Nonprofit land conservation group spreads word of name change

 When the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast announced its rebranding as Big Waters Land Trust in December 2024, it was a change several years in the making. Over the course of its 20-year history, the Sarasota County-based nonprofit has protected more than 20,000 acres across 61 different properties in a seven-county service area. But as its reach and impact grew, its former moniker both caused some confusion and didn’t fully reflect the breadth of its work.

“People confused us with Gulf Coast Community Foundation,” says Christine Johnson, the nonprofit’s president. “We got calls in asking how to apply for a grant; they thought we were a foundation that gave money away.