Whether sparkling under the summer sun or frozen in the frigid winter temperatures, the beauty of our lakes, rivers and streams remind us how vital Lake Huron and its watershed are – not only to northeast Michigan, but to the entire Great Lakes region.
The Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan (CFNEM) established the Lake Huron Fund in 2025 with a community gift of $25,000 to support the health of Lake Huron, and in turn, the health of our communities. This permanently endowed fund will provide grants to nonprofit organizations with initiatives that aim to protect, preserve, and enhance Lake Huron’s health through CFNEM and its Affiliate Foundation service areas. Donations from individuals and businesses will help fund projects like rain gardens, storm runoff management, wildlife management, and invasive species removal across the Lake Huron shoreline and watershed that support our lake’s vitality.
Why Support the Lake Huron Fund?
Lake Huron is one of the world’s greatest treasures—vast, beautiful, and vital to the people, wildlife, and communities that depend on it, including in northeast Michigan. By giving to the Lake Huron Fund at the Community Foundation, you are helping to protect lakes, rivers, and groundwater from pollution and overuse, safeguard wildlife habitats, and ensure this incredible natural resource remains healthy and vibrant for future generations. Every drop matters—and so does every gift. Lake Huron gives us so much—let’s give back.
Lake Huron is so much more than just a body of water. It provides drinking water for more than 3 million people, supports fisheries and water-based recreation, and is a key component of our regional economy. The Lake Huron Fund was created so the Foundation and our community can build a permanent resource to ensure that we can preserve, protect, and enhance Lake Huron and its watershed, and do our collective part in northeast Michigan to sustain this precious natural resource.
CFNEM has been proud to be part of the Lake Huron Forever initiative since it launched in 2019, having been part of the planning, promotion, and granting, and now through this endowed fund. Through this partnership, we have been honored to play a role in protecting our shared waters of Lake Huron, and are encouraged by the number of communities, both in Michigan and Ontario, Canada, that have stepped up to take an active role in its protection.
First Canadian Community Takes the Pledge, Joins Northern Michigan Communities
The town of Goderich, Ontario is the first Canadian community to take the Lake Huron Forever pledge, becoming a “Lake Huron Forever” community. This pledge allows Goderich to gain access to a large network of partners working to advance water quality protection. Goderich joins other Lake Huron Forever communities including Alpena, Au Gres, Bay City, and Oscoda Township – all situated along the Lake Huron shoreline. These pledges show the communities’ public support and commitment to sustaining the health of Lake Huron and all its surrounding natural resources.
About Lake Huron Forever
The Lake Huron Forever initiative was developed in 2019 by shoreline community foundations and conservation partners from the United States and Canada to advance water quality protection and healthy, sustainable communities on both sides of the lake. The Lake Huron Forever initiative aims to support community conversation and collaboration in the design and implementation of on-the-ground work to strengthen the health and well-being of residents, as well as natural resources.