Hi, and welcome to the Earthtrust "web" page. I hope
you have a good time here and find what you're looking for. If
you've found it through links or a 'web search, you may wonder
what you've stumbled onto. Earthtrust isn't an easy group to categorize.
After you get to know us, you may decide we belong in a whole
new category.
Earthtrust is a conservation-advocacy group, dedicated to protecting
wild species, and as activist as it's possible to be: Earthtrust
field campaigners are often in harm's way for the earth. On the
other hand, we don't do "protests"; we do science and
reality. Typically, we try to take on the "impossible"
missions, and then phase out of them once our solutions become
mainstream.
As you'll see, there has long been a focus on dolphins and whales,
and that continues. You'll also see that it hasn't limited us.
Our track record covers a lot of successful ground on behalf of
many different issues, and the stuff highlighted in this web page
is just a peek.
One thing about the Web, you can't tell how big anyone really
is. For that reason, based on the stuff we do - and have done
- you may get the idea that Earthtrust is one of those big environmental
groups that fills your mailbox with donation requests; the ones
which gross 50 or 100 million dollars per year. Not so; we merely
get that level of results. In any given year our global activities
generally cost less than 1-2% of these amounts. Moreover, I can
state without fear of contradiction that you have NEVER received
any junk mail from Earthtrust: we don't do any, as a matter of
principle. The costs of fundraising that way are horrendous both
in trees and donated dollars. (True, we could play with the books
and declare these fundraising costs "educational expenses"
to make the financial statements look good, but WE would know....)
So what IS Earthtrust?
As an original founder and leader of Greenpeace, I spent 10 years
seeing what could be done right and wrong with a non-governmental
organization wishing to help the environment. I learned to care
about costs of fundraising, accountability to donors, substance
over flash, science over myth. And in particular, about avoiding
the pitfalls that can rob a group of credibility and effectiveness.
Earthtrust, as it exists today, was the result.
A few concepts that seem obvious in retrospect: The issues must
drive the programs. The organization is only important as a tool
to make programs possible. The paid staff are part of the programs,
and have no independent reason for being paid. The Board of Directors
should be small and highly competent, while the list of advisors
should be large and highly competent. Funds received for a project
are a sacred trust, and must be held for their designated use.
Waste, in fundraising or program, is not acceptable. Before a
program is started, a workable strategy for a solution must be
developed.
Above all, there must be a long-term vision. Innovation is key.
Science and the best technology are the favored tools. Conventional
wisdom is usually out of date.
This has led to a pretty unique organization. Although Earthtrust
has fielded strong offices in key locations such as Geneva, Auckland,
Taipei, Los Angeles, Kuwait, and New York based on program needs,
we have avoided the pitfall of keeping them open after the local
program needs have been met. Although we have bought and chartered
ships and planes to accomplish specific objectives, we don't pour
money into owning them between times. We don't get much into merchandising,
don't print up calendars, don't even publish a slick newsletter.
And while our paid staff have at times numbered many dozens, this
too is dependent upon programs. This makes Earthtrust the most
protean of "conservation" organizations, yet one of
the most stable. The percentage of funds received which is spent directly
on "program" expenses has been at least 83% for many
years, despite large fluctuations in the number and level of programs
from year to year.
And Earthtrust makes sophisticated use of "planned giving"
vehicles when donors desire it: you're probably paying money in
taxes that could be saving wild species.
What all this means is that Earthtrust is an efficient tool for
anyone wishing to aid the whales, dolphins, or other species.
Not only does $100 go as far here as $1000 goes elsewhere, but
there is no "black hole" that your funds disappear into.
It's called "earthtrust" for a reason: we absolutely
honor the designations of donations, and report back to contributors.
The "down" side of these ethics and guidelines is that
important projects must be "cut back" or put on hold
if not funded. Program work is directly tied to funds received
in a given year. (hint, hint.)
Until now, then, Earthtrust has been a bit of a well-kept secret:
often in the news but never in your mailbox. This has meant, in
most cases, that our supporters have been the people who have
taken the time to find us, the "sophisticated donors"
who know the nonprofit world and shop around to get the best "bang
for the buck". So this page is something new for us; we're
now "out there" on display in a cost-effective way.
(Maybe you could think of us as sort of a discount broker for
environmental progress...hmmm...)
There's something else that distinguishes Earthtrust: the "vision
thing". It's in being unafraid to take chances, to try new
approaches. Want to make a breakthrough to the mind of a dolphin?
Invent an underwater computer interface based on infra-red light
beams. Need to end decades of illegal whale smuggling? Develop
a new field protocol for molecular tissue identification that
sidesteps legal barriers. Trying to plug the national holes in
"dolphin safe" tuna schemes? Create a new international
certification regime based on "Flipper" and on international
contract law. Daring to expose and end the world's largest kill
of marine species? Put together a gutsy, stepwise plan and go
do it.
Another thing about the structure: Earthtrust is about as close
to being an electronic entity as a major conservation organization
can be. It has been organized around e-mail and electronic data-stream-scanning
since the early '80's. The physical offices adapt, the locations
change, but the work and the organization go on. This presence
on the 'web adds a new dimension to the continually-evolving entity
that's Earthtrust.
Nice to meet you.
Don White, Founder and CEO
