FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 7, 2017) – Just in time for Earth Day on April 22, the Southwest Florida Community Foundation is crowdfunding for the Fund for the Environment in Southwest Florida.

All monies raised through this multi-donor fund will be given back out to the local community through nonprofit organizations with projects focused on the long-term sustainability of the Southwest Florida environment.

Donations starting at $10 are now being accepted online at www.floridacommunity.com/environment-fund. The first 22 donors will receive an “environment” button in the mail.

The first grant from this new fund was awarded this year to Audubon of the Western Everglades Protection of Vital Wetlands and Habitat in Southwest Florida.

Earth Day is celebrating its 47th year as a movement that continues to inspire, challenge ideas, ignite passion and motivate people to action. The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. Today, the Earth Day Network (EDN) works with tens of thousands of partners in 192 countries to broaden, diversify and mobilize the environmental movement. More than one billion people now participate in Earth Day activities each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.

The Southwest Florida Community Foundation, founded in 1976, cultivates regional change for the common good through collective leadership, social innovation and philanthropy to address the evolving community needs in Lee, Collier, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. It partners with individuals, families and corporations who have created more than 400 philanthropic funds. Thanks to them, the Foundation invested $5 million in grants and programs to the community last year. With assets of $93 million, it has provided more than $67 million in grants and scholarships to the communities it serves since inception. The Community Foundation is the backbone organization for the regional FutureMakers Coalition and Lee County’s Sustainability Plan. Based in Fort Myers, it has satellite offices located in Sanibel Island, LaBelle (Hendry County) and downtown Fort Myers.

For more information, call 239-274-5900 or visit www.floridacommunity.com.