A donation to NALMS supports lakes, reservoirs, and watersheds … plain and simple! If you’re curious about where your gift will go, or what program you should support, take a peek below at a description of each donation fund. Thank you for your support!

NALMS Lake Givers Club

North America’s lakes, reservoirs, and watersheds need your support …  and NALMS can help! Our educational publications and programs offer an excellent first step toward the responsible management and protection of our lakes and reservoirs. NALMS provides information to inform the actions that will positively affect the quality of our lakes, our drinking water and supply, our freshwater fishing industry, recreational opportunities, and tourism industries.

The Lake Givers Club provides a way for individuals and organizations to make a significant contribution towards the management and protection of lakes and reservoirs. Contributions to the Lake Givers Club may be applied in the following ways:

  • NALMS Education Publications
    LakeLine Magazine, Lake & Reservoir Management Journal, and other NALMS publications
  • NALMS Programs
    Certification, Inland HAB program, and Lakes Appreciation Month
  • NALMS Operations
    Office equipment, supplies, and other expenses

Eberhardt Memorial Student Fund

NALMS students are the future of our organization. By donating to the Eberhardt Memorial Fund, you support NALMS’ student programs, including travel grants to attend our yearly symposium.

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About Tom & Elinor Eberhardt

Tom and Elinor were givers. The Eberhardts gave to their community and they gave to NALMS. NALMS will miss Tom and Elinor, who tragically died together in a plane crash on December 30th, 2010. However, the upbeat, indomitable spirit and energy that they have shared and passed on to their family, friends, and community remind us of them every day. NALMS founded the Eberhardt Memorial Student Fund in 2011 to commemorate Tom and Elinor’s life and to continue their legacy of giving by supporting NALMS student members.

What are our students saying?

  • “This was my second time attending a NALMS symposium. This year I participated in the resume review and presented a poster. Everyone at the meeting was very welcoming and provided me with great feedback on both my resume and research. I look forward to attending more NALMS symposiums in the future.“
    Keiko Wilkins, 2019 student travel grant recipient
  • “I am so thankful to have received the student travel grant in order to attend my first NALMS meeting! It was very rewarding to meet so many people doing fantastic work managing lakes. NALMS was a great example of science application at its best! I hope it was just the first of many NALMS conferences to come for me.“
    Nicole Ward, 2019 student travel grant recipient
  • “My name is Mohsen Tootoonchi, I am a PhD student at the University of Florida. I study the impact of saltwater intrusion and increased salinity on aquatic and wetland plants. In the past few years, I presented my work at different venues particularly in the southern parts of the United States to show how saltwater intrusion impacts vegetation and reduces ecosystem diversity. When I realized that in colder northern parts of the country, application of deicing salts has impacted aquatic ecosystems, I decided to extend my reach and try attending the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS) to share my research. Luckily, I was able to apply and receive the NALMS travel award. Without the help of supporters and donations to the student travel fund, I would not have been able to attend the meeting. At the NALMS meeting, I met great researchers, talked with wonderful people and made great connections that undoubtedly will impact my career as a researcher. I would like to sincerely thank the committee and supporters of the NALMS travel award.“
    Mohsen Tootoonchi, 2019 student travel grant recipient
  • “My experience at NALMS was fantastic. The workshop and talks I attended were engaging, interesting and above all, useful to my growth as a student. Furthermore, the opportunity to meet like-minded researchers and professionals within my own field was invaluable. The NALMS student travel grant I received was instrumental in ensuring my attendance.”
    Patrick Beaupre, 2019 student travel grant recipient

  • “This was my first NALMS meeting, and it was incredibly rewarding to attend the conference as a PhD student. Hearing from researchers and managers working on the applied sciences was a great way to help me think critically about the relevance and direct implications of my work. Support from the student travel grants made this possible for me, and I look forward to attending future NALMS conferences!”
    Rachel Pilla, 2018 student travel grant recipient
  • “This was my first time attending NALMS, and it was easily one of the best conference experiences that I have ever had. The student travel grant allowed me to travel all the way to Cincinnati, Ohio and stay at the conference hotel for three nights, which made the entire experience more convenient. This added convenience made it possible for me to participate in late-night networking events including the Halloween costume contest during the poster session. I also participated in the photo contest and a day-long technical session on the first day of the conference. And to top off the action-packed week of opportunities and experiences, I recently found out that my oral presentation received the first place prize. Needless to say, I am already looking forward to next year!”
    Vinicius Taguchi, 2018 student travel grant recipient
  • “This NALMS symposium in Cincinnati was my first ever. Thus, before attending I was wary of the types of people I would be meeting, and I was very anxious to present my research as an undergrad. But upon arriving I was warmly welcomed and pleasantly surprised at how kind everyone was. With the support I received from the travel grant I learned more than I could have hoped and I made great connections with brilliant people. This experience allowed me to grow both as a student and as a scientist. I loved every minute and I cannot wait until next year. Thank you to those who made this possible for me.”
    Linda Ivey, 2018 student travel grant recipient
  • “I participated in the 38th International Symposium … which hosted different activities for students, including a new members’ reception … a student luncheon where I could meet and connect with other students and members … and a CV review in which students were assigned to a different academic or industrial scientist to review their CV. I was lucky to have my CV reviewed by a former NALMS president, who also gave me lots of good advice for my future journey in the academic world. Overall, my participation at NALMS 2018 was a success. I was able to meet lots of scientists, expand my network, learn more about limnology, and share my knowledge! I would like to acknowledge the NALMS Student Travel Grant program for giving me the opportunity to attend the event and learn more about NALMS.”
    Igor Ogashawara, 2018 student travel grant recipient
  • “I have been to many conferences, some for myself, several for my husband. I found the NALMS conference to be warm, inviting and very informative. A vast array of topics were offered and good discussions were had.  Attendees were from a variety of backgrounds that added to the information and data shared. The student scholarship allowed me to attend this conference. The venue was top notch and so was the hotel. As a student, this conference was beneficial for networking and expanding my knowledge of lake management concerns and challenges. I look forward to attending NALMS in the future.”
    Michelle Neudeck, 2018 student travel grant recipient

NALMS JEDI Scholarship Fund

The NALMS JEDI program exists to amplify the work and voices of individuals who may otherwise not receive the attention they deserve. JEDI in this context stands for Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Our goals with the JEDI program are to provide just treatment and equitable opportunities and spaces for everyone, especially those in underserved communities. This also means providing a safe space for diverse groups of people to feel welcomed in NALMS activities and spaces. Lastly, we hope to aid in creating a level of inclusivity that makes NALMS programming more attainable for everyone, especially marginalized individuals. Funding provided to the JEDI program will allow us to facilitate more outreach and engagement opportunities as well as provide and promote more activities for diverse groups of people. Simultaneously, it will provide NALMS with a greater ability to sustain diversity initiatives and inclusive values in its accessibility and programming.

G. Dennis Cooke Symposium Fund

The G. Dennis Cooke Symposium Fund was established in November 2012 through a gift from G. Dennis Cooke, the first president of NALMS and Emeritus Professor of Biological Sciences at Kent State University. Dr. Cooke earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Iowa and, after a post-doctoral at the Institute of Ecology at the University of Georgia, he joined the faculty at Kent State University, where he taught for 36 years.

The Fund provides a way for individuals and organizations to join NALMS’ effort to facilitate the exchange of information on managing lakes and watersheds. NALMS has established an investment fund with Dr. Cooke’s gift and will use the returns from this fund to support themed sessions and plenary speakers at our annual Symposium.

Secchi Dip-In

The Secchi Dip-In began in 1994 by Drs. Robert Carlson, Dave Waller, and Jay Lee from Kent State University (pictured) as a pilot study.  Since then, it has expanded to include volunteers from across the United States.

Its purpose?  The Dip-In is a powerful demonstration of the potential of volunteer monitors and citizen scientists to gather environmentally important information on our lakes, rivers, and estuaries.  The concept of the Dip-In is simple: individuals in volunteer monitoring programs take a transparency measurement on one day during the month of July.  Individuals may be monitoring lakes, reservoirs, estuaries, rivers, or streams.  These transparency values are used to assess the transparency of volunteer-monitored lakes in the United States and Canada.

When the first Secchi Dip-In was proposed in 1994, it was hoped that the project would make it past one or two years. Thanks to the support of volunteer programs and volunteers, the North American Lake Management Society, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Dip-In database has grown to more than 41,000 records on more than 7,000 separate waterbodies, not including different sites, such as along rivers and estuaries.

In 2015, after leading the Secchi Dip-In for 20 years, Dr. Carlson and NALMS entered a long-term agreement transferring the operations of the Dip-In to NALMS.

Donate to NALMS today!