2021 ANNUAL REPORT

Read the full version of this note from our Executive Director.

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES THROUGH

Projects with Purpose

YDCCF focuses on providing small, targeted grants to local organizations and communities in the places where great angling is found. We rely on our vast network of partners throughout the world to help find and connect us with the people on the ground making a difference in their communities and watersheds.

In our first five years, YDCCF has leveraged over $1 million in funding spread across 60 projects worldwide. Some of these projects have tackled large scale problems such as the commercial gillnetting issue in Belize, where as part of the Coalition for Sustainable Fisheries, we spearheaded an innovative solution to transition existing gillnetters to alternative livelihoods. This helped push the government of Belize to institute a countrywide gillnet ban in 2019. Fast forward to the pandemic a year later and we rallied the fly fishing industry to step up and provide critical basic income for guides across Belize when the shutdown meant no other viable means of income.

BUILDING RESILIENCE WITH

Ongoing
Partnerships

Supporting communities is rarely a “one and done” deal: it can take years of investment to see the type of lasting change impact those who need the most help. YDCCF’s work in Punta Allen is perfect example of a multiyear effort of diverse projects: in our five years of investing in the community, there have been significant changes to daily life, especially for the children of Punta Allen.

Punta Allen is a small community at the tip of the Boca Paila Peninsula in the Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. With less than 500 residents and an almost two-hour drive from the closest larger village, its remoteness is part of what makes it such an excellent angling destination, although it presents challenges for the people who call it home. YDCCF has been working with local residents to improve the living, learning and working conditions in Punta Allen since 2016. From building new bathrooms with running water for the school, to helping create a holding facility for recycling and refuse that washes up on the beaches, we have focused on projects that will improve daily life. We’re also helping build a new covered playground for the community. Our most recent and anticipated project was completed in 2022: a new dormitory for the school’s teachers that facilitates them being able to come and stay in the community for longer periods rather than making a daily commute. This increases teacher retainment, ensuring a better educational experience for the children.

To learn more about our investments in Punta Allen, please watch this film.

MONGOLIA

Mongolian Taimen

Michael Caranci and the team at Mongolia River Outfitters have been partners since the beginning of YDCCF in 2016. We’ve funded numerous MRO projects including fisheries data collection on taimen and lenok, river patrols in the Delger and Onon watersheds and signage alerting visitors to the area’s fishing regulations. Most recently, we funded the restart of Healthy Taimen Festivals post-pandemic, a program we previously supported in 2019. The Festivals bring doctors (both MRO clients and additional doctors from BioRegions International) to remote villages to administer health checkups with residents, drawing in participants from all over the region. MRO provides support in the form of running conservation programming and games during the festivals to reinforce the connection between protecting the fisheries and providing much needed services to the local economy.

Featured 2021 Projects

COLOMBIA | RIO MATAVEN

Our partner Release Fly Travel is working with five indigenous Piaroa communities who are collectively managing a burgeoning world- class Peacock Bass fishery. The community is receiving education on the basics of fly fishing, guide etiquette, English language education and even fly tying.

A complete list of projects that we have funded is available here.

2021: The Year in Numbers

The overwhelming majority of our funding comes from individual anglers choosing to make a difference. In some cases, that funding comes through family foundations which comprise our second largest source of income. Historically, our Lodge Partner program brought in a large percentage of income, but due to the pandemic, the program ceased in 2020. Our total available dollars for grants and direct charitable activities was down in 2021 due to this. We were still able to distribute more than $61,000 to projects and individuals in need in 2021.