11.29.2004 ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK - At its annual meeting on November 9, the Mitsubishi International Corporation Foundation (MICF) approved $214,300 in new grants, including a major grant in the amount of $206,800 to Pronatura Mexico and the American Bird Conservancy, along with grants of $5,000 to Katalysis Partnership and $2,500 to the Foundation for Student Communication.

The grant to Pronatura Mexico and the American Bird Conservancy will be used to purchase land in Sinaloa to provide critical habitat for migratory shorebirds that winter there. The land to be purchased lies along the coast of Sinaloa, which is considered to be one of the most important regions of the Pacific Flyway for a great variety of migratory birds. Pronatura is the leading organization for private land conservation in Mexico, while the American Bird Conservancy has been a leader in the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, through which it has fostered strong partnerships with conservationists in Mexico.

The MICF previously funded a two-year grant of $91,000 to the American Bird Conservancy for shorebird protection in Sinaloa and Guerrero Negro. The new grant would build on that work. Wetlands and birds have been a theme at two other institutions to which the MICF has made grants. It provided key funding for the Mitsubishi Wild Wetlands Walk at the New York Botanical Garden and for the Mitsubishi Riverwalk at the Bronx Zoo.

MICF has supported Katalysis Partnership's micro-credit initiatives in the past; this year's gift of $5,000 will support the start-up of an information technology project to serve Katalysis' network of micro-credit agencies operating in Central America. The grant to the Foundation for Student Communication (FSC) enabled one student to attend FSC's 2004 Business Today International Conference.

The recipients of continuing grants approved in 2003 include the Wildlife Conservation Society ($125,000 for the Bronx Riverwalk), the New York Botanical Garden ($15,000 for the Children's Adventure Garden), the Earthwatch Institute ($11,000 for the Los Angeles Zoo Mentor Project) and the Japanese American National Museum ($10,000).

The Mitsubishi International Corporation Foundation, based in New York City, was established in 1992 with funding from Mitsubishi International Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, its parent company. With a current endowment of over $4 million, the Foundation has contributed nearly $2.5 million to organizations supporting environmental causes and civil society in the Americas.

For more information about the Mitsubishi International Corporation Foundation, please visit www.micfoundation.org.

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