Michael Banks
“It seemed like a real win-win-win for one of our favorite conservation causes…”
To honor the late Charles Gresham, Trust for Public Land established the Gresham Challenge, with $1 million from his generous estate gift designated to inspire others to give. Keep reading to meet one of the first Legacy Partners to answer this call, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.
What inspired you to take the Gresham Challenge?
It seemed like a real win-win-win for one of our favorite conservation causes—Trust for Public Land’s Colorado’s Wildlands Program. We are enthusiastic about the great work that Trust for Public Land does in Colorado’s wilderness areas, often with few resources, since we became involved almost 20 years ago. We think that they are the great unsung heroes of Colorado conservation and that Trust for Public Land needs to get the word out on their success. In addition, the program structure appealed to us. The late Gresham left an estate for Trust for Public Land to put to work now on conservation, provided that we did the same for Trust for Public Land’s future generation. It allowed us to make an estate gift with an immediate impact. What better way to give it forward?
What would you like to say to future generations about the importance of land and access to nature?
If you really want to leave a lasting legacy to future generations in Colorado—wildlands conservation should be your cause. Colorado is being rapidly reshaped, and these conservation opportunities will not be with us just a generation from now.
What was one of your favorite memories in nature, a favorite park or public land?
Hiking alone in the Santa Monica mountains for hours on end in Malibu’s back country, when it was still relatively untouched. You could smell the sage and the sycamores in the canyons and see the Channel Islands offshore in the distance. I often thought of Will Rogers’ legacy and the ironies of Los Angeles.
Contact us to learn more about making a legacy gift to Trust for Public Land.
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