New York's Stony Brook University recently announced it received $3 million total between a grant from the Laurie Landeau Foundation and a subsequent matching grant from the Simons Foundation. Both organizations prioritize scientific advancement in their fundraising efforts.

With the grants, the university's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAs) will move forward with its five-year plan to restore the health of marine life in Shinnecock Bay, which is a lagoon along the eastern shore of New York's South Shore Estuary System.

Ellen Pikitch, professor and executive director of the Institute for Conservation Science at Stony Brook, and Christopher Gobler, a well-known marine scientist, will head the project. Following initial research in 2010, Stony Brook students discovered why the shellfish populations were dwindling, water quality dropping and eelgrass habitats depleting. This new project aims to implement the solutions they identified.

In particular, it entails curbing algal blooms that hurt the ecosystem, restocking shellfish, stimulating seagrass beds and harvesting seaweed.

Given the current competition for fundraising opportunities, institutions might find it's becoming more important to demonstrate the success of their efforts. Using a fund accounting program, organizations that receive grants can generate reports that demonstrate measurable success.