North Carolina Land and Water Fund

What North Carolina Land and Water Fund does

The North Carolina Land and Water Fund (NCLWF) is a state government grantmaking program created by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1996 and operated as a program within the Division of Land and Water Stewardship at the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. Originally named the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and rebranded in 2021, NCLWF provides grants to nonprofit land trusts, conservancies, and governmental entities for three interconnected program areas: voluntary land conservation protecting natural, cultural, historic, and military-buffer resources; stream and river restoration to improve water quality and habitat; and innovative stormwater treatment to mitigate urban runoff impacts on downstream communities.

NCLWF operates an application-based model in which prospective grantees submit proposals through a grants portal hosted at nclwf.nc.gov, staff review applications, and the Board of Trustees approves awards. The 2026 cycle alone drew 154 applications requesting more than $116 million, illustrating significant demand relative to the fund's appropriation. Funded projects include the Waccamaw River acquisition (in partnership with the North Carolina Coastal Land Trust and Department of Justice settlement funds), New River Watershed restoration, and the Willow Pond stormwater-to-wetland conversion at the North Carolina Arboretum. Since inception, the fund reports conserving well over 500,000 acres and protecting or restoring 3,000 miles of streams and rivers.

Funding flows from legislative appropriations through the General Assembly, making NCLWF a pass-through public trust rather than a revenue-generating enterprise. The organization does not employ a proprietary technology platform beyond its grants management portal, and its headcount of 11-50 employees supports application processing, Board administration, and ongoing stewardship monitoring of conservation agreements. Its competitive position rests on statutory authorization, a 25+ year track record, and institutional relationships with the state's nonprofit conservation ecosystem rather than on commercial differentiation.

Name

North Carolina Land and Water Fund

Legal name

North Carolina Land and Water Fund

Website

https://cwmtf.nc.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The North Carolina Land and Water Fund is a state government grantmaking program, established by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1996, that disburses public funds to nonprofits and government entities for land conservation, stream restoration, and innovative stormwater projects across North Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

State Conservation Grant Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPAGAKAM

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Philanthropy, Foundations & Grantmaking

SECONDARYBPADAOAB

Grantmaking & Philanthropic Funds (Institutional Donors)

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Donor Coordination, Grantmaking & Development Finance Programs

Keywords

• Conservation grant funding
• Land acquisition grants
• Stream restoration funding
• Stormwater management grants
• State conservation program

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Disbursement: NCLWF is a state-funded conservation program that receives appropriations from the North Carolina General Assembly and distributes grants to eligible organizations for land conservation, stream restoration, and stormwater projects. As a public trust fund, it does not generate revenue in the commercial sense but rather disburses public funds to achieve environmental conservation outcomes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

North Carolina Land and Water Fund (NCLWF) is a state government grant program that awards public funding to eligible organizations for three interconnected purposes: voluntary land conservation to protect natural, cultural, historic resources and military buffers; stream and river restoration to improve water quality and aquatic habitat; and development of innovative stormwater treatment technologies to mitigate urban runoff. The fund disburses legislative appropriations through competitive grant cycles administered by a Board of Trustees.

Product overview

North Carolina Land and Water Fund (NCLWF) is a government grant program, formerly known as the Clean Water Management Trust Fund, established in 1996 by the North Carolina General Assembly. It operates as a unified grant program within the Division of Land and Water Stewardship of the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. The Fund offers three interconnected grant programs: Land Acquisition Grants for protecting natural, cultural and historic resources; Stream Restoration Grants for improving water quality and restoring aquatic habitat; and Innovative Stormwater Grants for funding better stormwater treatment technologies. Together these programs have conserved over half a million acres and protected or restored 3,000 miles of streams and rivers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Land Acquisition Grants Grant program that protects natural, cultural and historic resources and military buffers through voluntary land conservation. Has conserved well over one-half million acres since inception. Available to non-profit land trusts, conservancies, and governmental entities in North Carolina seeking to acquire and protect land for conservation purposes.
• Stream Restoration Grants Grant program that improves water quality and sustains water resources by funding projects to restore the habitat of fish, wildlife and other species, enhance the filtering of runoff and prevent pollutants from entering water supplies. Has protected or restored 3,000 miles of streams and rivers. Available to organizations working to restore degraded streams, improve water quality, and enhance habitat for fish and wildlife in North Carolina.
• Innovative Stormwater Grants Grant program that helps protect downstream communities from the effects of urban runoff by funding the development of better stormwater treatment technologies. Available to entities developing innovative solutions for stormwater treatment and urban runoff challenges in North Carolina.

Quantifiable outcome

• Conserved well over 500,000 acres of land
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• North Carolina Coastal Land TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCCLT collaborated with NCLWF on the Waccamaw River conservation project, receiving $440,287 to acquire approximately 600 acres along the river. This partnership was matched with additional funding from Department of Justice settlement funds.
• North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCLWF is a program of the Division of Land and Water Stewardship within DNCR. This organizational relationship provides institutional oversight and integration with broader state conservation efforts.
• New River ConservancyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReceived NCLWF funding for water quality restoration projects in the New River Watershed, employing various restoration techniques to complement other conservation efforts.
• Greater Lansing Area DevelopmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on New River water quality projects using restoration techniques complementary to those employed by other organizations in the watershed.
• North Carolina ArboretumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReceived funding for the Willow Pond stormwater basin conversion project, transforming it into a constructed wetland to address on-site stormwater challenges while enhancing rare species habitat.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ducks Unlimited: A major conservation nonprofit focused on wetlands and waterfowl habitat, funding and executing restoration projects across North America. Shares NCLWF's emphasis on stream/wetland restoration and land protection but is privately funded and operates at continental scale.
• Trust for Public Land: A national nonprofit that works with communities to protect land for parks, conservation, and climate resilience. Comparable to NCLWF in funding and facilitating voluntary land conservation but operates nationally and as a direct executing intermediary rather than a state pass-through grant entity.
• The Nature Conservancy: One of the largest global conservation NGOs, actively acquiring and managing land for conservation and funding related restoration. Overlaps with NCLWF's land acquisition and stream restoration missions but operates as a private nonprofit with global scale and direct execution capability, rather than as a state grantmaker.

Others

• Great Lakes Restoration Initiative: A federal interagency program funding projects that restore and protect the Great Lakes. Analogous to NCLWF in funding stream/wetland restoration and water quality projects through grants, but operates federally across the multi-state Great Lakes basin rather than within a single state.
• Land Trust Alliance: A national membership organization supporting land trusts with training, accreditation, and policy advocacy. Indirectly comparable to NCLWF in that NCLWF's primary customer base (NC land trusts) is largely supported by this alliance; not a direct grantmaking competitor.

Direct peers

• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation: A congressionally-chartered nonprofit that awards competitive grants for fish, wildlife, and habitat conservation across the U.S. Closely matches NCLWF's grant-disbursement model for land and water conservation, but operates nationally and at substantially larger scale with federal and private funding sources.
• Open Space Institute: A nonprofit that protects scenic, natural, and historic landscapes through land acquisition and grants to land trusts. Directly comparable to NCLWF's land acquisition grant function, with a similar mixed model of direct deals plus pass-through funding to conservation NGOs.
• Chesapeake Bay Trust: A Maryland-based state-chartered nonprofit grantmaking entity that funds watershed restoration, stormwater, and land conservation projects in the Chesapeake Bay region. Operates on a similar public-purpose grantmaking model targeting conservation nonprofits and government entities, closely analogous to NCLWF's three grant pillars.

Regional players

• Texas Water Development Board: A state agency that administers financial assistance programs for water supply, water quality, and flood protection projects in Texas. Comparable to NCLWF in being a state-level governmental entity funding land and water conservation, but with a broader infrastructure financing remit.

Emerging players

• Conservation Fund: A national nonprofit that partners with government, corporate, and nonprofit entities to conserve land and water resources, often acting as an interim buyer. Comparable to NCLWF's land acquisition mission but executes projects directly rather than awarding grants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/nclandwaterfund
• Xx.com/NCLandWaterFund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about North Carolina Land and Water Fund