GPFI NONPROFIT PITCH
This document serves as a working scaffold to conceptualize and then pressure-test the structure of a new nonprofit organization before filing articles of incorporation to obtain tax-exempt status. Below is a developing nonprofit plan structured to help bring my burgeoning idea for a 501(c)(3) entity into reality.
Pitch Author and Founder: Dr. Elizabeth Renner Current Title & Affiliation: Postdoctoral Research Associate in Fish Ecology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Natural Resources
Draft Last Updated: Oct 26, 2026
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: THE CONCEPT
Overview
Freshwater biodiversity across the Great Plains is collapsing at an accelerating rate due to myriad threats to aquatic ecosystems, such as habitat fragmentation, climate change, and the degradation of water quality (Covich et al. 1997; Dodds et al. 2004; Perkin et al. 2015). Many native freshwater organisms in prairie river and stream systems are imperiled, historically overlooked, and underrepresented in conservation investment. Existing state and federal hatchery infrastructure across the region is aging and largely designed to support recreational fisheries, with limited capacity for propagation, recovery, and research focused on nongame and imperiled species. In a time of growing uncertainty in the long-term efficacy, staffing, funding, and viability of ecosystem monitoring and species recovery plans, there is a mounting need for independent partners to work alongside traditional freshwater fisheries/ecosystem research & management institutions to help prevent further ecosystem degradation and extinction.
The Great Plains Freshwater Conservation Research Institute (GPFCRI) will be a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing research; enacting on-the-ground freshwater conservation and fisheries management programs and initiatives grounded in science through partnerships; training and inspiring the next generation of freshwater stewards through education and public outreach, and recovering imperiled freshwater fishes, mussels, crayfish, snails, macroinvertebrates, and aquatic and riparian plants across the Great Plains.
GPFCRI is proposed as a regional, independent conservation research center dedicated to preventing extinction and restoring native freshwater biodiversity through applied science, conservation propagation, and collaborative river research. Situated at the heart of the Great Plains, GPFCRI will facilitate collaborative partnerships across jurisdictions and institutions to integrate captive propagation of imperiled freshwater organisms and applied ecological research on Great Plains freshwater habitats and their responses to climate change, water quality degradation, habitat fragmentation, and invasive species introductions to address urgent conservation science needs in Great Plains freshwater ecosystems.
GPRCRI is designed to complement—not replace—state and federal conservation programs by serving as a collaborative hub for applied freshwater science and synthesis as well as imperiled species recovery across the Great Plains. GPFCRI will function as a hybrid institution, combining elements of a conservation hatchery, applied research center, education, training, and outreach facility, and a regional conservation collaborative. The Institute will partner with Tribal Nations, state and federal agencies, universities, watershed organizations, and other nonprofits to conduct mission-driven science and conservation work independent of short-term policy cycles. Over its first five years, GPFCRI aims to establish itself as the flagship independent freshwater conservation institute for the Great Plains.
MISSION STATEMENT
Mission
- To advance the science- and place-based conservation of Great Plains freshwater ecosystems and imperiled species through data-driven programs
- To deliver peer-reviewed research that empowers people to make informed, regenerative decisions for the future of our freshwater resources. Our science is designed to guide the choices shaping the future of agriculture and water management on the Plains.
- To educate people of all ages about the ecology of Great Plains freshwater ecosystems and organisms and cultivate a “freshwater ethic”
- To foster opportunities for individuals of all backgrounds to connect with freshwater ecosystems
The Great Plains Freshwater Conservation Research Institute advances conservation of imperiled freshwater fishes and mussels through applied research, conservation propagation, habitat science, and collaborative partnerships addressing climate change, water quality degradation, and habitat fragmentation across prairie river systems.
VISION STATEMENT
Vision
- We envision a future in which our region’s resilient prairie rivers support native fish and mussel biodiversity, a future in which our prairie rivers, lakes, and headwater streams are safe for direct contact recreation.
- We seek a future in which we live in concert with our freshwater kin such that there is still clean water to drink and healthy fish to catch and eat seven generations from now and beyond.
- We seek to ensure the existence of resilient prairie rivers, streams, lakes and reservoirs and thriving native freshwater biodiversity across the Great Plains for the next seven generations and beyond through science-driven conservation and collaborative stewardship.
- We seek to educate and empower stakeholders to see the value in the native freshwater species of the Great Plains and reduce the wanton waste of historically maligned “rough”, “coarse”, or “trash” species.
- We seek to increase the representation of historically marginalized groups in the aquatic sciences on the Great Plains, especially for Indigenous peoples.