Fundraising match challenges locals to fund lake conservation

GILFORD — A generous offer from a supporter of the Lake Winnipesaukee Alliance could help the conservation group reach a goal needed to obtain federal funding for environmental projects in the region. 

LWA staff and volunteers need to raise $163,000, or 20%, in matching funds for the Lake Winnipesaukee Protection Initiative required by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency in order to secure the entirety of $650,000 in grant funding. They’ll use the award to complete a watershed restoration project along with conservation efforts on Lake Kanasatka, which flows into Lake Winnipesaukee at Blackey Cove.

Watershed and water quality evaluation of Center Harbor Bay, the Broads and Alton Bay, to be funded by the grant awards, are the keystone aspect of the initiative. Additionally, conservationists will work with shorefront communities to develop sustainable land use practices to protect resources, advocate for the adoption of regulations and ordinances to protect watersheds and conduct extensive community engagement efforts.

In the first week of December, local lakefront residents made LWA an unexpected offer: Paul and Sharon Steinwachs of Moultonborough will donate $30,000 if LWA supporters are able to raise $25,000 for the organization by Jan. 15, 2025. Donations up to $5,000 will be matched as part of the fundraising challenge.

LWA already raised $110,000 by the time the challenge was issued, so the additional $55,000 combined would put them over the $163,000 benchmark. 

“It’s a challenge grant, is how it’s been defined,” Lake Winnipesaukee Alliance President Patricia Tarpey said in an interview. “Paul and Sharon Steinwachs have made us this very generous gift — they’ve been supporters of us for maybe seven years.”

The grant funds are received by LWA on a reimbursable basis — they’ve got to prove they’ve raised the required match. The sooner they’re able to raise matching funds, the sooner they’re able to make forward progress. 

“For watershed management plans, we’ve been doing these around the lake for the last 15 years,” Tarpey said. They work to identify sources of pollution and plan for mitigation, analyze water quality and develop plans of action.

“It’s a great opportunity to demonstrate the generosity of a local property owner wanting to raise funds for the lake,” Tarpey said. “This is something that affects all of us.”

Paul Steinwachs, who lives in Moultonborough but spends some of the winter in Florida, first realized the Lakes Region was a jewel when his son attended Dartmouth College and he visited the area. 

“My wife and I live on the lake,” he said Wednesday. “Moving to New Hampshire, I became aware that people care about the environment and it really rubbed off on us."

He said he first learned of the fundraising goal when someone connected to LWA approached him and described their efforts to do some “deep research” on the lake’s health, which could be funded by federal grant monies.

“I heard that the organization has to come up with a certain amount of money in order to receive the federal funds,” he said. 

Steinwachs said he gladly supports nonprofits and typically prefers to do so through a sort of “matching challenge” because he hopes it may spur community engagement and, ultimately, more money for the cause. It also helps him gauge community interest in a given cause. 

“I really think that it’s a great tool,” he said, emphasizing his desire to bring more of the community on board with the project. 

He’s originally from Buffalo, New York, but says his “heart is in New Hampshire”.

“Living on the lake, just the people of the Lakes Region, it resonates with us so much,” he said. “It’s the people here, OK, anybody’s willing to be your friend, to help you out in New Hampshire.”

Steinwachs said lake health is important to him because it’s the crown jewel of the area and essentially invaluable. 

“We have such a valuable and great treasure in our environment around us,” he said.

"It’s not just automatic — you have to protect it. Let’s get the money and the funds to help them get this thing going.”