Dear supporters,
As we reflect on the successes of the last year —a year when we continued to celebrate our 50
th
anniversary and the end of our five-year Force for Nature campaign —we are reminded of an
African proverb:
“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
It so perfectly captures the spirit of our work and the dreams we share for our country
and our communities. Conservation, practiced well, requires patience and partnership. It is
a journey we take together. And together, we have achieved so much.
A Force for Nature proved to be our largest and most successful campaign ever. It raised
more than $500 million and protected 752,000 acres (304,000 hectares) of at-risk natural
habitat across Canada, home to more than 145 species at risk.
As the proverb reminds us, none of this could have happened without all of our wonderful
partners and supporters. Canadians gave generously, donating their funds, land, time and
talents to help us surpass our campaign goals.
A key component of our success was the Government of Canada through the Natural Areas
Conservation Program (NACP) —a unique, public-private initiative never before undertaken at this
scale.This investment in NCC’s work showed that our federal government had faith in us to deliver on
our campaign promises. In fact, an independent evaluation of the NACP has confirmed that we
have met all of the expectations set out at the beginning, and more.
Having come so far, we are now poised to do great things together. As we embark on the
next five years, we are setting new goals to conserve the places that are important to Canadians.
We promise we will continue to ensure that our work is effective and efficient, and that we
will conserve these special places for the long term.
By moving forward together, we will continue to reach farther than we thought possible.
As always, we thank you for your important support of our work.
Sincerely,
John Lounds
Hal Kvisle
President & CEO
NATIONAL BOARD CHAIR
Message from the President &
chair of the Board of directors
6
7
CULTUS creek, darkwoods, bc
Photo by Tim Ennis/NCC
