How we work

SUPPORT OUR MISSION

We expand protected areas, support ecological research, and empower the public to become stewards and advocates for the natural world.

How we work

The scale and diversity of threats facing the environment seems to increase almost daily. Climate change rightfully generates the most attention from a global threat perspective. But habitat loss and degradation combined with poaching, illegal wildlife trafficking, invasive species, and the toxic legacy of many different industries takes a heavy toll. Yet only 3% of US philanthropy is dedicated to the environment. March Conservation Fund seeks to address this gap by supporting conservation initiatives in the United States and internationally, with a strong focus on tropical ecosystems. The geographical breakdown of our philanthropy as of 2020 is illustrated in the figure below.

MCF is a private foundation, and we do not employ our own staff to implement projects. Instead, we support and empower non-profit organizations. In the case of international grant making, we usually work with a US 501(c)3 partner to support the work of in-country partners, and to help administer those grants. Collectively, the talented and dedicated staff of these organizations are finding innovative ways to address threats to the environment at all levels. We are empowering them in this effort by funding their missions, helping to build capacity in their teams, and in some cases by creating entirely new initiatives.

Support to environmental organizations currently falls under five program areas. The Latin American Reserve Stewardship Initiative (LARSI) is a collaboration with American Bird Conservancy that provides capacity-building grants to organizations in the Neotropics that own and/or manage ecological reserves. Our Land Purchase/Park Protection program provides direct support to buy threatened tropical forest habitat, which is then owned and managed by in-country partners, and to support and equip patrol teams to combat illegal activity in protected areas. The Wildlife Trafficking program funds organizations working to stop illegal wildlife trade. This ranges from more local trade in live animals to international trafficking of animal parts by organized crime syndicates. Biodiversity Conservation is the broadest program, supporting a diversity of work both in the US and abroad. It includes bird research grants, island restoration work, ecological monitoring, and land stewardship by the land trust community. Our Environmental Education & Advocacy program is also very diverse, but almost entirely restricted to the United States. The Youth Access to Nature Fund (administered by The San Francisco Foundation), is our largest recipient in this program, but we also support a diversity of smaller groups focused on eco-literacy as well as larger non-profits fighting to protect national environmental laws. In some cases, the impact of these programs overlaps. For example, park protection achieves biodiversity conservation while helping prevent wildlife trafficking. Finally, we continue to maintain support to non-environmental charities based in the San Francisco Bay Area through our Arts, Music & Human Social Services program. Some of these organizations have been supported for many years, before MCF adopted an environmental focus. A breakdown of contributions by program as of 2020 is illustrated in the figure below.

Although direct granting to beneficiaries will always be part of our strategy, MCF has embraced the power of re-granting as a tool to increase our impact and support more organizations than we could do on our own. In comparison to pass-through grants, where funds move through a fiscal sponsor with little oversight, re-granting implies stewardship of funds. MCF relies on the capable staff of partner organizations to help find prospective grantees, solicit and review proposals, monitor project results, and evaluate impact. This is an under-rated tool for foundations and individuals that want to make a difference but struggle to evaluate the effectiveness of different non-profits. It is also a powerful method to support numerous organizations that are trying to address environmental crises or conservation goals that span large geographic areas. By funding re-granting initiatives, donors can pool their support to fund many projects, all under the guidance of regional experts that bring decades of experience and credibility to the process. A summary of the impact of re-granting by MCF during the period 2017-2020 is shown below. Stay tuned as we build on this model to develop and fund more re-granting initiatives going forward.

March Conservation Fund does not accept unsolicited proposals at this time. However, you may be able to apply for support through one of our partner organizations if your project aligns well with their criteria.

Sabah Environmental Trust
Location
Sabah, Malaysian Borneo

Goals
Sabah Environmental Trust is a Trust Incorporation Organization based in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. SET’s work includes protected area resources management, including activities on education awareness and capacity building, supporting studies related to environment education and scientific research, and conservation projects. The objectives for which the Trust was established are:

To promote education awareness and capacity building
To support and conduct studies related to the environment and publish results
To raise, receive, and administer funds for conservation and environmental related activities in Sabah
To promote, support, and carry out conservation and environmental related activities, which includes education and scientific research in Sabah

Impact
With the help of our partner organization Global Conservation, MCF funded SET for the first time in 2020 to support the DaMaI Initiative. DaMaI stands for Danum Valley, Maliau Basin, and Imbak Canyon Conservation Areas, collectively called the DaMaI (Danum-Maliau-Imbak) Rainforest Complex, with over one million hectares of tropical forest. DaMaI is one of the last intact forest refuges in Sabah, and one of the most important on the island of Borneo. It holds key populations of the Bornean subspecies of Orangutan, Elephant, and Sun Bear as well as two Important Bird Areas that include 20 endemic and more than 10 globally threatened bird species. The three objectives of the DaMaI Initiative are to establish a DaMaI patrol team that is equipped to conduct field operations, to increase the overall capacity of those rangers, and to pursue DaMaI Rainforest Complex as a World Heritage Site. With our support and the continued support of Global Conservation, rangers are now trained to climb trees and deploy cellular networked camera traps at key hotspots where illegal activities are most common, while ground patrols report their findings through the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART). MCF support in 2020 helped fund ranger salaries, headquarter staff support, new camera traps, and the purchase of six all-terrain vehicles to aid in patrols.

Rainforest Action Network
Location
San Francisco, CA

Goals
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. They are committed to working with indigenous communities and frontline communities directly impacted by profit-driven systems of injustice. They support the leadership of these communities in working on strategic and effective solutions to protect people and the planet. RAN implements campaigns to identify corporations and financial institutions that fund deforestation, and to expose these entities and hold them accountable.

Impact
MCF supported RAN for the first time in 2021 to help their campaign to protect the Leuser Ecosystem in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. Leuser is one of the last large intact lowland tropical forest landscapes in SE Asia that still supports species like Elephant, Tiger, Sumatran Rhino, and Sumatran Orangutan. It also stores huge amounts of carbon and provides water for millions of people, but is highly threatened by palm oil plantations. RAN is working in Leuser to protect and restore forests, reduce climate pollution, ensure the rights of indigenous communities, and improve transparency, traceability, and accountability of companies working there. Long-term strategies deployed by RAN in the Leuser Ecosystem and supported by our grant include:

International profiling of on the ground cases where palm oil companies expand into lowland rainforests and peatlands in the Leuser Ecosystem
Market and finance campaigns which engage the public to drive policy development and implementation through forest-risk commodity supply chains and financing
Leveraging policies and the enforcement of moratoria intended to protect primary forests and peatlands in Indonesia and halt issuance of new permits for forest conversion
Driving innovative approaches to accelerate the implementation of policies at scale in priority landscapes and jurisdictions, and advance the widespread adoption of no-deforestation practices in new commodity supply chains
Communications on the central role of Indigenous Peoples in stewarding and safeguarding the world’s forests and the importance of protecting forests and peatlands to limit climate change

Malaysian Nature Society
Location
Malaysia, including Sabah and Sarawak

Goals
The Conservation division within MNS is tasked with the effective management of existing protected areas as well as the establishment of new protected areas. Some of the main objectives within the Conservation division at MNS are:

To secure an integrated and comprehensive Protected Area system in Malaysia
Build a knowledge base of key habitats and species with the aim to disseminate this information to decision makers
Identify threats to the survival of habitats and species in the wild

MNS’ efforts in species protection are focused on sites where success can easily translate into meaningful changes to the Malaysian mindset, attitude and commitment toward using natural resources wisely. Projects range from work with marine life, birds, insects, plants, and large mammals.

Impact
MNS is the BirdLife partner in Malaysia. Through BirdLife, MCF supported the MNS for the first time in 2021 with a goal of securing a safe haven for the Helmeted Hornbill (Rhinoplax vigil) at a site in Sarawak (Malaysian Borneo). The Helmeted Hornbill is now Critically Endangered because of poaching for its casque, which unlike other hornbills is solid and can be carved like ivory. Increased demand for casques (mostly from China) has decimated populations of the species across much of its range. Our grant will help the MNS to:

Conduct stakeholder consultations and discussions with key groups such as the Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Sarawak Forestry Department, and local indigenous groups
Conduct additional Helmeted Hornbill surveys at the site. An initial survey in 2020 set the stage for this project, but additional surveys are needed to establish a population baseline and identify Helmeted Hornbill hotspots
Interview indigenous communities to gain insight into their level of knowledge of Helmeted Hornbills, and then build capacity and generate awareness among local communities around hornbill conservation, with the Helmeted Hornbill as the focus.
This foundational activity would lead to the development of indigenous hornbill guardians at the site, a strategy that MNS has implemented with great success in penninsular Malaysia.
Highlight important hornbill areas so that the Sarawak Forestry Corporation can effectively implement patrolling and enforcement activities in the protected area in collaboration with indigenous hornbill guardians

Burung Indonesia
Location
Java, Indonesia

Goals

Comprehensive conservation action for species, sites and habitats through working in protected areas, sustainable productive landscape management and ecosystem restoration in production forests
Policy advocacy at local and national levels, utilizing a multi-stakeholder approach
Research and monitoring on priority bird species (globally threatened, endemic or species of parrots) in the Wallacea region
Management of data, information and knowledge to set priorities, support conservation actions and function as a provider of information services to external constituencies
Public involvement through local conservation groups, membership as well as working with the media, NGOs, individuals, private sector and government agencies
Promote bird conservation to the public

Impact
Burung is the BirdLife partner in Indonesia. With the help of BirdLife we funded Burung for the first time in 2020 to help support a multi-year campaign to address the unsustainable caged songbird trade on the island of Java specifically, where there is a cultural tradition of bird keeping and bird singing competitions. Since abolishing bird keeping is not realistic, Burung is pushing for ‘zero wild-caught songbirds in trade’ instead. First, they will investigate the extent of wild bird trapping, locations of trapping, trade routes, and the communities that are involved along the supply chain in order to understand the drivers of the trade and increase dialog among stakeholders. This phase of the project will also attempt to register legitimate bird breeders and work with law enforcement to prosecute those that attempt to launder wild-caught birds into the system. With this foundation of knowledge in place, Burung will identify alternative sources of income in and around key habitat, and facilitate community empowerment through biodiversity and natural resource management agreements that provide sustainable livelihood alternatives. This will begin with targeted investments in 10 villages that have been identified as the bird trade sources for markets in five large Javanese cities, and culminate in Village Resource Management Agreements that are based on proven behavior-change models from their projects in Wallacea. Finally, this five-year project will culminate in greater public awareness through campaigns and educational initiatives, such as public events to promote bird and nature conservation, and visits to schools that are aligned with their programs to foster involvement and ownership around the campaign.

Forum Konservasi Leuser
Location
Sumatra, Indonesia

Goals
The Leuser Ecosystem spans the provinces of Aceh and North Sumatra on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. This majestic and ancient ecosystem covers more than 2.6 million hectares of lowland rainforests, peat swamps, montane and coastal forests and alpine meadows. Globally recognized as one of the richest expanses of tropical rainforest found anywhere in Southeast Asia, the Leuser Ecosystem is also one of Asia’s largest carbon sinks. FKL works on many fronts to address the threats to the Leuser Ecosystem. These include:

Wildlife Protection - FKL operates 30 Wildlife Protection Teams across the Leuser Ecosystem, patrolling 15 days every month tasked to protect key wildlife habitats and dismantle snares
Restoration - Restoration is a key aspect of FKL’s work in the Leuser Ecosystem, with plans to restore crucial areas such as wildlife corridors to ensure habitat connectivity
Research and Monitoring Station -The Leuser Ecosystem’s rich biodiversity is nature’s gift to the world and is one of the best places to conduct research
Community - Communities experience the biggest impact from environmental loss and disasters, thus it is crucial to empower them to protect the forest
Forest Monitoring - Forests near settlements are very prone to illegal logging because of the ease of access, and thus need increased monitoring presence
Wildlife Conflict - Human-wildlife conflict occurs very often, and mitigating the impact of the incidents will benefit both human and wildlife

Impact
MCF supported FKL in 2019 and 2021 through our partner Global Conservation. In both cases, our funding supported their Wildlife Protection Teams, which serve as the ‘boots on the ground’ to prevent illegal activities that threaten the forests and the wildlife in this massive area. In 2021 in particular, our support helped fund an entirely new Wildlife Protection Team in the Bengkung Trumon Mega-Fauna Sanctuary. This area, located in the SW part of the Leuser Ecosystem, spans over 300,000 hectares and includes important habitat for Critically Endangered ‘Mega-Fauna’ such as the Sumatran Elephant, Rhino, Tiger, and Orangutan as well as the elusive Clouded Leopard. Funds will provide salary support for five rangers, equipment, training and food as well as some salary support for staff at FKL’s Soraya Research Station.

WildAid
Location
San Francisco, CA

Goals
The illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion dollar global industry largely driven by consumer demand in expanding economies. While most wildlife conservation groups focus on scientific studies and anti-poaching efforts, WildAid works to reduce global consumption of wildlife products and to increase local support for conservation efforts. They also work with governments and partners to protect fragile marine reserves from illegal fishing and shark finning, to enhance public and political will for anti-poaching efforts, and to reduce climate change impacts. WildAid’s high-impact media campaigns feature some of the most influential voices in the world advocating for wildlife conservation on a massive scale thanks to nearly $218 million worth of donated media placement each year. Their video, print and online campaigns have measurably increased awareness about poaching, and prompted changes in attitudes and behavior.

Impact
After providing small amounts of unrestricted support for several years, in 2021 MCF provided support that will allow WildAid to work closely with two partner organizations in Vietnam, the Center of Hands-on Actions and Networking for Growth and Environment (CHANGE), and Save Vietnam’s Wildlife. CHANGE was founded to create sustainable changes in the fields of environment and development through innovative communications, capacity building, and creating opportunities for young people to build local movement. At the same time CHANGE aims to mobilize and connect businesses, communities and governments in devising solutions and appropriate environmental and development policies. Save Vietnam’s Wildlife works to save animals from illegal trade, protect wildlife strongholds, and monitor released animals through six related program areas: wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, site protection, education outreach, conservation breeding, species conservation, and advocacy. Our grant will help WildAid and these two partners reduce the demand for live wildlife trade and urban bushmeat consumption in Vietnam through the following actions:

Conduct a survey on wild meat consumption and attitudes towards/perceptions towards wild meat in Vinh City. These data will complement those for a survey already conducted in Con Cuông District, both in Nghe An Province, which is known for its bushmeat restaurants
Film and produce two ‘Public Service Announcements’ featuring influential public leaders to establish trust within the community and set an example for government officers and the public
Design and distribute 20 billboards and 520 posters throughout public spaces and office buildings and along key roadways asking residents to stop eating illegal wild meat
Implement a Restaurant Campaign in Con Cuông District to convince restaurant owners to abandon bushmeat sales, and promote those that do through a social media campaign and advertising
Engage with government agencies to highlight wildlife protection laws, and conduct a law enforecement workshop in Vinh City for 50 key leaders and officials to persuade them to ratify an official document prohibiting all government officials and residents from eating bushmeat or consuming wildlife products

Planet Indonesia
Location
Kalimantan, Indonesia

Goals
Planet Indonesia believes conservation is most effective when local resource-users are defining the rules of engagement and stewardship. They create the enabling conditions for communities to engage in conservation by working to address underlying drivers while simultaneously removing barriers to catalyze cross-sector environmental, social, and economic outcomes.
They provide community-based services to reduce socio-economic inequalities in rural communities through conservation while improving inclusive democratic governance. Their sister organization Wak Gatak is responsible for their ex-situ work that includes their Wak Gatak songbird rescue center, law enforcement and judiciary support, demand reduction through behavior change, and wildlife trade research and analysis.

Impact
MCF has been supporting Planet Indonesia and Wak Gatak since 2018, with much of our support focused on management in and around the Gunung Nyiut Nature Reserve in West Kalimantan, and on efforts to address the caged bird trade. Specifically, our grants have funded:

Support for the construction and operation of facilities to support the welfare, rehabilitation, and release of confiscated songbirds, and identification of suitable locations for future songbird releases
Assistance to law enforecement with field activities focused on bird trade monitoring and intelligence gathering, including monitoring of online trade
Support to the regulatory frameworks team to support and influence the judiciary system around wildlife trafficking cases
Support for community-based SMART (Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool) patrols at the Gunung Nyiut Nature Reserve
Funds for a Conservation Cooperative, a communnal business group developed by Planet Indonesia in which they provide asset-based inputs, trainings, market-access, and a Village Savings and Loans program as incentives for villages to move away from illegal logging, hunting, and over-fishing
Salary support for the Wildlife Monitoring Unit, which conducts long-term monitoring of songbird and hornbill populations
Construction of a small research station in the Gunung Nyiut Nature Reserve, a first for this protected area

Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
Location
Washington, DC

Goals
Founded in 1991, and located at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C., SMBC scientists seek to clarify why migratory bird populations are declining before the situation becomes desperate. Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center programs help raise awareness about migratory birds and the need to protect diverse habitats across the Western Hemisphere. SMBC research focuses on birds throughout their annual cycle, managed lands, citizen science and saving species in decline. SMBC scientists collaborate with researchers from a variety of international organizations to continue the advancement of ornithology. In doing so, research conducted around the country and across the globe has led to on-the-ground efforts to conserve birds in a changing world.

Impact
MCF provided three years of funding to the SMBC, which provided roughly half the cost each year for a campaign to expand the SMBC Bird Friendly® coffee certification. Commonly referred to as shade-grown coffee, this form of agroforestry traditionally retains forest remnant trees while integrating other tree species. SMBC Bird Friendly is the only certification mechanism that requires a combination of foliage cover, tree height, and biodiversity to provide quality habitat for birds and other wildlife in addition to being certified organic. However, coffee consumers face label fatigue in the super market isle, so a new strategy was needed to increase demand for Bird Friendly. The campaign achieved this through the following activities:

Compile and communicate to hired consultants all research to date on coffee market trends, consumer preferences, voluntary sustainability standards and conservation initiatives
Additional research by the consultants to hone the brand’s positioning, assets and voice as well as establish brand guidelines
Creation of marketing collateral (e.g., taglines, in-store display designs and brochures) using the newly established Bird Friendly brand identity
Implementation of a Bird Friendly sales strategy aimed at select retailers, representation at sales meeetings, and key trade shows
Promotion of the certification through like-minded partner organizations with large memberships in the US that are well aligned with the goal of conserving habitat for migratory birds
Develop and implement a media campaign promoting SMBC’s partnerships, expanding Bird Friendly retail availability, and grassroots efforts to spread awareness and protect habitat

SAVE Brasil
Location
Brazil

Goals
SAVE Brasil is a non-profit organization whose objective is the conservation of Brazilian birds. It was established in 2004 with the goal of continuing the program of BirdLife International in Brazil, which was started in 2000. The organization is recognized as an environmental association by the Secretary of State of the Environment of São Paulo, conducts its activities in a participatory manner and develops conservation strategies and actions that include organizations, companies, governments and communities, whose purpose is to conserve the natural environment. The focus of SAVE Brasil’s work is identifying the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas – IBAs in Brazil and protecting those that are critically threatened. SAVE Brasil carries out projects while attempting to strengthen local communities. SAVE Brasil’s projects have made significant contributions to those communities, such as regulation of conservation areas, the training of persons with environmental expertise, the implementation of educational centers, the development of local identity through the adoption of bird species as a symbol of the communities, the greater use of sustainable economic practices, and achieving organic certification for products.

Impact
SAVE Brasil has been a continuous LARSI recipient since 2015. Grants supported:

Evaluation of the economic potential of agroforestry to support the Pedra D’Anta Reserve (Serra do Urubu) in the NE Atlantic Forest
Infrastructure maintenance, signage, and salary support for the reserve manager at Pedra d’Anta
Purchase of an ATV for patrolling the Pedra D’Anta Reserve
Partial salary support for development officer
Support to promote the organization at Brazilian birding festivals
Support to manage their Rolinha-do-plateau Nature Reserve and the adjacent Botumirim State Park, home of the Critically Endangered Blue-eyed Ground Dove (Columbina cyanopis). This included salary support for the field technician, field assistant, and project coordinator, autonomous sound recording devices, transportation and maintenance costs, and environmental education materials

FUNDAECO
Location
Guatemala

Goals
FUNDAECO (Fundación para el Ecodesarrollo y la Conservación) promotes the establishment of protected areas and their participatory management, supports the legalization of land for communities (as well as sustainable economic development activities including ecotourism, handicrafts, agroforestry and reforestation), and promotes the conservation of biodiversity through biological research and monitoring, environmental education, and political advocacy. Established in 1990, their mission is to protect natural ecosystems and the environmental services they provide, as well as promoting the sustainable development of communities in poverty and vulnerability located in regions of high biodiversity.

Impact
Through our partner Global Conservation we are supporting a comprehensive effort to protect Mirador National Park and surrounding forest concessions that hold the largest remaining intact rainforest in northern Central America, as well as a sprawling metropolis of pre-classic Mayan ruins. Our support has helped fund:

Mirador Park Authority – salary support for the multi-agency/NGO management team led by Francisco Asturias. This professional ranger force and park management team is providing the first effective patrolling of Mirador in the history of the park.
SMART (Spatial monitoring and reporting tool) technology, wildlife anti-poaching training, camera traps for road and trail monitoring of wildlife and illegal activities, food rations, equipment, and training/technical support.
Support for a new ranger station and tourism visitor center, and a SMART system HQ (command center).
Purchase of an ATV for field patrols.

FUNDAECO has also been a LARSI recipient in 2016-2018 and 2020. Our support helped fund:

Partial salary support for park guards, a development officer, and the executive team.
Development of a biocenter (experimental agroforestry plot) to design a financial model for 2-4 agroforestry products to generate a long-term revenue model for agroforestry systems in the Caribbean region.
Development of an ecotourism marketing strategy and purchase of promotional materials for the Conservation Coast (Caribbean region).
Implementation of a new strategic model for long-term institutional sustainability.

American Bird Conservancy
Location
The Plains, VA

Goals
American Bird Conservancy is dedicated to conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. Founded in 1994, ABC has a long track record of supporting Latin American partners, especially those working to protect highly threatened, range-restricted species. In 2015 MCF and ABC established the Latin American Reserve Stewardship Initiative (LARSI) as a re-granting program to support partners in ABC’s Latin American Bird Reserve Network. LARSI is a capacity-building initiative that seeks to measurably improve the ability of non-profit conservation organizations to protect declining native birds and their habitats in perpetuity. Each year, MCF-ABC invite about a dozen applicants within the network to apply for grants up to $50,000. The goal is to help partners improve operating systems and implement standard business practices, to develop financial self-sufficiency through fundraising training and development of diverse income sources, and to manage reserves. All applicants either own and manage private reserves, or help manage protected areas on behalf of government institutions. Some LARSI partners have also received support from MCF for land purchase outside of this initiative.

Impact

During the period 2015-2021 MCF contributed $2,247,051 to 20 LARSI partners in 13 countries. MCF also provided financial support to ABC to administer this re-granting initiative.
Our support helped organizations hire finance and accounting staff, buy accounting software and conduct institutional financial audits.
We funded ecotourism plans, helped hire ecotourism coordinators and implemented tourism marketing plans, and supported infrastructure improvements that are increasing revenue from both national and international visitors.
Support for development personnel, fundraising plans, attendance at bird fairs and social media outreach helped partners raise money and become more confident approaching donors.
Cloud-based software allowed organizations to upload files that can now be accessed outside of office headquarters, while custom phone apps allow reserve administrators to quickly disseminate project results.
Support for an ecofriendly cattle-ranching model and related infrastructure is helping build reserve sustainability.
Vehicle purchases have enabled organization staff to increase patrols and execute projects in remote parts of their reserves.
Summit meetings have allowed different partners working in different countries to share ideas, best practices, and network more efficiently.
Partial salary support for reserve administrators and reserve park guards that both protect natural resources and document wildlife sightings.
During the Covid pandemic, we helped cover core salary costs to reduce the impact of staff turnover and the related cost of retraining new employees.

Audubon California
Location
San Francisco, CA

Goals
Launched in 1996 as a field program of National Audubon Society, Audubon CA has identified five programs that collectively cover the most important issues for birds in California, and are the means by which Audubon CA will achieve its vision. They are:

Saving Important Bird Areas (IBAs)
Putting working lands to work for birds and people
Sharing our seas and shores
Shaping a healthy climate and clean energy future
Creating bird-friendly communities
These five programs are consistent with the key strategies laid out in the National Audubon Society’s strategic plan, and are each designed to benefit birds in California as well as throughout the Pacific Flyway.

Impact
MCF’s first major investment with Audubon CA was to support shorebird surveys in Humboldt Bay, CA. Humboldt Bay is the largest estuary along the coastal Pacific Flyway between Coos Bay, OR and San Francisco Bay, CA. As such, it is vital for migratory and wintering waterbirds, especially shorebirds. Following on research from spring migration surveys that indicated Humboldt Bay was more important for shorebirds than previously thought, MCF funded follow-up surveys in fall and winter. All three surveys were done in collaboration with researchers at Humboldt State University. Collectively, these data were used to successfully argue for increased recognition of Humboldt Bay as a site of Hemispheric importance under WHSRN, which helped strengthen policy outcomes for Audubon CA and its partners to protect the bay from shellfish farming expansion, and to also lobby for better protections of eelgrass beds, which are very important for waterfowl.

Since 2020, MCF has been supporting the Biological Technician program, based at the Richardson Bay Audubon Center & Sanctuary in Marin County. The Center’s primary goals are to protect waterbirds in the 900-acre marine sanctuary and engage the next generation of conservation stewards at their 11- acre education center. To that end, the Biological Technician program was renamed the Richardson Bay Early Career Conservationist Program. By providing salary support for an early career technician position, Audubon CA has been able to continue bird monitoring in Richardson Bay, conduct research and analysis for science-based advocacy to improve eelgrass protections, and oversee restoration and volunteer engagement at the Center including a revamp of the native plant nursery and patrolling of the sanctuary to protect roosting waterbirds on Aramburu Island (see the MCF 2020 Impact Report for more details).

Youth Access to Nature Fund
Location
The San Francisco Foundation

Goals
The Youth Access to Nature Fund is a re-granting initiative at The San Francisco Foundation that expands access to nature by creating outdoor experiences for children of color who deserve access to safe, green spaces, and who otherwise would not easily get outdoors due to the cost of transportation, gear and other expenses. The vision is to provide as many opportunities as possible for children to interact with and develop a lifelong appreciation of nature. The Fund has helped Bay Area children experience the ocean for the first time, visit the awe-inspiring redwoods, plant food, and have the formative experiences in nature that benefit all children. The hope is that these meaningful experiences will help kids, no matter where they live nor what their background, reach their full potential and develop a deep love for nature and even develop careers in outdoor recreation, environmental education, and conservation. Grants seek to achieve inclusiveness, organizational sustainability, systems change, and a shift in public perception on the importance of nature for youth.

Impact
MCF has been supporting the Youth Access to Nature Fund since 2017, one year after inception. From its founding until present, the Fund grew from $925K in grants in 2016 to $1.6 million in 2020, with donors to the fund supporting 35 organizations with over $5 million and an average grant size of $34,000. These funds have supported grassroots organizations in north Bay Area counties including Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, Marin, and San Mateo. Over 100,000 youth have been served to date, and many programs integrate parents and other adults to capture the benefits of multi-generational experiences in nature. The Fund was also able to deploy emergency Covid grants to help organizations that were temporarily suffering from lost revenue due to cancelled enrollment. Please see the YAN website for a list of the most current grantees.

Point Blue Conservation Science
Location
Petaluma, CA

Goals
Founded in 1965 as the Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Point Blue Conservation Science is a leader in climate-smart conservation. Point Blue is working to ensure that our collaborative climate-smart conservation actions today can lead to ecosystems that sustain healthy wildlife and human communities well into the future. As leaders and innovators in conservation science, they have the vision, scientific rigor, passion, and ability to inspire others to act. At the core of their work is innovative science, studying birds and other environmental indicators to protect nature’s benefits. Beyond their own scientists, they work to advance nature’s health through extensive collaborations on land and at sea with government agencies, private landowners, and other wildlife and habitat managers. Point Blue is an active, trusted science leader in major regional, national, and international conservation initiatives through a combination of science, partnerships, and outreach. Finally, they not only do the science, they bring the science to public and private wildlife and habitat managers, as well as the general public and the next-generation of conservation science leaders.

Impact
MCF has a long history of supporting Point Blue. The core of our giving has been unrestricted support, including matching funds for carbon-free “green teams” during their annual Bird-A-Thon event. We funded several years of migratory connectivity research using geolocator and GPS tags to track the migration routes of several species of songbird. The publications that resulted from that support are summarized in our 2018 Impact Report, and reveal novel insights into avian migratory behavior. Most recently in 2021, we launched a new re-granting initiative through their Migratory Shorebird Project. The MSP is the largest coordinated survey ever of wintering shorebirds on the Pacific Coast of the Americas. It was initiated in 2011 and is a cooperative effort of conservation science organizations and agencies led by Point Blue. The overall goal is to conserve shorebirds and wetlands from Alaska to Chile by connecting communities, standardizing data, and applying science across the Americas. With support from MCF, Point Blue and the MSP will now be able to re-grant funds to Latin American partners to implement conservation actions to conserve shorebirds and their habitats.

Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Location
Ithaca, NY

Goals
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology brings together the agility and impact of an on-the-ground nonprofit organization with world-class science and teaching as part of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Their work spans disciplines from science to art, engineering to education. Their global community includes supporters, participants, and partners from all walks of life, united by a love of birds and nature and a commitment to help protect our planet. One of the Lab’s signature projects is the citizen science program called eBird, which allows users around the world to report birds, and now exceeds one billion bird observations.

Impact
Since 2019, MCF has been a major supporter of the Lab’s Land Trust Bird Conservation Initiative. Recognizing the importance of land trusts and conservation easements to land preservation goals in the United States, MCF helped the lab scale up the LTBCI to offer $25,000 grants for projects that actively manage, restore, and/or steward land in a way that enhances habitat and promotes bird conservation, with special emphasis on priority species or those identified in State Wildlife Action Plans. Grants may also include an outreach or demonstration component to share management practices with neighbors and partners, and funding to train staff or volunteers to submit bird detections through eBird. To date we have funded 16 of these grants with accredited land trusts around the country. Land management activities include mechanical fuel reduction and controlled burning, control of invasive-exotic plants, creation of early successional habitats, innovative grazing practices, restoration of native grassland habitats and alteration of mowing practices to protect grassland birds, ecological silviculture to alter canopy structure, and control of herbivory to protect key plant species. To learn more about the specifics of these projects, please visit the LTBCI link above or see our recent MCF Impact Reports.