🌈 once upon a moment 
that slipped out of time
the Design Science Studio 
was just an idea in mind
a collective thought 
a storyseed to be
drawing together
a world of we
nurturing coheARTs 
one, two and three
now on we proceed
with coheART four
BEAM(ing)
regen•era
forever 
more 
🌱



I am giving, to the extent I can this year, to Design Science Studio because I don’t know of another university, college, or cohort that so deeply nourishes and forms a rigorously trained, well-supported, lifelong network centered on systems thinking and Buckminster Fuller’s principles.

Design Science Studio is, to my knowledge, the most meaningful applied practicum and alumni network for navigating systemic change, accelerating exponential disruption and opportunity, and the poly-crisis—really the poly-opportunity—we now face. Who better to meet today’s sense-making challenges than people trained to help multidisciplinary, multicultural, and multigenerational communities find alignment, consensus, and applied collaborative solutions through emergence and systems thinking?

The ultimate trim tab is people as much as any technology or innovation. I am deeply grateful to contribute to Design Science Studio because this community of super-solutionaries is exactly who I most want to support—people equipped to apply systems enterprise thinking and technology in their own communities to make the difference we know is so urgently needed. Please join me in supporting and strengthening this vital global network. Like Roxy, I don’t understand why this isn’t core funding for everyone who genuinely cares about addressing the poly-crisis.

“Project CETI is doing extraordinary, pioneering work — leading the largest animal communication study on the planet. Their research is expanding our understanding of whale intelligence and helping humanity build a deeper connection with these remarkable ocean beings.”

— Alan Grazioso & Patricia Alvarado Núñez
Co-Founders, Dimples the Whale™
www.DimplesTheWhale.com

in this time between times, we NEED storytellers/artists/creatives to see through the tangled mess of this chrysalis goo and invite us into the potential, a future of more resilience for all species and their children, for all time.  

Access Agriculture has over 6000 farmer lead videos on agroecology in 110 different languages! An amazing resource for farmers around the world.

Fungi are foundational to understanding the whole world.  

They have planted over 900 MILLION trees!!! Help create much needed jobs in extremely poor, rural areas so people can earn money by helping forests thrive and sequestering CO2.

The DSS empowers creators to imagine & build equitable, just, regenerative futures through art, design, community & collaboration.

The **Design Science Studio** (DSS) is a cultural and educational incubator that supports creators in shaping futures rooted in regeneration, justice and belonging. We are a living ecosystem of artists, designers, systems thinkers, story-weavers and movement builders committed to creating a world that works for all of life.

DSS holds space for interdisciplinary collaboration, creative capacity-building and community-rooted innovation. Our work is deeply informed by the legacy of Buckminster Fuller and carried forward through decentralized and decolonial ways of being, imagining and doing.

At the heart of our ecosystem is the **(r)Evolutionary incubator** —a 7-month journey of creative emergence and collective evolution that centers artists and designers as cultural stewards and worldbuilders. It weaves together art, design science, storytelling, systems thinking and regenerative design, offering an invitation to grow alongside others who are working to create futures rooted in care, justice and imagination.

**Each program cycle includes:**

- 144 participating artists
- 30+ mentors
- 50 visionary guest speakers
- 4 global salons for deep learning and connection
- Digital and in-person exhibitions

Support a global commUnity of creative peers

Design Science Studio

CETI is a nonprofit org applying advanced machine learning and gentle robotics to listen to and translate whale communication. 

Founded in 2020 as a TED Audacious Project, the organization’s science team is made up of the world's leading artificial intelligence and natural language processing experts, marine biologists, cryptographers, linguists, roboticists and underwater acousticians. CETI’s research is taking place off of the island of Dominica in the Caribbean.

In the late 1960s, scientists, including Dr. Roger Payne, a principal advisor of CETI, discovered that whales sing to one another. His recordings, Songs of the Humpback Whale, sparked the “Save the Whales” movement, one of the most successful conservation initiatives in history. The campaign eventually led to the Marine Mammal Protection Act that marked the end of large-scale whaling and saved several whale populations from extinction. 

All this by just hearing the sounds of whales. Imagine what would happen if we could understand them?

WHY WHALES 
Sperm whales specifically share traits strikingly similar to humans. They live in matriarchal and multicultural societies and share dialects and strong multigenerational family bonds. Sperm whales have the largest brains of any species and have higher-level functions such as conscious thought and future planning, as well as speech and feelings of compassion, love, suffering and intuition. Their vocalizations, among the loudest animal sounds on the planet, have a Morse code-like structure that shares the hallmarks of a highly-evolved language. Our understanding of these animals and their dialects is still in its infancy. Only in the last fifteen years have we begun to learn how some of their vocalizations are used for communication.  
WHAT CETI IS DOING
CETI is:
-Developing non-invasive robotics to listen to a population of whales in the Caribbean and put their sounds into context.
-Deploying a “Core Whale Listening System,” an innovative hydrophone array, underwater robotic gliders, custom bioinspired whale tags and other technology to gently study the whales.
-Building on substantial data on the whales’ sounds, social lives, and behavior already obtained by the Dominica Sperm Whale Project. 
-Creating a bespoke, big-data pipeline to examine the recorded data and decode it using advanced machine learning, natural language processing and data science.
-Publishing a series of academic papers beginning with the CETI roadmap.
-Collaborating with the National Geographic Society, including their Exploration Technology Lab, and amplifying the project across National Geographic’s storytelling and education channels.
-Implementing community-based programs like the Dominica Marine Conservation Fellowship, a community-based 10-month multi- module training program for young Dominicans interested in marine science, that was developed in partnership with National Geographic.
-Launching various communications projects to tell CETI’s story including a public interface for the citizen science community, resources for educators and children and arts programs.

IMPACT
Now, for the first time in history, it’s possible to use artificial intelligence to identify and interpret deep structure within animal communication. Using these technologies, CETI is building on the legacy of the “Save the Whales” movement with the goal of having an impact by contributing the following:
Interspecies Communication - A new data set of unprecedented size to the rapidly expanding field of interspecies communication and a roadmap of how humans could translate the communication of any other species
Marine Biology - A substantive contribution to the field of whale research within marine biology that opens gateways for future research initiatives. 
Policy - New information about whales that can bolster policy efforts to protect marine mammals and ocean habitats. Policy advances in this area are crucial as six out of the 13 “great” whale species (the largest whales) are still endangered (World Wildlife Federation). To ensure impact in this area, CETI plans to build out policy campaigns and initiatives. 
Perspective - It is widely endorsed that connectivity with nature can improve mental health. By sharing its journey and findings with the public, CETI hopes to contribute to a feeling of increased wonder and connectedness to whales and the ocean that can inspire action. CETI will build out arts and childrens’ initiatives in support of this impact goal.
Conservation - CETI’s first phase of research is taking place in Dominica in the Caribbean, a region that is one of the world’s greatest centers of diversity. By carrying out its research in partnership with local stakeholders, CETI hopes to contribute to regionally-led research and conservation efforts.

HOW CETI IS SUPPORTING DOMINICA
-CETI’s capacity-building initiative, Dominica Marine Conservation Fellowship is a 10-month, nine module training program for young Dominicans interested in marine science) in partnership with National Geographic.  The program has three 2022/2023 fellows and partnerships with the Dominica National Youth Council, Dominica State College and Dominica’s Ministry of Education. The program’s curriculum (co-created with National Geographic) includes modules on marine science, scientific research/techniques, water and vessel skills and storytelling and leadership among other topics.
-All research and findings by CETI in Dominica are all open-source and will be available for Dominica. The organization’s sailing research vessel (CETI-1), a Rigid Inflatable Boat (CETI-2) and Dominican made boat (CETI-3) are in operation in Dominican waters; these boats along with other CETI equipment will be donated to the local entity at the completion of the project.
-A temporary field station has been established in Dominica and has the capacity to host 10-12 researchers, fellows and students. In the long-term, CETI plans to build a permanent field station in Dominica 
-In 2023, CETI will continue local engagement and presentations with primary and secondary schools, development of video content for use in classrooms, collaborations with local artists and collaborations with local stakeholders such as marine and dive operators, civil society organizations and schools.



Project CETI

Access Agriculture shares agroecological knowledge through voiced learning videos, digital tools, & scalable training models.

Access Agriculture enables the co-creation and exchange of agroecological knowledge through quality learning videos in local languages using digital tools and innovative scaling models.

Our activities cover four broad thematic areas: Food Systems; Education; Entrepreneurship and South-South Learning.

**Food Systems**

Access Agriculture supports the transitioning to healthy, resilient and just food systems by enabling access to quality learning videos that support agroecology, organic and regenerative agriculture. We blend scientific knowledge with indigenous knowledge and put local voices at the centre of a sustainable food future. Our holistic approach covers climate resilience, agrobiodiversity, nutrition, One Health, food processing, ethical marketing and local governance, empowering communities to make informed decisions from farm to fork that benefit the environment, food security and livelihoods.

Donations will be used to support locally and regionally relevant educational content creation to support healthy food production, processing and marketing.

**Education**

Access Agriculture strengthens primary, secondary, tertiary and non-formal education through smart digital tools, agroecological, and discovery-based learning videos in local languages. We enable intergenerational learning and empower teachers, youth and women. Combined with school gardens, our blended learning approach fosters traditional knowledge, school-community engagement and transformational education. We bridge formal and non-formal systems, nurturing curiosity and life skills essential for a sustainable, inclusive future, and instilling the value of environmental stewardship in the minds of youth.

Financial support will be used to strengthen primary, secondary and tertiary education institutes. We will equip them with solar-powered smart projectors that contain our entire video library off-line, build digital skills of teachers and students, and set up school gardens to enable blended learning. To enable teachers to also use the projector in neighbouring schools, we will also provide them with Buffalo Bicycles.

**Entrepreneurship**

Access Agriculture empowers rural women and youth who lack access to quality education and decent job opportunities to become digitally-equipped agricultural advisors, called Entrepreneurs for Rural Access. Using solar-powered smart projectors, our entrepreneurs bring knowledge on agroecology and organic food production, processing, marketing, value addition and business skills to vulnerable farming communities to help them adapt to climate challenges and grow their incomes. By making knowledge accessible and practical, we stimulate local economies, foster youth engagement in agriculture and strengthen sustainable agri-food systems with a strong focus on equity and innovation.

Donations will be used to support young, rural people, women in particular, to establish thriving enterprises in the food sector.

**South-South Learning**

Access Agriculture, a global leader in quality, curated learning videos, empowers thousands of local organisations through digital tools using artificial intelligence for online and offline last mile delivery in a cost-effective way. By offering content in over 100 local and regional languages, Access Agriculture ensures culturally relevant South-South learning, fostering exceptional accessibility and inclusivity. Through our online platform, solar-powered smart projectors, mobile app and a network of mass media houses, we enable knowledge exchange across borders. 

Donations will be used to make quality educational videos available in more local languages to ensure people in remote areas, who are deprived of learning opportunities, have a chance to improve their livelihoods by getting inspiration from fellow farmers from across the Global South.

Access Agriculture aisbl

UWC makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, over 80% of our students selected through UWC's national committee receive a scholarship. This support allows UWC to continue selecting students based on their potential and merit, regardless of their race, gender or financial means.

Most UWC national committees across the globe are run by volunteers. With selection activities in over 150 countries and territories, this volunteer network identifies promising young students, many of whom would never otherwise have access to a transformative UWC education.

**Why Support UWC**

UWC is committed to making its life-changing education accessible to students from all backgrounds. Scholarships ensure that financial circumstances never prevent talented students from attending.

Your support helps sustain UWC’s mission to make education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. Donations from alumni, individuals, foundations, companies, and governments make it possible for UWC to continue this work.

*"A UWC scholarship is a great investment in society. We are developing a global community of leaders who are aware of the world’s needs, steeped in the nuances and dynamics of international and intercultural cooperation and equipped with the mindset, skills, sense of agency and the global network to make a tangible difference in the world."* - **Faith Abiodun, Executive Director of UWC International**

If you are a **US taxpayer**, you can donate to any UWC institution by clicking “**Donate**” above and specifying your intended recipient (School, College, National Committee or Campaign) under “*Add a note for UWC International"*.

If you are not a US taxpayer, you can also donate via [uwc.org/donate](https://uwc.org/donate).

UWC International (United World Colleges)

North America’s nonprofit that documents and protects fungi and their habitats through mobilizing community scientists.

FUNDIS is working to protect fungal diversity through conservation, education, and community engagement for a well-documented fungal world. We envision a world in which the fungal kingdom is fully documented, appreciated and protected.

FUNDIS is a nonprofit designed to document and protect fungi and their habitats across North America. Our goals are to help create a detailed inventory of fungal diversity across continental regions and ecosystems, identify key ecological interactions, contribute to the broader scientific knowledge of fungal ecosystems, and execute conservation strategies that actually include our beloved Fungal Kingdom. 

We exist to remedy the lack of knowledge about Kingdom Fungi due to chronic underfunding. We have 38 staff, hundreds of volunteers, and thousands of people rooting us on. 

Please visit https://fundis.substack.com/ to sign up for our newsletter. Invite your friends to follow us, too. We can't protect fungi without community.

Fungal Diversity Survey (FUNDIS)

Helping companies put human and environmental flourishing at the heart of value creation

At the Economics of Mutuality Foundation, our mission is to advance **place-based transformation** scaled through **education**. Through proof-of-concept pilots and partnerships with leading universities around the world, we are building the evidence, management school curricula and local capability to expand the EoM approach to mutual value creation. Our ambition is to elevate thousands of **leaders**, revitalize management education across leading **universities** on every continent, and catalyze the flourishing of dozens of **communities**.

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

***A Better Way of Seeing and Doing Business:***

The Economics of Mutuality is a proven operating model that drives superior value creation through impact-led management practices. 

Powered by digital tools, it equips companies to generate enduring mutual value for the benefit of multiple stakeholders by addressing societal and environmental challenges.

Practical and scalable, the model enhances business performance by embedding purpose-driven strategies and metrics into day-to-day operations. 

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

***From Idea to Impact***

The Economics of Mutuality operating model emerged from a multi-year business innovation program developed by [Mars](https://www.mars.com/news-and-stories/articles/economics-mutuality-foundation) that engaged a range of cross-sector partners including [Oxford University’s Saïd Business School](https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/research/centres-and-initiatives/responsible-business/economics-mutuality-lab). The program delivered proof of concept practical application across business units, sectors, and markets along with teaching curricula and case studies.

The team behind the program spun out of Mars in 2020 to advance and implement the operating model more widely. Under the independent brand of the [Economics of Mutuality Alliance](https://www.eom.foundation/#ourorganization), a partnership of two non-profits and two for-profits, they now collaborate with companies, investors, universities, and NGOs around the world to serve the common good.

Economics of Mutuality Foundation

Talks with Indigenous and Maroon people and their supporters to challenge our conscious and unconscious colonized thinking.

Proven Sustainable Conversations are for those who want to take tangible actions to help our planet, engage in deep reflections, and discuss broader systems, histories and beliefs that influence our sustainability struggles and pursuits. 

It’s a virtual gathering ground for those who are worn out and weary from modern prioritizations of power, separation, control, and ceaseless doing.

We are here to acknowledge, honor, learn from, and support those who have survived the tests of climate changes and the attacks of settler colonialism and modernity for centuries. 

The conversations are an extension of [provensustainable.org](https://provensustainable.org/) where there are 200+ free education resources featuring Indigenous and Maroon-inspired advocates for ancestral wisdom and Earth harmony to support inquiry-driven learning and dialogue.

Our ancient ancestral beliefs about being human on a living earth have been carried forward by these communities of indomitable survivors whose lives as first Peoples have been grounded in unity, order, wisdom, skill and compassion. 

It is not enough to merely study them.

We must stand with them as they continue their ongoing efforts to survive systemic injustices and champion holistic environmental projects.  

This is an invitation to connect, to learn and to [take action](https://provensustainable.org/take-action) for, together, we may just be the saving remnants this time around.

---

*The Proven Sustainable*™ *Conversation Series is a fiscally sponsored project of the [Center for Transformative Action](http://www.centerfortransformativeaction.org/), a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Any funding directed towards the Conversation Series will go towards production efforts to ensure the the recorded discussions are diligently captured and meaningfully distributed. This Conversation Series and the affiliated website are not-for-profit and created with the intent of channeling support directly to the Peoples represented.*

Proven Sustainable Conversations

Factory farming is a broken system. Our mission is to give you the power to help fix it. Lead the shift to kinder farming today.

**Factory farming is a broken system. It exploits animals, people and the planet. Our mission is to give you the power to help fix it.**

We want everyone to be able to be a part of fixing factory farming. Not everyone can go to a protest, or cut animal products out their diet right now. But almost all of us can give, even a little, to help. And, by helping you pick the right charities - those that make your dollars go the furthest - we can help your donations make a huge impact.

**We're a donation guide and multiplier ​**

1. **Guide:** We’ve done the homework for you, so that you can donate to the best charities working to reform factory farming without the hassle of spending hours doing research. 
2. **Multiplier:** We multiply your impact by topping up your donation with matching funds and boosting its effectiveness with our charity recommendations.
3. **Fully independent:** We operate independently, funded by philanthropic grants. This ensures that 100% of your donation goes to your chosen charities and that our recommendations stay free from bias.

FarmKind

Created in 1997, the Fondation des Ponts supports the development of the Ecole des Ponts ParisTech and its students.

Excellent research and educational innovation 
 
Created in 1997 on the initiative of 11 major French companies, as well as the association of former ENPC students (AAENPC), the Fondation des Ponts supports the development of the Ecole des Ponts ParisTech and its students. École des Ponts ParisTech, created in 1747 under the name École Royale des Ponts et Chaussées, is a higher education establishment that trains engineers to a high level of scientific, technical and general competency. 

Recognized as a public utility, the Fondation des Ponts supports the development of the École des Ponts ParisTech by financing a whole series of projects that can be grouped according to 6 major themes:  
- Support research and educational innovation. 
- Support students, promote diversity, encourage excellence. 
- Increase the School's international reach to attract excellent teachers, researchers and students.  
- Helping startups created by students 
- Allow the School to have the facilities and equipment required to support its development. 
- Promote the historical and scientific heritage of the School. 

Visit our website:  http://www.fondationdesponts.fr/

Fondation de l'École nationale des ponts et chaussées 

We host 300+ social impact projects across Europe 

Open Collective Europe promotes charitable initiatives within the European Union, with a focus on Education, Social Impact and Civic participation, and provides such initiatives with a simple and transparent way to manage their finances. Open Collective Europe's mission is to promote projects in the EU with the following charitable purposes: - increasing access to educational resources and training,  - creating a positive social impact and  - developing tools to improve civic participation within cities or communities. Future perspectives At the beginning of 2022, we shared our desire to grow the Open Collective Europe community. Our goal is to make the community more vibrant, supported and resilient. We set out to build a more comprehensive fiscal hosting service and support system for our collectives.  

Open Collective Europe

At the heart of our Garden Council are 47 community gardens, each nurturing an ecosystem of health, connection, and resilience. 

With more than 2,000 members spanning diverse backgrounds and neighborhoods, the Los Angeles Community Garden Council is a dynamic force for positive change in Los Angeles. From Watts to Pasadena, Santa Monica to East Los Angeles, our 47 community gardens serve as vital hubs of activity and collaboration, offering access to fresh food, opportunities for education and engagement, organizing smart environmental and community-oriented policy and advocacy, and a shared space for neighbors to connect and thrive.

Join us as we cultivate a healthier, greener, and more resilient city for all. Together, we can sow the seeds of change and cultivate a brighter future, one garden at a time.

Los Angeles Community Garden Council

Indigenous & non-Indigenous collaboration promoting practice of Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ (Cayuga) language & lifeways in ancestral homelands

The Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ Learning Project is a collaboration of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people working to promote awareness and practice of Gayogo̱hó:nǫˀ (Cayuga) language and lifeways in their ancestral homelands and beyond. We hope to carry the idea of sgę́:nǫˀ gó:wah, the Great Peace, into our work, cultivating peace and cooperation through education and community outreach. Our partnership is based on a vision in which Indigenous and non-Indigenous people travel separate but parallel paths to engage in peaceful coexistence. 

The Gayogohó:nǫˀ Learning Project is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action (CTA). CTA, an educational 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is legally and financially responsible for all our project activities.

**The Problem**

Gayogohó:nǫˀ people were largely displaced from their ancestral homeland (around Cayuga Lake) in the late 1700’s, when George Washington sent a military contingent to destroy crops and villages of the Gayogohó:nǫˀ and other members of the Hodinohsó:nih.  Residents were scattered to Ohio, Canada, and Buffalo Creek, and later to Oklahoma and Six Nations of the Grand River reserve in Canada. Only a few remained in their ancestral lands. 
  
Land fraud by white settlers and the State of New York further exacerbated the separation of the Gayogohó:nǫˀ people from their land, which is an integral part of their language and identity. Many Gayogohó:nǫˀ people were forced into residential schools and Indian Day Schools. Non-indigenous governmental structures hindered the passing-on of traditional culture and language. 
  
Barely 250 years later, the Gayogohó:nǫˀ language is considered critically endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger.  As of December 2021, there are less than a dozen first-language speakers remaining – one of whom is a member of our group. Most live on the Six Nations reserve in Canada. A few hundred people have learned or are learning Gayogohó:nǫˀ as a second language, but with efforts, such as those of our group, that number continues to grow.
  
The impacts to mental and physical health of separating indigenous peoples from their language, culture, and land are well-documented. Language and culture revitalization efforts provide paths by which to address the health, socio-economic, and ecological impacts of colonization.
 
**Our Approach**

Our project seeks to complement and amplify existing Gayogohó:nǫˀ (Cayuga) language revitalization efforts from within Gayogohó:nǫˀ ancestral lands by supporting educational programs and access to language resources, and increasing opportunities to hear and see the Gayogohó:nǫˀ language in public spaces. Through this work of tangibly teaching and using the Gayogohó:nǫˀ language in the place it developed, and by creating opportunities for dialogue around difficult topics such as colonization, we hope to increase understanding of the history and current status of Gayogohó:nǫˀ people, language, and culture. A key part of our work lies in providing support for Gayogohó:nǫˀ people and others working to revitalize the Gayogohó:nǫˀ language. Through our work, we hope to both explore and spread awareness of ways in which Gayogohó:nǫˀ and other Hodinohsó:nih languages and cultures are connected to the land of the Finger Lakes and explore ways in which all people might cultivate healthy relationships with the land.
 
**Our Team**

**Stephen Henhawk** – Gayogohó:nǫˀ, otahyǫ́:ni: (Wolf clan) Historian and first-language speaker. Stephen grew up in a traditional Gayogohó:nǫˀ household at Ohswé:gęˀ (Six Nations of the Grand River reserve in Canada). Stephen is our language teacher, historian and conveyer of the inspiration behind the Gayogohó:nǫˀ Language Project. The inspiration itself comes from the wisdom and strength of all Gayogohó:nǫˀ people who came before who maintained language and culture and ties to the land against much adversity.
  
**Michelle Seneca**, project leader – Gayogohó:nǫˀ, genyahdę: (Turtle clan). Grew up on the Seneca Cattaraugus reservation in Western New York and lived for a number of years in the Gayogohó:nǫˀ community at the north end of Cayuga Lake. She currently resides in Ithaca. Michelle holds our whole project together.
  
**Jim Wikel,** advisory board member - Jim Wikel ni gya:soh (I am called). From Onǫdowáˀga:ˀ Gayogo̲hó:nǫˀ neh:ni Gahnawiyóˀgeh (Seneca-Cayuga Nation of Oklahoma). Currently resides in Salem, OR. Began learning the language in 2015 in Oklahoma. Worked in the behavioral health/addiction field since 2008. Worked with Native clients, encouraged them to learn their own languages. Recovery means getting back something you thought was lost. Ogwa:węh means "It belongs to us." I am reclaiming what belongs to us. 
  
**Noah Mark**, advisory board member – has been a student of Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ nigawęnó:dę’ since June, 2021. The mission of the Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ Learning Project resonates with him as someone who was born and raised on traditionally held Hodihnohso:nih lands and as a descendent of Japanese immigrants who underwent intergenerational loss of language and culture. His past work experience includes grassroots organizing and fundraising on environmental issues and sexual assault prevention, vegetable farming, and research on emerging contaminants. Currently, he serves as technical director of a citizen science-based nonprofit called the Community Science Institute. 
  
**Josephine Martell**, advisory board member –  has lived on Gayogohó:nǫˀ lands for the past ten years and is of French, Scottish, and German heritage. Josephine is a social scientist who studies how message framing and language affects decision making and behavior, and leads the Office of Research Development at Cornell University in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She has over 20 years of experience in policy, research, advocacy, and grant writing. Josephine is a passionate mother of three children and an avid trail runner.
  
**Karen Melamed Smith**, advisory board member – has lived on Gayogohó:nǫˀ land for forty years. With a background in music, philosophy and education, she served as the education director of the Community School of Music and Arts (CSMA) from 1998-2018 and continues to teach piano and to perform with Music’s Recreation. Of Eastern European Jewish heritage, she has always wondered about the interrelationships of heredity, culture and place and feels honored to learn and support the language that is rooted here.

**Shirley Brown,** advisory board member
  
 
**Contact information** 

[gayogohono.learning.project@gmail.com](mailto:gayogohono.learning.project@gmail.com) 
   

Gayogohó:no’ Learning Project

Supporting highly-impactful, evidence-based solutions to the triple challenge of climate change, air pollution and energy poverty.

The Founders Pledge Climate Fund exists to leverage each dollar and fund the most effective, neglected climate solutions.

Climate change is an incredibly complex problem borne out of how we produce and consume energy; it's intertwined with challenges of economic development, energy poverty, and emissions-fueled air pollution. It is an environmental and humanitarian crisis we must urgently address.

We aim to take a holistic approach that recognizes the global nature of this challenge and the fact that, despite its urgency, we are still in the early days of climate action. We address the worst-case scenarios of climate damage, and look for solutions that can reduce current carbon emissions and accelerate the transition to clean energy to meet global demand, especially in developing countries. Through the Fund, we:

- Accelerate innovation in neglected technologies
- Catalytically grow the most effective climate organizations
- Promote policy leadership and paradigm shaping

### Our Approach to Grantmaking
When evaluating potential grants, we consider several key points:

- **Counterfactual impact.** Our grants are designed to create a meaningful outcome that would not otherwise have happened. This means that you can rely on the Funds to create meaningful, real change, rather than just maintaining the status quo.
- **Impact-driven philanthropy.** This fund prioritizes the highest-impact solutions to challenges. We assess where the gaps are, which opportunities may be neglected by other funders, and where the biggest wins are in terms of making the biggest difference.
- **The organization’s funding gap.** Not all organizations are set up to scale up their programming and many can’t productively absorb large amounts of unsolicited funding. We evaluate all potential grantees’ capacity for growth and consider how much money they could put to good use.
- **Organizational strength.** Particularly with unrestricted funding, it’s important to have trust in the leadership and capacity of the organizations we support. We look at their track record of success and their transparency about failures as well as successes, and we only support those organizations which are exceptionally well run.
- **Time-critical opportunities and funding certainty.** While Founders Pledge members give to our top climate charities regularly, sometimes there are time-critical opportunities which require fast decisions. We will use the Fund to make grants that enable such short-term opportunities and stability for high-impact funding opportunities thereby increasing the impact compared to individual giving to specific organizations.
- **Portfolio approach.** Because most climate damage comes from particular severe outcomes – with a world of 4 degrees of warming being much worse than twice as bad as a world with 2 degrees – and because every particular strategy – such as energy innovation – might underdeliver, we pursue a portfolio approach to maximize positive impact. This means we will diversify our bets in ways that, when one approach fails (such as energy innovation), the others we promote (such as carbon removal) can be expected to be particularly important and still available.

### Frequently-Asked Questions

**Can charities apply for money from the Fund?**
The Funds do not generally accept applications from charities, and we request that charities do not send unsolicited applications for funding. If the Fund Managers choose to open up an application round, this will be publicized.

**How frequently will you make grants from the Fund?**
In general, Fund Managers will review grantmaking decisions on a quarterly basis. Decisions will be made based on the value of Funds and the available options for high-impact grantmaking. We may disburse funds outside of quarterly review dates if we become aware of a particularly promising and time-sensitive funding.

**How will my contribution be used?**
All funds are granted out. The Fund is not an investment vehicle. The Fund does not use any percentage of contributions to cover staff time or other overhead costs. Every dollar contributed to the Fund will be used to make grants directly to end-user organizations creating a real difference.

### More Questions?

To learn more about the Founders Pledge Climate Fund, please visit [founderspledge.com](https://founderspledge.com/funds/climate-change-fund) or email the Fund Managers at [funds@founderspledge.com](mailto:funds@founderspledge.com).

Founders Pledge: Climate Fund

The Fungi Foundation is a global organization that works for the Fungi, their habitats, and the people who depend on them.

Launched in 2012, the Fungi Foundation is the first NGO dedicated to the fungi kingdom. Since its inception, it has achieved numerous milestones while dedicating itself to exploring the fungi world in view of increasing knowledge of their diversity, educating about their applications, and recommending public policy for their conservation. As part of our ongoing 3F initiative, the foundation played a key role in enabling Chile to become the first country in the world to include protection of fungi in its environmental legislation. More recently, the foundation proudly announced the Fantastic Fungi Education Curriculum, the world's first mycological set of courses designed for schools.

In short, the Fungi Foundation envisions a healthy planet in which Fungi are recognized, protected, and embraced as the interconnectors of nature; a mission that would be impossible without the essential support of our kind, engaged donors.

Fungi Foundation

Using urban surplus as a solution to ignored issues of rural India

Goonj, founded in 1999 by Magsaysay award winner Mr. Anshu Gupta, works on poverty alleviation, rural development, and disaster relief & rehab, by using the cities’ discards as fuel for wide-spread development work across villages in India, creating a barter between two new currencies - the urban underutilized material, and, the efforts of rural communities who work on the neglected issues around water, sanitation, agriculture, education, local infrastructure, access, etc. Working with a strong network of 600+ grassroots partners, in the last 8 years (2014-2022), they have reached out to more than 12 million people, facilitated 55,000+ development activities, and channelized more than 45 million kgs of material across 31 states & UTs of India.

Goonj

KWO is an indigenous women’s organisation serving women and girls in our community in Burma and in refugee camps in Thailand.  

The Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) currently has a membership of more than 70,000 women living in Karen State, Burma and in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. KWO is a leading indigenous women’s organisation working in protection and our programs directly serve women, girls, children, and the most vulnerable people in our community. We promote women’s leadership, gender equality and community ownership in all aspects of our work. KWO is active in four main sectors: Organising and Information Sharing Program, Education Program, Health Program and Social Welfare Program.  KWO is led and staffed entirely by women in our community. KWO participates in the struggle to stop all kinds of oppression of women and of children. We believe in a federal Burma, where all communities have gender equality, the protection and promotion of indigenous people’s rights, human rights, and justice. 


WHAT WE DO

Within our 4 program areas we provide: service delivery, advocacy, awareness raising, and capacity building threaded throughout our daily work and our funded projects. Our work varies from the delivery of hygiene kits for mothers with new-borns, conducting community health and nutrition education, to ensuring safe accommodation for women suffering violence, developing Women’s Protection Laws, to training young women from our Communities to become leaders. 

KWO believes that empowering women will help reduce human rights abuses and encourage an end to discrimination against women. We believe that women have a right to be properly represented in politics and society at large. And we believe that the whole community is better off when women play an equal role with men in decision-making. The 17 individually funded Projects which KWO currently implements in refugee camps and Karen State, run under our 4 programs, and have over 100,500 beneficiaries.

WHERE WE WORK
KWO lives and works in the 7 districts of Karen State, Burma which is in Southeastern Burma and in 7 refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border.

ORGANISING AND INFORMATION SHARING PROGRAM  - KWO’s Organising and Information Sharing Program provides services, advocacy and capacity building to support women’s empowerment, mobilize the community, and sustain the organisation. KWO believes that broad community and organisational education contributes to building a fair and tolerant civil society. We conduct training, events and activities around: women’s rights, indigenous rights, democracy, political awareness, a Federal system for Burma, child protection, human rights, project management, leadership skills, public speaking, financial policy and procedures, KWO policy, landmine awareness, etc.

The Organising and Information Sharing Program Co-ordinators are all Karen women who live in their communities. Work under this Program includes: to conduct community consultations to identify needs, share information in the community about the current situation, including through KWO publications, update KWO’s membership list, co-ordinate with the KWO Social Welfare Program to organize the distribution of humanitarian aid (food and materials) in emergency situations, oversee and monitor all funded KWO projects implemented in the area, arrange and attend meetings for KWO and our network, coordinate with other agencies on issues that affect the community, assist researchers and field trips for visiting individuals, advocate on behalf of vulnerable groups in the community, conduct individual and joint advocacy efforts on the local, national, regional, and international stage.  We currently implement 4 funded projects under this program.

EDUCATION PROGRAM 
KWO’s Education Program provides services, advocacy and capacity building to promote education in our community. We provide schooling where there are gaps in existing education mainstream services in the refugee camps, and in areas in Karen State. We particularly target girls in the community to ensure they have equal access to education, protection, development and care. We also place a significant emphasis on education that promotes and preserves Karen indigenous culture.

Our Education Program Co-ordinators are all Karen women and are part of the community. Every day they work to promote education, to identify children struggling at schools or at home and provide support to the family, and assist with school fees when possible. They monitor and support KWO’s funded education projects in their areas, visit all community schools and give encouragement to students and teachers. They conduct home visits and encourage parents to send children to school, and assist the poorest of the poor children to get into schools. They attend events organized by schools to share positive messages about the benefits of education for all. They meet with education leaders at all levels and advocate for inclusive education, improved child protection mechanisms, and the importance of girls education. We currently implement 7 funded education projects under this program.

SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAM 
KWO Social Welfare Program provides services, advocacy and capacity building in all sectors of Karen society. We provide direct care and assistance to community members and we work to solve social problems in our community, particularly those that affect women. Due to the failure of Burma’s successive governments to provide care and security for the people, many ethnic groups, like the Karen, have established well-organised and high-functioning social systems. The KWO Social Welfare Program does a lot of the work that a free and democratic national government would normally be offering to the people.

Our Social Welfare Program Co-ordinators are all Karen women and live in their community. Their duties include: identifying and providing care to the most vulnerable members of the community including the elderly, people with disability or chronic illness, and families in trouble; providing assistance in emergencies; help to organize community events and ceremonies; home visits; build capacity and opportunity for women to earn income especially through traditional crafts; be advocates for the best interests of women in justice cases; fight for improvements in laws relating to women and child protection, justice system reform and better enforcement mechanisms both in the refugee camps and within Southeast Burma.

Overall our Program’s main area of focus is to prevent, and respond to Violence Against Women. Under the Social Welfare Program, and its funded project, we provide an enormous amount of training for women, for KWO leaders and staff, for local community leaders, and for the broader community. We currently implement 4 funded projects under this program.

HEALTH PROGRAM 
KWO’s Health Program provides services, advocacy and capacity building to promote better health in our community. Our Health Program activities address common community health issues, like nutrition and hygiene, and we focus on the health needs of women and of children. KWO collaborates with existing community health organisations to support local health workers, to care for patients and the community. We do not offer medical or clinic-based services ourselves.

Our Health Program Co-ordinators are Karen women who live in their communities. Their work includes: to advocate for better access to health services, accompany patients to hospitals or clinics, organise village and stream clean ups, identify health needs of the most vulnerable people and provide support in the home, conduct health education campaigns in the community, share information with families about good health practices, encourage communities to set up kitchen gardens, organise access to clean drinking water, improve village sanitation and the use of built toilets, promote KWO’s key health messages for women’s reproductive health, improve access to safe sanitary materials for all women and girls, monitor any funded KWO Health projects being implemented in their area, educate parents about good nutrition and childcare, advocate for recognition of skilled Traditional Birth Attendants, and for birth registration and birth certificates for all children. We currently implement 2 funded projects under this program.

Karen Women's Organization

Together, we can preserve the rainforests, protect the climate and uphold human rights.

Rainforest Action Network preserves forests, protects the climate and upholds human rights by challenging corporate power and systemic injustice through frontline partnerships and strategic campaigns.

RAN works toward a world where the rights and dignity of all communities are respected and where healthy forests, a stable climate and wild biodiversity are protected and celebrated.

We are committed to doing what is necessary, not only what is considered politically feasible, to preserve rainforests, protect the climate, and uphold human rights.

Our commitment to fairness and equity demands that we treat each other, fellow activists, and community partners with honesty, respect and dignity and that we are accountable to these relationships.

We are committed to working with Indigenous communities and frontline communities directly impacted by profit-driven systems of injustice. We support the leadership of these communities in working on strategic and effective solutions to protect people and the planet.

We believe creativity, integrity and people power drive the success in our campaigns and in our organization; while compassion, irreverence, and a celebration of life’s possibilities drive the commitment to our mission.

We are a collaborative organization that challenges corporate power and exposes institutional systems of injustice in order to drive positive systemic change.

Rainforest Action Network

The destruction of healthy forest systems causes so many different problems. Trees provide a habitat for animals, purify water sources, control flooding and erosion and help to replenish the soil with nutrients needed for farming. When farmers can’t grow anything their farms fail and they have no option but to move to the overcrowded cities looking for work. Often they have to resort to selling themselves or their families into slavery just to survive.

We start by hiring the local community to plant trees. This gives them a decent income so they can provide for their families again. As the reforestation effort goes on, healthy forests begin to emerge and all the negative effects of deforestation begin to disappear.

Eden Reforestation Projects

EDF delivers bold game-changing climate solutions to build a vital Earth, for everyone, with flourishing ecosystems and clean air.

Environmental Defense Fund is dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people, including future generations. Among these rights are access to clean air and water, healthy and nourishing food, and flourishing ecosystems.  

Guided by science, Environmental Defense Fund evaluates environmental problems and works to create and advocate solutions that win lasting political, economic and social support because they are nonpartisan, cost-efficient and fair.

Environmental Defense Fund

Founders Pledge is a global nonprofit empowering entrepreneurs to do the most good possible with their charitable giving. 

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I believe in gratitude+action and that together we can build a better world. Cofounder at Every.org :)

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