Just over a year ago, we launched our Conservation Acceleration Fund (CAF) with the intent to expedite and maximize investments in water quality initiatives across our state. At the time, we hoped that the private sector would catch our vision and join a coalition of impassioned entities, all ready to turn that vision into reality. Since then, our generous partners, including both local and multinational corporations, have invested more than $5 million into the CAF. With its guaranteed 4-to-1 public-to-private funding match, that equates to more than $20 million in conservation infrastructure, with strategic implementation in targeted watersheds throughout Iowa.

But what does that really mean? Sure, a quadruple multiplier is potent for just about any kind of investment, but below the surface, it represents even more than that. For us at the Great Outdoors Foundation, it’s an indication that there is appetite, perhaps greater than ever before, to mobilize public-private partnerships and move the needle on water quality. There’s never been more synergy, funding and energy devoted to this critical quality of life issue, and the benefits to supporting the cause have never been so clear. Just ask the people in your community, office and home:

• Sixty-four percent are willing to spend more to do business with environmentally friendly companies.
• Eighty-eight percent will continue to do business with companies who invest in environmental sustainability.
• Seventy percent of prospective employees look for companies with environmentally sustainable investments.
• Sixty-eight percent are more willing to accept a position with a company perceived as environmentally friendly.

When you consider the incentives driving your business decisions, you’d be hard pressed to find stronger levers than the stakeholders you serve. Customers, partners and employees are telling us exactly what they expect from us; all we have to do is respond accordingly. I’ve worked in the conservation space for more than two decades, and I’m so encouraged by the engagement demonstrated across the board, from rural farmers to urban residents, C-suite leadership to grassroots volunteers. Iowa has the opportunity to rise to the occasion and invest in the natural resources that create the thriving environments in which we have the privilege to live, work and play.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the private sector holds the key to activating significant, measurable change to water quality in Iowa — and beyond. We believe that the groundwork has been laid for what is poised to be the greatest investment in water quality our state has seen. We’re now uniquely positioned to mobilize tremendous change in water quality, but we can’t do it without you.