LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – The Tahoe Community Foundation has awarded a $30,000 grant to the environmental nonprofit Keep Tahoe Blue to expand its science-guided programs that empower residents, visitors, students, and volunteers to play an active role in protecting Tahoe.
Keep Tahoe Blue was selected as one of four nonprofit organizations recognized through the Community Foundation’s special anniversary grant initiative celebrating 30 years of philanthropy and community impact.
“Protecting Tahoe takes a village. We’re incredibly grateful to have a generous and forward-looking partner in Tahoe Community Foundation,” said Keep Tahoe Blue’s CEO Darcie Goodman Collins, PhD. “Their continuing support allows us to do the multi-year work required to transform science into solutions, so we can conserve what we all love about this natural treasure.”
Through programs such as Eyes on the Lake, Keep Tahoe Blue continues to address the most pressing ecological threat facing Tahoe today: aquatic invasive species. The organization’s efforts are wide-ranging and collaborative, matching the scale of the challenge. In-person outreach to recreators, training for marinas and recreation-based businesses, public education campaigns, and the installation of free cleaning stations for non-motorized watercraft are helping prevent invasive species, like the golden mussel, from turning the lake’s clear water a murky green.
The grant is also helping Keep Tahoe Blue shape the next generation of environmental stewards. Through its Tahoe Blue Schools program and Spurlock/Evers Environment & Education Center, students gain a deeper understanding of Lake Tahoe’s ecosystem and their role in protecting it. Throughout the year, thousands of students and visitors participate in field trips, educational programs, and hands-on lessons that connect science with action.
At the same time, Keep Tahoe Blue activates community volunteers to do far more than pick up litter. Through cleanup events and the Tahoe Blue Crew program, participants record the types and amounts of trash they remove, set an example of good stewardship for fellow lake users, and help report environmental threats. The resulting citizen science data helps guide Keep Tahoe Blue’s work to prevent problems at their source, by pushing for policy change like bans on single-use plastic water bottles and investing in ground-breaking scientific research into the sources of microplastics.
For Tahoe Community Foundation, supporting Keep Tahoe Blue reflects the belief that a healthy environment is fundamental to a thriving community. By investing in organizations that engage residents, educate future generations, and create long-term environmental solutions, the Community Foundation helps ensure Tahoe remains resilient for decades to come.
As Tahoe Community Foundation celebrates 30 years of connecting generosity with community impact, investments like this recognize nonprofit partners whose work protects the resources that make Tahoe extraordinary. Together, Keep Tahoe Blue and Tahoe Community Foundation are helping ensure that more people have the knowledge, tools, and opportunities to protect the lake they love, creating lasting benefits for Tahoe’s environment and future.
