ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION FUND

STRATEGIC PLAN

June 1, 2007

VISION

North Carolinians enjoy the beauty of their mountains, forests, parks, farms, fields, lakes, rivers, streams, estuaries and beaches. They are stewards of a natural heritage that forms the basis for a quality of life admired by the entire world. It is a heritage of a wild and diverse land rich in resources and natural wonders. They continue to design laws that protect the foundation of their physical, cultural, and economic well-being. Though these environmental regulations serve an important role, they alone are not sufficient to sustain this natural heritage. North Carolina has a population increasingly removed from its natural surroundings and unaware of its negative impact on the environment. Therefore, North Carolinians need environmental education to understand nature and foster a culture of environmental stewardship.

The Board of Directors of the Environmental Education Fund envisions North Carolina as a great place to live and work. The purpose of this strategic plan is to identify specific objectives that over the next three years will move the State towards realizing the following goals:

• A healthy natural environment makes possible a vibrant economic, political and cultural life.
• People at work and at home make environmentally sound decisions as a part of their daily activities.
• Elected officials and government agencies value environmental education as an essential strategy for maintaining the state’s quality of life.
• Schools – pre-kindergarten through graduate level – use the natural environment as a framework and inspiration for learning.
• North Carolina enjoys a reputation as a leader in environmental stewardship.

MISSION

The Environmental Education Fund inspires responsible stewardship of our natural resources. The Environmental Education Fund provides people of all ages with knowledge, understanding and skills to make sound decisions that maintain and improve the quality of our environment.

BUSINESS MODEL

The Environmental Education Fund acts as a community foundation, obtaining support from individuals, corporations, larger foundations and governments. The Environmental Education Fund uses these resources to fund environmental education programs through a request for proposal (RFP) and award process. The Environmental Education Fund will oversee the development and implementation of the programs. The Environmental Education Fund collaborates with curriculum designers to develop materials that meet the needs of environmental educators. The Environmental Education Fund works with communication agencies to develop campaigns that raise awareness across a wide section of the population and increase people’s knowledge and understanding of environmental issues.

STRATEGY

The Environmental Education Fund accomplishes its mission by funding:

- educational programs that catalyze moments of awe in the consciousness of students, thereby sparking a life-long commitment to protect the environment, and

- communication campaigns that reach across all sectors of the population, providing the public with knowledge and understanding needed to make sound environmental decisions.

OBJECTIVES

The key objectives of the Environmental Education Fund are to:

1. In consultation with educators, research broad categories of environmental education programs and policies.

2. In consultation with media experts, develop and promote effective campaigns to increase environmental awareness.

3. Seek financial support from individuals, corporations and foundations to fund at least one major educational program or media campaign per year.

4. Contract for the development of environmental education programs and the production of media campaigns to meet the objectives of the grants.

5. Raise money for an endowment that will finance the management of the Environmental Education Fund.

ACTION ITEMS FOR EACH OBJECTIVE

The objectives are accomplished through the following strategic steps:

OBJECTIVE 1. In consultation with educators, research broad categories of environmental education programs and policies:

• Research best practices in providing environmental lessons in schools.
• Explore collaborations with libraries and environmental education centers.
• Ask teachers who have used programs funded by the Environmental Education Fund and by other entities for comments on those programs.
• Ask teachers what other environmental education programs are needed.
• Solicit comments from parents and students regarding the environmental science curriculum in their schools.
• Collaborate with the Department of Public Instruction to research the impact of current policies on the teaching of environmental education in North Carolina schools.

OBJECTIVE 2. In consultation with media experts, develop and promote effective campaigns to increase environmental awareness:

• Research best practices in mass media to educate the public about environmental issues.
• Collaborate with Department of Environment and Natural Resources to integrate adult education programs with privately funded initiatives.
• Investigate effective strategies that reach underserved and minority populations that are not traditionally targeted in mass education campaigns.
• Explore grass root strategies to more effectively teach environmental lessons to adults.

OBJECTIVE 3. Seek financial support from individuals, corporations and foundations to fund at least one major educational program or media campaign per year:

• Build a portfolio that highlights the Environmental Education Fund’s past projects and collaborations.
• Develop a systematic approach for contacting donors and grantors.
• Identify and contact large foundations that underwrite environmental education initiatives.
• Identify and pursue government grants for environmental education.
• Involve board members in contacting people that influence decisions on grant funding.

OBJECTIVE 4. Contract for the development of environmental education programs and the production of media campaigns to meet the objectives of the grants:

· Solicit proposals for environmental education programs, projects and campaigns through an RFP process.

· Select partners to develop and implement programs based on well-defined criteria.

· Assign work to partners under a contractual arrangement.

· Retain control on use of material funded by the Environmental Education Fund.

OBJECTIVE 5. Raise money for an endowment that will finance management of the Environmental Education Fund:

· Hold a portion of all grants and bequests as undesignated reserves in the Environmental Education Fund to be used to cover administrative costs.

· Ask large corporations, endowments and foundations to support the general operations of the Environmental Education Fund through unrestricted grants and donations.

· Solicit support from individuals who share the vision of the Environmental Education Fund and feel compelled to support its general operations.

· Engage board members to adhere to expectations related to fundraising activities in support of the Environmental Education Fund.

RATIONALE FOR STRATEGIC PLAN

Individuals, foundations, business, industry, and governments seek opportunities to support science-based environmental education programs and facilities. They often prefer to get involved and make contributions through a non-profit organization. In addition, these same entities support more informed environmental decision-making and recognize the growing importance of environmental education as the means of preparing present and future decision makers. They seek to partner with an entity like the Environmental Education Fund to maximize the effectiveness of their philanthropy. The Environmental Education Fund embraces the opportunity to nurture, broker and manage these partnership opportunities and seeks to fulfill its mission and accomplish its goal by being North Carolina’s leader in funding environmental education programs.