“Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.” That warning from Cordelia S. May sits at the center of everything the Colcom Foundation has funded since its creation.
A Warning Turned Into a Mission
May voiced that concern long before it became commonplace. She began supporting family planning causes in 1952, at just 23 years old, after concluding that population growth was quietly straining the natural systems people depend on. Decades of giving followed before she formally founded the Colcom Foundation in 1996, at age 68. After her death in 2005, the organization received the funding that allowed it to expand its work considerably.
Turning Concern Into Grantmaking
Today, the Colcom Foundation describes its mission as fostering a sustainable environment that protects the quality of life of Americans, specifically by confronting the causes and consequences of overpopulation. The organization argues that habitat destruction, pollution, and biodiversity loss are frequently discussed in isolation, without acknowledgment of the population pressures tying them together. Through their grants, they have supported many organizations, such as the Center for Biological Diversity, which works towards protecting endangered species, and the Sierra Club Foundation, which advocates clean energy and climate solutions. These grants have helped to advance important causes and support organizations that strive to make a difference.
The foundation also compares May’s early views to those of other reformers who were dismissed before later being proven right, from Susan B. Anthony’s era of gender equality advocacy to Galileo’s scientific observations centuries earlier. That comparison underscores how the organization sees its founder’s warning as prescient rather than alarmist.
In practical terms, the Colcom Foundation channels its resources into conservation projects, environmental initiatives, and cultural organizations, largely within the region surrounding its Pittsburgh base. Every grant, the foundation says, is meant to honor the humanitarian objectives behind that original warning about the strain human activity places on the planet’s ecosystems. Nearly three decades after the foundation’s creation, that founding statement still appears prominently in how the organization describes itself to the public. Refer to this article for related information.
More about Colcom on https://www.privateequityinternational.com/institution-profiles/colcom-foundation.html