collaborative progress through the Roy G. and Betty A. Bartlett Advised Fund!” 

To learn more about Donor Advised Funds and directing your charitable giving to the causes you care most about, contact a member of our Philanthropic Services team.