Press release: Riverkeeper association returns grant due to potential conflict of interest concerns

​The Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association recently returned (in full) a $5,600 grant it received from the Community Giving Foundation after finding out that the previously anonymous donor was Amazon Web Services and posed a potential conflict of interest with its work both in the Berwick area and beyond.
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The grant was part of a larger $100,000 opportunity that was divided up among eight nonprofits in late 2024 under the name “2024 Anonymous Grant.” The portion for the Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper Association was specifically for Mobile Environmental Education Training (MEET) kits – mobile environmental education that would be brought into the Berwick school district specifically as well as other surrounding schools.

Throughout the spring 2025 semester, the association, through Vernal School Environmental Education Partnership Supervisor Marissa Crames, offered initial efforts for programs in Berwick elementary schools with that grant.

However, it was later announced that this anonymous grant opportunity was made possible through a partnership between Community Giving Foundation and Amazon Web Services.

“Our association is careful to not take funding from groups that pose a conflict of interest with our work, specifically when it comes to water quality and possible pollution concerns that we may need to address at a later time,” said Riverkeeper John Zaktansky. “Upon becoming aware of the connection, we returned the entire grant amount to the Community Giving Foundation but will follow through with the immediate programming commitments for students and teachers at our own cost so that there is no gap or extra pressure on those depending on us.”
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If you have any questions about this, you can contact Zaktansky directly at [email protected]