conservancy of southwest florida tours

Rookery Bay’s Good Fortune Eco-Cruise

The setting sun casts a beautiful glow on the calm waters that reflect clouds, boats and kayaks and the surrounding trees. The only sound is wings flapping as birds make their way to rookeries already heavy with birds. “It’s beautiful and quiet, and a lovely experience,” said Loralee LeBoeuf, a Naples resident since 1999 and Conservancy of Southwest Florida board member. “We are so busy, it’s nice to step away and have that connection with nature.” Experiences like this are what inspired citizens to come together in 1964 to save Rookery Bay and to stop plans to build “a road to nowhere.” The road was never built, and as a result, the Conservancy was formed. Now guests can experience the majesty of Bay aboard the Conservancy’s 35-passenger Good Fortune II pontoon boat led by Coast Guard-certified captains and a Conservancy naturalist.

For information, prices, directions or reservations, visit conservancy.org/goodfortune .

Conservancy of Southwest Florida

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Conservancy of Southwest Florida - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)

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Conservancy of Southwest Florida

Administrative specialist.

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Job Title: Administrative Specialist Salary Range : $46,000 – $52,000 Reports to: Vice President

MISSION: For more than 50 years, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida has been a leading environmental advocacy organization dedicated to protecting Southwest Florida’s water, land, wildlife, and future.

PURPOSE OF JOB: The Administrative Specialist is responsible for supporting the Development Office focusing on support for the Vice President, Events, and Database functions. Responsibilities will include performing administrative tasks, including scheduling events, participant registration and tracking, digital and in-person event set-up, and accurate data entry into the Conservancy’s constituent and member records. Other business support responsibilities will include, processing invoicing and auction inventory cataloging.

RESPONSIBILITIES: Administrative Support: • Assists the Vice President in the day-to-day functions of the Conservancy, including budget assistance and administration; involvement in special projects that are identified; provides administrative support for the Vice President’s Office. • Primary administrative support for major, planned gifts, and special fundraising initiatives (campaigns). • Provides documentation of campaign matters including Naming and Recognition recordkeeping, gift agreements and pledge documentation and monitoring of changes and archiving in Raisers Edge. • Coordinates meeting and event schedules and calendars, when necessary, among the development staff, CEO, major members/donors, and Conservancy Staff. • Provides all necessary administrative support to the Planned Giving Committee including sending meeting notices, RSVPs; coordinating site logistics, food and beverage; taking minutes and any other tasks as needed. • Provides Development Committee support, including attendance at meetings, agendas, minutes, and record keeping. • Processes invoices for the Development department including coding, approvals and submitting to the business office in a timely manner and maintains an accurate file of all contracts, following up on preparation and required signatures. • Prepares meeting materials, notices, and mailings; attends meetings, transcribes and records minutes, financials, and reports. • Supports the Vice President, the Director of the Nature Center, the Events Manager, and Database functions of the Development Team in ongoing projects. Communication and Correspondence: • Prioritizes the handling and escalation of appropriate correspondence for the Vice President’s Office. • Manages telephone calls and messages for the Vice President’s Office, routing, informing, and escalation to the Vice President or staff as appropriate. Event Planning and Management: • Advise the Vice President and Events staff in planning and execution of internal and fundraising events. • Supports planning and implementing cultivation events for donors and partners including working with outside caterers and vendors • Plans and manages partner events at the Nature Center. • Manages event calendar. • Manages online and silent auctions through the auction’s full cycle, including brainstorming and drafting donation “ask” letters, managing the process with and through a database, coordinating with auction winners and taking all steps necessary for fulfillment and closing out the auction. • Works at special events as directed including preparation, set-up, event execution, and tear-down. • Uses customer relationship software to interact with donors and prospects and track/manage events.

EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE • Associate’s degree (A.A.) or equivalent experience. • 2+ years of office support experience with strong typing skills. • Excellent professional phone manner. • Strong verbal and written communication. • Proficient in grammar and proofreading. • Advanced in Microsoft Office, internet use, Altru database is a plus. • Highly skilled in MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, Outlook); familiar with PowerPoint. • Detail-oriented, organized, and adept at multitasking. • Effective at managing staff and volunteers for events. • Able to work independently and in a team. • Skilled in task prioritization. • Flexible with nontraditional office hours. • Interest in Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s mission is a plus. • Nonprofit experience preferred. • Maintains composure under pressure. The above statements describe the general qualifications required to perform the job and the general nature and level of work performed – not a complete list of duties – additional responsibilities may be assigned by management.

CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, AND REGISTRATIONS • Valid driver’s license and good driving record.

SKILLS AND ABILITIES • Read and understand business publications. • Write reports, business correspondence, and manuals. • Communicate effectively with various groups. • Perform basic math operations (add, subtract, multiply, divide). • Calculate rates, ratios, and percentages, and interpret bar graphs. • Solve practical problems in diverse, non-standardized situations. • Interpret written, oral, and diagrammatic instructions.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS AND WORK ENVIRONMENT This job description recognizes that reasonable accommodations may be provided to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role. The job entails: • Regularly required to sit, stand and walk. • Lift/move objects weighing up to 25 pounds. • May spend time in the field, and experience exposure to Florida outdoor weather conditions., Use of hands for various tasks. • Visual abilities include close and color vision, along with peripheral and depth perception. • Noise level in the work environment is typically moderate.

BENEFITS: Benefits include Healthcare insurance, including medical, dental, and vision. Life insurance, 401k program, telemedicine, and short and long-term disability. Paid time off includes 12 days of vacation, 4 days of personal leave, 8.5 days of holiday, and up to 12 days of sick leave per year. The office is on our beautiful campus next to the Gordon River Greenway. Employees receive complimentary kayak usage and eco-cruise tickets, discounts in our Welcome Center store, and staff membership, including reciprocal benefits with other Nature Centers.

Date Posted: 2/9/2024

Apply Online: Work Here | Conservancy of Southwest Florida

Wildlife Hospital

• Climate Change

Featured Project: Conservancy biologists have been researching mangrove systems since the Conservancy’s inception and have one of Florida’s longest continuous mangrove monitoring projects. Today’s Mangrove research primarily focuses on forests adjacent to human development, such as the Clam Bay Estuary and Fruit Farm Creek – Goodland Die-off.

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At the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, we believe the more we can connect people with nature, the more willing they are to protect it. Our Nature Center and programs help us to do just that!

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Prominent members of the community stand with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida on important environmental issues. Will you stand with us as well?

Announcement

Volunteer appreciation breakfast 2024.

April 5, 2024

On April 3, we held our annual Volunteer Appreciation Breakfast at Vi at Bentley Village . Thank you Vi at Bentley for sponsoring and hosting our volunteers for this special recognition breakfast. The morning consisted of a presentation where we recognized and honored our 450 volunteers, their milestones and hours.

Sixty years ago, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida was born through the vision of a small group of volunteers, who were committed to protecting some of the most important bays and estuaries in Southwest Florida. These volunteers understood the importance of protecting our water, land, and wildlife at that time and for the future. We owe much to these dedicated volunteers who fought to Preserve our Paradise.

As we celebrate 60 years, we focus on preserving paradise. What does that really mean? Preserving paradise is a lot more than a slogan. It is a very serious commitment over time, with real consequences if we fail and fantastic benefits if we continue working hard at it together and succeed.

For the past sixty years, the Conservancy of Southwest Florida has been a remarkable force for preserving what makes this area so special. We believe in common sense conservation. We believe in providing solutions, not just opposition, to the most pressing issues in our region.

Our volunteers provide important daily work alongside our staff and interns. They have helped us before, during and after hurricanes. They were there for us during the COVID pandemic. They were there in good weather and bad. We could not do the work we do without them.

The community depends on the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to protect the resources that make our region so unique. We want to thank every single volunteer who has put in the work, time, and passion to continue our mission everyday.

Volunteer of the Year

This year we honored one of our volunteers, Patricia Walrath, as our volunteer of the year. Patricia has been a volunteer at the Conservancy for xx years. She has passionately worked 2,086 volunteer hours. She has volunteered in many different areas at the Conservancy including administration, horticulture, education, election corps, fairs & festivals, special events, and the von Are Wildlife Hospital.

“What an honor. Of all the volunteers, I am sure one of them deserves this along with me. I couldn’t even find one word today, when asked by staff, to describe how I felt about volunteering for the hospital and animal care. I broke down in tears because one word cannot describe how I feel about all the efforts that go into saving the wildlife. Often, I stop my car to save a turtle and have picked up injured animals and taken them to the hospital so they wouldn’t suffer. Some of the things I experience bring joy and laughter and other things bring tears.” Patricia Walrath, Conservancy’s Volunteer of the Year

Thank you Patricia Walrath for your hard work, passion and crucial support at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida.

Conservancy Summer Camp is back

Owl rescues and a successful renesting, five nestling raccoons left behind after mother was relocated, wins for wildlife: critical habitat designated for the florida bonneted bat and a new refuge unit established in southwest florida, eastern mole injured in cat attack, 20th annual magic under the mangroves gala raises record-breaking $2.3 million net, otter family faces nuisance animal claims, plant this instead, conservancy hosts patron party at keewaydin lodge, painted bunting collides with window, conservancy of southwest florida’s magic under the mangroves gala celebrates 20 years in march.