Author: Colin Wellenkamp

Mississippi River
Sustainable Development Fund
A vision of the Mayors along the waterway made possible by:

There are 124 mayor-lead municipalities adjacent to the Mississippi River where millions of Americans call home. These cities generate
almost a half-trillion dollars in gross municipal product annually, support over 1 million River-contingent jobs, and depend on the waterway for quality of life.
For Mississippi River cities, the waterway is their most important asset. Cities are working to develop this asset sustainably by supporting environmental services, preserving the ecology, and making infrastructure more resilient to
climate disruption. These projects are essential to the economy of the Mississippi River Valley and the
nation since the River generates $400 billion in annual revenue.
Cities need seed-funding to meet the challenges of first and last mile
financing gaps; the Sustainable
Development Fund is designed to help fill those gaps.
Also, water-centric projects
receive enhanced budget scores from states and federal agencies if preliminary engineering, planning, and environmental assessments are complete. Crucial seed-funding can improve scores and advance a city’s chances of securing additional assistance. This is ex-
actly what the
Fund is in-
tended to
achieve.

Mississippi River
Sustainable Development Fund
Donor Participation and Fund Disbursement

Donors Rights
Donations to the Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) are, like any philanthropic endeavor, voluntary actions intended for the common good. To assure that activities of the Fund merit respect and trust of the general public, as well as give perspective contributors confidence in MRCTI’s cause, we declare the following donor rights. [Please note these rights have been informed by and adapted from the Association of Fundraising Professionals Donor Bill of Rights.] Donors have the right...
To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes;
To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities;
To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements;
To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes of assisting communities in the sustainable development of their waterfronts along the Mississippi River prioritizing for ecological integrity and restoration;
To receive appropriate acknowledgment/recognition.
To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law;
To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature;
To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors;
To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
Disbursement Process
Funds within the SDF will be disbursed in the form of competitive grants to applying MRCTI cities.
MRCTI will not begin making disbursements from the SDF until there is a minimum of $1 million available.
The MRCTI Executive Committee will determine annually if the Association will make SDF grants available the following year.
Applications will be evaluated by a panel of Executive Committee members whom are not currently applying for a grant.
Competing cities will have approximately 90 days to submit an application.
Though there is no minimum or maximum amount predetermined for the grants, disbursements will typically fall into the range of $50,000 to $200,000 per award.
Awarded cities will be given a time limit of two years to obligate grant funds.
Awarded cities will be required to submit two annual reports on the status of the funds being applied toward the grant deliverables.

City Watershed
Grants

Provided by: The Mississippi River
Cities & Towns Initiative