Meet our Grantees
National Audubon Society
The story of this partnership started at TED2006 when Majora Carter’s presentation brought the concept of Environmental Justice to life. We became sensitive to the idea of certain people bearing the environmental burden for the rest of us. There are neighborhoods – indeed, there are countries – where polluting industries are located. The rest of us reap the economic benefit, and the price is paid by the people whose health and daily lives are profoundly affected by the polluters in their midst.
We became fans of Majora Carter and her message of greening neighborhoods, cities, and countries through technology and green jobs, starting with the neighborhoods that have suffered the most from environmental ravages.
So when she was being honored with the 2007 Rachel Carson Award along with Laurie David, Dierdre Imus, and Frances Beinecke, we were pleased to support the Women in Conservation event with a contribution to the National Audubon Society. One of the first rules of fundraising is to stay in touch with your donors, and Audubon did a great job at that.
They made it a point to ask us about our interests, and the development staff picked up on our concern for the natural environment of Grand Bahama Island, which hasn’t yet recovered from hurricane damage of several years ago, and where the lure of industrial jobs could mean compromising the environment.
They told us about the Rare Pride Campaign they had underway in the Bahamas.
They set up a telephone meeting spanning two islands and two countries, in which we learned about the educational materials The Bahamas National Trust and Audubon had prepared for students.
These learning guides were designed to help Bahamian youth learn to identify and appreciate the vast natural resources that are their birthright and national treasure. Without the next generation’s participation in preservation, species of flora and fauna cannot survive.
We decided to underwrite the distribution of these materials on Grand Bahama Island. And to bring this grant full circle, Majora Carter has visited GBI and inspired several local builders and others to begin constructing greener homes using alternate sources of energy – like the sun for which Grand Bahama is famous!