The Dayton Foundation wants to bring more than 40 environmental groups together to give the region more clout in seeking conservation funding.

That's one of the goals of the Greater Dayton Conservation Collaborative, the Foundation's new initiative.

Dayton Foundation President Michael Parks knows these are tough times for nonprofit organizations that rely on private donations and public funding, which have been reduced for many groups.

The idea for the collaborative grew out of a Foundation workshop last year in which many of the conservation organizations that attended said they needed help putting together funding requests in an increasingly competitive environment.

“They told us loud and clear that oftentimes grant requests that are more regional in nature, more collaborative…will score higher and thus could mean more resources for our community,” Parks said.

The Dayton Foundation has committed to putting $70,000, or $35,000 a year, into the two-year pilot project to make the collaborative a reality for the 43 conservation organizations that will be invited to participate.

The collaborative includes a partnership with the Miami Conservancy District with other funding from Five Rivers MetroParks and the Foundation’s Greater Dayton Conservation Fund.

Those entities collectively will contribute about $25,000 in dollars or in-kind contributions such as office space, Parks said.

The funding makes possible a part-time environmental professional position to identify key funding opportunities to support the work of the organizations.