Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation Supporting Rivers and Watersheds with $30 Million Multinational Donation

"Routes & Roots" Healthy Rivers Project Bolsters Enterprise's Canadian Philanthropic Initiatives

TORONTO, Nov. 13, 2017 /CNW/ - The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation today announced a $30 million donation to The Nature Conservancy, a global nonprofit organization that works to address critical conservation challenges around the world. A portion of this donation includes support for TNC Canada, (The Nature Conservancy's Canadian affiliate) focused on bolstering Indigenous land and water management leadership in Canada. The five-year donation – called the "Routes & Roots: Enterprise Healthy Rivers Project" – helps support The Nature Conservancy's long-term water resource management initiatives and is expected to benefit 150 million people. 

TNC Canada (CNW Group/Enterprise Holdings)

"Blue Infrastructure"

The project highlights the strategic importance of "blue infrastructure" – rivers and regional watersheds – which not only supply drainage and outflow for rainfall and streams, but also strengthen habitats and farmlands, generate renewable energy and provide cost-efficient transportation options.

"Enterprise's generosity will go a long way to support the work of Indigenous communities," said Hadley Archer, Executive Director of TNC Canada. "It will support the critical role First Nations play in making decisions regarding the management of their traditional lands and waters. This work isn't just about protection, it's about building partnerships that create healthy economies, enabling long-term solutions that help people and nature thrive."

Founded in 1982, the private Enterprise Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand and Enterprise Holdings, the world's largest car rental company and an industry leader in transportation and travel. Carolyn Kindle Betz, Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the Foundation, made today's announcement from the company's world headquarters in St. Louis.

"My family's philanthropic focus is not always directly related to our business, but instead reaches beyond to make a difference and improve the quality of life wherever our employees and customers live and work," noted Kindle Betz, granddaughter of the late Jack Taylor, who founded Enterprise 60 years ago in St. Louis. "We're thrilled to support and partner with a world-class organization like The Nature Conservancy in this effort to help ensure that healthy rivers continue to enrich our lives for generations to come."

The Nature Conservancy will use the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation's $30 million donation to help protect and preserve four major rivers and watersheds across North America and Europe: 

• Canada
  A vast mosaic of forests, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, Canada’s Boreal Forest is home to more surface freshwater than any other ecosystem on earth. It is also home to more than 600 Indigenous communities who have depended on, and cared for, this vital global resource for thousands of years. The Nature Conservancy, with its affiliate TNC Canada, supports First Nations as they work to increase their leadership and authority around decisions regarding natural resources in their traditional territories. These efforts help ensure that the full economic, cultural, and environmental value of their traditional lands and waters are realized to the benefit of all.

• Mississippi River (U.S.)
  One of the world's longest and most iconic rivers, the Mississippi flows through the heart and history of North America, from the pine woods of northern Minnesota, through the rich, dark Delta soil to the Gulf of Mexico – a more-than-2,300-mile journey through a watershed that covers about 40 percent of the United States. At the southern end of that watershed, Enterprise's gift will support partnerships with farmers, ranchers and communities to help them reduce the amount of excess nutrient runoff that enters the river system and the Gulf. This will begin to reverse the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico that chokes marine life, hampers recreation and tourism, and jeopardizes some of North America's most productive fisheries.

• Colorado River (U.S.)
  In ancient times the mighty Colorado River sculpted the Grand Canyon from the red and grey desert rock of northwest Arizona. Today, it is one of the most important water systems in the United States, dropping from its birthplace in the Rocky Mountains to drain watersheds from seven states on its way to the Sea of Cortez. The Nature Conservancy will work with water users throughout the Colorado Basin to introduce reforms and deploy innovative incentives to conserve water, restore watersheds and improve water quality. This will better support the River's natural ability to sustain through years of drought and increased water demand.

• Europe
  Across thousands of years of European history, the Danube, the Sava and other major rivers of the Balkan Peninsula have been silent witnesses to the rise and fall of one powerful empire after another. Today they are a vital source of another sort of power – hydroelectric power that supports communities and industries throughout the region. Partnerships under this initiative will help create and implement a sustainable development model that makes conservation planning an integral part of renewable energy projects on the Western Balkans' rivers. This will support balanced watershed management decisions for European cities that will reduce the current threats undermining river health, biodiversity, and water security.

$175 Million in Global Philanthropic Initiatives:
Supporting Canadian Conservation, Responding to Community Needs
In addition to the "Routes & Roots: Enterprise Healthy Rivers Project," two other Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation initiatives are directly or indirectly connected to healthy and sustainable watershed management and healthy communities: the 2006 "Enterprise 50 Million Tree Pledge," and the 2016 Enterprise "Fill Your Tank" program.

• "Enterprise 50 Million Tree Pledge"
  In 2006, in honour of Enterprise's 50th anniversary, Enterprise partnered with the Arbor Day Foundation on a pledge to fund the planting of 50 million trees by 2056 throughout the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland and the United Kingdom. So far, more than 850,000 trees have been planted in Canada, throughout British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario in collaboration with Tree Canada and Trees Ontario—40,000 were planted near Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba this fall. Trees provide significant benefits to ensure healthy rivers and watersheds by absorbing and removing harmful chemicals, filtering sediment during storms, and providing shade and wildlife habitat. ($50 million, globally)

• Enterprise "Fill Your Tank" Program
  Just last year, in honor of the company's 60th anniversary, the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation launched this initiative to address food insecurity around the globe through a partnership with, Food Banks Canada, Feeding America, and The Global Food Banking Network. As part of this effort, Food Banks Canada receives $1.5 million annually for six years to support operations and infrastructure in food banks across Canada. Healthy watersheds are critical to producing enough food for a growing world population. That's especially important at a time when one in nine people don't have enough food to be healthy and lead an active life. ($60 million, globally)

The Foundation's other major philanthropic initiatives include the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels ($35 million) and its Annual Disaster Giving Program ($1 million annually). In fact, especially during times of crisis, or when a disaster hits local area, Enterprise is committed to being there for the communities where its employees live and work. For example, in the wake of the 2017 B.C. wildfires, Enterprise Holdings Foundation donated $25,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to assist B.C. residents. Beyond philanthropic support, the company mobilized 130 trucks from out of province to assist first-responders, dropped retail rates for evacuees by more than 40 per cent, and partnered with local Indigenous groups to assist with clean-up efforts.

The Foundation's five ongoing commitments and donations to efforts—in Canada and across the world—collectively total more than $175 million.

About Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation
The Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car brand. The Foundation was established in 1982 by Enterprise's founder, Jack Taylor, to strengthen and give back to the thousands of communities where customers and employees live and work. In total, the Foundation has contributed more than $300 million to nonprofits focused on community improvement, education and environmental stewardship. Ninety-six percent of the grants made by the Foundation fulfill requests by employees to help local causes they personally champion and actively support. In addition, the Foundation provides sizable grants to nonprofits that have strategic or social importance, as well as to relief projects as they arise, including natural disasters that affect customers and employees.

About TNC Canada
TNC Canada is a registered charity working in large-scale conservation across Canada. Our approach supports Indigenous leadership, partnering with government, non-profits, and industry to develop lasting solutions that manage natural resources while promoting sustainable economies. Guided by science, our work helps address climate change, sustain food and water sources, and build healthy communities where people and nature thrive.

TNC Canada is an affiliate of The Nature Conservancy - the world's largest environmental organization - with more than 1 million supporters, 600 scientists, and work in 72 countries. To learn more, please visit tnccanada.ca.

SOURCE Enterprise Holdings

Laura Bryant, Enterprise Holdings, [email protected]; Jessie Sitnick, Argyle Public Relationships, [email protected]; Angela Olson Campbell, The Nature Conservancy, [email protected]