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Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas Dedicates $1 Million for Environmental Causes

Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas Dedicates $1 Million for Environmental Causes

Published 12-01-10

Submitted by Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas

At its annual meeting on November 19, 2010, the Board of Directors of the Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas (MCFA) approved an aggregate of $1,000,000 in annual support of environmental causes, including both new and continuing grants, and a roll over of its $300,000 loan to Root Capital (www.rootcapital.org) initially made in 2009 as MCFA's first program-related investment.

New grants include: $163,937 payable over four years to Amazon Conservation Association, $80,000 payable over two years to the National Audubon Society, $65,000 payable over three years to E+Co, $27,350 to Fundación Natura, $40,000 payable over two years to Tierra Nativa, and $150,000 payable over three years to Wild Salmon Center. Also included were a $10,000 grant to International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP) for its annual conference, and a general support grant of $15,000 to the Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA).

Earlier this year, MCFA also pledged $300,000 over three years to the New York Botanical Garden to repair and upgrade the Mitsubishi Wild Wetlands Trail, located at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx, New York. To date, MCFA has contributed over $400,000 to the New York Botanical Garden.

MCFA's grant to Amazon Conservation Association will be used to create a Biological Conservatory and Learning Center adjacent to Manu National Park in Peru. The center's purpose will be to educate visitors, support new research, and create jobs for local communities.

MCFA funding for Audubon will target Important Bird Areas (IBAs) in Panama and Chile that are essential for the survival of shorebirds in Alaska, while supporting sustainable economic development in Chile and Panama.

With MCFA's support, E+Co, which makes clean energy investments in developing countries, will develop a series of workshops for solar energy entrepreneurs in Central America, while promoting best practices for solar energy startups.

MCFA's grant to Fundación Natura will fund the realization of a symposium where indigenous women from various Latin American countries will participate in a conference on the global water crisis at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia in Bogotá.

MCFA's two year grant to Tierra Nativa, a project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE), will support capacity-building for indigenous peoples' engagement with mining operations in the Yepachi Region of Chihuahua, Mexico.

The grant to Wild Salmon Center builds on its work to engage indigenous peoples in the North American Stronghold Partnership, a conservation project dedicated to protecting the healthiest remaining salmon ecosystems in North America. The new grant will build on past success, and seek to develop a major, science-based, landscape-scale conservation initiative within the Washington Coast region and on the Olympic Peninsula.

The Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA), based in New York City, is an association of over 200 foundations that strives to help member organizations become more effective environmental grantmakers. MCFA's $15,000 grant is for general operating support. MCFA has been an active member of the EGA since 2003.

International Funders for Indigenous Peoples (IFIP), based on a New York-state Native American reservation, is a funders' affinity group that advocates for increased, dedicated funding for Indigenous peoples' causes throughout the world. MCFA has been a member and supporter of IFIP since 2005.

In addition to the new grants, the MCFA Board authorized the payment of annual installments coming due for multi-year grants, including a four-year $1,000,000 grant to the Wildlife Conservation Society for coastal conservation work along the Patagonia coast of Argentina; a five-year $400,000 grant to O Boticário Foundation for the Oasis Project, a watershed conservation project in Brazil involving payments for ecosystem services (PES); and a three-year $60,000 grant to American Bird Conservancy for its "Women for Conservation" project in Colombia.

The Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas, based in New York City was established 1991 with funding from Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, and its U.S.-based subsidiary, Mitsubishi International Corporation. Since its establishment, the Foundation has dedicated more than $6 million to environmental causes throughout the Americas. For more information, http://www.mcfamericas.org. Contributions for Europe and Africa are made by the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa, which has given $2.8 million to environmental conservation, education and research since 1992. For more information, please visit http://www.mitsubishicorp.com/gb/en/csr/mcfea.html.

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Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas

Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas

The Mitsubishi Corporation Foundation for the Americas, based in New York City was established 1991 with funding from Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, and its U.S.-based subsidiary, Mitsubishi International Corporation. Since its establishment, the Foundation has contributed over $12 million to environmental causes throughout the Americas. We have funded over 100 projects in more than 15 countries, focusing on four themes: biodiversity conservation, environmental education, environmental justice, and sustainable development.

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