Economic Impact of Protecting and Restoring the Great Lakes
Great Lakes Commission
- Program Environment
- Program Area Addressing the Freshwater Challenge
- Grant Amount $200,000
- Grant Period October 1, 2025–March 31, 2027
- Location Ann Arbor, MI, United States
- Geographic Focus Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin
About this grant
Since 1955, the Great Lakes Commission has worked to protect the Great Lakes and their related economies and ecosystems. The Commission undertook a 2017 economic impact study, which showed that each dollar invested in the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative from 2010 to 2016 could generate over three dollars in additional economic activity by 2036. Different Great Lakes stakeholders widely used the study to support decision-making, and federal funding to the Great Lakes has since increased from approximately $2 billion to nearly $5 billion. With partial support from the Mott Foundation, the Commission and its partners will undertake an analytical study to update and determine the current economic impact of investments made with Great Lakes Restoration Initiative dollars. The study results will be widely shared with different stakeholders.