Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative

What Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative does

Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI) is a Michigan-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2007 that delivers Place-Based Stewardship Education (PBSE) — an integrated approach combining local environmental context, sustained teacher professional development, and school-community partnerships to improve K-12 learning outcomes and stewardship of the Great Lakes. GLSI operates a hub-and-spoke model with six regional hubs hosted by universities and intermediate school districts across Michigan (Grand Valley State University, Eastern Michigan University, Copper Country ISD, Muskegon Area ISD, Community Foundation for Northeast Michigan, and Discovering PLACE), supported by a central leadership team of approximately nine employees based in Lowell, Michigan.

Its core product portfolio includes three professional development programs for educators (Place-Based Educator Institute, Place-Based Educator Fellowship, and Learning Volunteer Program), a biennial National Place-Based Education Conference, the Michigan Children & Nature Coalition (launched 2024), and The Place Space, a national virtual community hosted on the mn.co platform. Supporting assets include the Guiding Principles of Place-Based Stewardship Education rubric, a case study library, and a documentary (Growing Up Green). To date, the network has worked with 1,562 teachers across 263 Michigan schools, engaged 115,000+ students cumulatively, and mobilized approximately 1,100 community partner organizations.

GLSI's business model is grant-funded and free to participants. Revenue streams include foundation grants (Great Lakes Fishery Trust, Wege, Mott, Kresge, Frey, Community Foundation for Muskegon County, Fremont Area Community Foundation), government grants (U.S. EPA, NOAA B-WET), individual donations, and biennial conference sponsorship and registration. The organization became fully independent from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust in 2018 after a two-year transition following the sunset of the original 10-year, $10M founding commitment, and is currently governed by a board chaired by Ellen Brody under President & CEO Caleb Carlton.

Name

Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative

Legal name

Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative

Website

https://greatlakesstewardship.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative is a Michigan-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that delivers place-based education and environmental stewardship programming to K-12 teachers, students, and community partners through six regional hubs across the state.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lowell

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Foundation and Trust Grants: Primary funding from foundations and trusts including the Great Lakes Fishery Trust (which provided initial $10M commitment over 10 years), Wege Foundation, Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Community Foundation for Muskegon County, Fremont Area Community Foundation, and Frey Foundation.
2. Government Grants: Funding from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Great Lakes Bay-Area Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program for environmental education initiatives.
3. Donations: Tax-deductible charitable donations from individuals and organizations supporting place-based education and environmental stewardship.
4. Conference Revenue: Revenue from the biennial National Place-Based Education Conference including sponsorship and registration fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

GLSI delivers an integrated portfolio of place-based education programs and resources including professional development (Place-Based Educator Institute, Place-Based Educator Fellowship, Learning Volunteer Program), a National Place-Based Education Conference, an online community platform (The Place Space), and a network of six regional community-embedded hubs across Michigan. All programs are provided free of charge to participants and funded by foundation, government, and individual donor support.

Product overview

Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative (GLSI) operates as a Michigan-based nonprofit education organization offering an integrated portfolio of place-based education programs and resources rather than a unified software product. The core offerings include professional development programs (Place-Based Educator Institute, Place-Based Educator Fellowship, Learning Volunteer Program), a national conference, an online community platform (The Place Space), and a regional hub network of six community-based organizations. Supporting resources include documentary films, white papers, guiding principles frameworks, and case study collections. The organization connects teachers, students, and community partners through place-based education focused on environmental stewardship of the Great Lakes region.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Place-Based Educator Institute
• Place-Based Educator Fellowship
• Learning Volunteer Program
• National Place-Based Education Conference
• The Place Space
• Michigan Children & Nature Coalition
• GLSI Hub Network

Quantifiable outcome

• 115,000+ students empowered to help defend and nurture their local environment
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Children & Nature Network (CN&N)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnered with GLSI in 2024 to launch the Michigan Children & Nature Coalition, a sustained initiative to increase access to and engagement with nature and related programming throughout Michigan.
• Grand Valley State UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost organization for Groundswell Stewardship Initiative hub serving Kent and Ottawa Counties. Provides infrastructure, staff, and resources for regional place-based education delivery.
• Copper Country Intermediate School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost organization for Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative hub serving the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
• Community Foundation for Northeast MichigancoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost organization for Northeast Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative hub.
• Eastern Michigan UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost organization for Southeast Michigan Stewardship Coalition (SEMIS) hub.
• Muskegon Area Intermediate School DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost organization for West Michigan Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative hub.
• Greg Smith (Lewis & Clark College)minorOthersNational consultant and advisor to GLSI since inception. Professor of Education (retired) at Lewis & Clark College Graduate School of Education.
• David Sobel (Antioch New England Institute)minorOthersNational consultant and advisor to GLSI since inception. Director of Center for Place-based Education at Antioch New England Institute.
• Doris Terry Williams (Rural School and Community Trust)minorOthersNational consultant and advisor to GLSI since inception. Senior Fellow and Principal Consultant at Rural School and Community Trust.
• Jon Yoder (Salem-Keizer School District)minorOthersNational consultant and advisor to GLSI since inception. Educator at Salem-Keizer School District (retired).

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IslandWood: Pacific Northwest nonprofit providing place-based environmental education programs for schools and educators, including teacher professional development and outdoor learning experiences; operates a comparable integrated education-and-stewardship model.
• Earth Force: National nonprofit focused on civic environmental education and youth-led community action projects in schools; directly comparable to GLSI's place-based stewardship model and has historical ties to GLSI staff (Jan Sneddon was previously Earth Force Director).
• Teton Science Schools: Wyoming-based nonprofit organization delivering place-based education programs for K-12 students and educator professional development; operates a multi-site residential and field education model directly comparable to GLSI's hub-and-spoke approach.

Regional players

• Chesapeake Bay Foundation: Regional environmental nonprofit delivering K-12 environmental education programs focused on watershed stewardship; structurally similar to GLSI in mission and school-engagement model but concentrated in the Chesapeake Bay watershed rather than the Great Lakes.

Broad incumbents

• Project Learning Tree: National environmental education program (part of the Sustainable Forestry Initiative) delivering K-12 curriculum and educator professional development; competes for the same teacher-training and grant dollars as GLSI.
• National Audubon Society: Large national environmental nonprofit with extensive K-12 environmental education programming and field centers; broader portfolio than GLSI but competes for overlapping foundation and government funding pools.

Emerging players

• Children & Nature Network: National nonprofit promoting children's connection to nature through research, policy, and resource networks; co-launched the Michigan Children & Nature Coalition with GLSI in 2024, making it both a partner and adjacent operator in the same mission space.
• Antioch University New England - Center for Place-based Education: University-based center (led by David Sobel, who publicly endorsed GLSI) focused on place-based education research, resources, and educator networks; operates as a peer thought-leader and overlapping professional community with GLSI.
• EcoRise: National nonprofit providing K-12 sustainability education curricula, teacher training, and student innovation grants; an emerging peer operating in adjacent teacher professional development and youth-led environmental stewardship space.

Others

• North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE: Professional association serving the environmental education field, including the Civic and Environmental Change Fellowship program in which GLSI Director Patty Tolly is a 2023 fellow; a peer ecosystem convener rather than direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/glstewardship
• Facebookfacebook.com/glstewardship
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/great-lakes-stewardship-initiative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative