Grist Talks to Jonathan Franzen

I have not yet picked up Jonathan Franzen's new novel Freedom, but it is getting rave reviews among Overbrook staff who have! Aside from being touted as a great novel with an engrossing story, Freedom is being praised for its merits as an honest and rousing profile of the contemporary environmentalist struggle. Franzen himself is an avid birder, and talks to Overbrook grantee Grist's Amanda Little about the inevitable conflict weathered by conservationists who live in contemporary society, yet rail against the negative impacts our lifestyles inflict on natural surroundings. Franzen tells Little of his own personal transformation from environmental cynic to optimistic lover of birds.

From the Grist interview:

A. I used to have a really angry, despairing sense that the world is screwed, that people have screwed the world, and so we should just let it all end. Let's have the great plague that will reduce the population by 90 percent, and let the land regenerate and nature catch its breath. I've moved away from that sort of deep-ecological extremism, which I found to be not personally tenable. It was time for me to stop thinking about apocalypse, time to move to New York City, time to start enjoying life. And from there I moved on to loving wild birds, which was a much more positive mode of engagement. I started to think, what can we do for wild birds right now? I don't want these particular species to disappear. So what can I do practically? If you're trying to save your child's life, you might make certain compromises that you would have found morally insupportable at a younger age. Love leads to pragmatism in a way that anger doesn't.



Click here to read the whole interview.

Happy holidays!

December 2010 Human Rights Program Grants

At its last Board of Directors meeting of 2010, The Overbrook Foundation's Human Rights Program awarded $485,000 in grants to 13 organizations in the categories of Reproductive Rights, Trafficking, International Human Rights, Movement Building and "Other."

For its work supporting Reproductive Rights, Overbrook awarded grants to three organizations: a $40,000 grant to Groundswell for the Catalyst Fund, a $40,000 grant to the Third Wave Foundation for its Reproductive Health and Justice Initiative and a $30,000 grant to the Western States Center for its program, Uniting Communities, Advancing Strong Families. In support of its anti-trafficking work, the Foundation also awarded a $30,000 grant to the Freedom Network for its project, Training, Advocacy, and Mentoring: A Comprehensive Approach to Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery.

In support of International Human Rights, the Foundation awarded a $40,000 grant to Front Line, for its work protecting Latin American Human Rights Defenders, a $30,000 grant to Reporters Without Borders for its work fighting for press freedom in Latin America, a $40,000 grant to Global Fund for Children and a $50,000 grant to Disability Rights International for its Americas Advocacy Initiative.

In the Foundation’s category of Movement Building grants, four organizations received support, including a $40,000 grant to the Center for Community Change for general operating support, a $10,000 grant to Demos for the continued support of Jared Duval’s book Next Generation Democracy: What the Open Source Revolution Means for Privacy, Politics and Change, a $50,000 grant to New Press for their work in progressive book publishing, and a $50,000 grant to People for the American Way for its Youth Leadership Program.

One other grant not in a specific program area that was awarded was a $35,000 grant to Channel Thirteen/WNET for the Online Education Guide to WIDE ANGLE: Women, War & Peace.

If you’re interested in learning more about what these organizations do, click on the links above to learn more.

December 2010 Environment Program Grants

At its last Board of Directors meeting of 2010, The Overbrook Foundation's Environment Program awarded $730,000 in grants yesterday to 12 organizations in the categories of Latin American Biodiversity Conservation, Sustainable Production and Consumption, Media, and "Other." Eleven are either renewals or from organizations previously funded, and one is a first-time request.

For its work supporting Latin American Biodiversity Conservation, the Foundation awarded $135,000 in grants. Organizations awarded were: AlTROPICO, for its work consolidating the Cotacachi Cayapas Ecologica Reserve and Chachi territories in Ecuador; Amazon Watch, for its work protecting the Ecuadorean rainforest from oil exploitation; IMAFLORA, for its work promoting sustainable cocoa harvesting in Brazil; and the ISEAL Alliance, for its work clarifying and lending credibility to sustainability standards.

For its Sustainable Production and Consumption work, the Foundation awarded $500,000. Organizations awarded were: As You Sow, for its corporate watchdog work promoting shareholder action for sustainable production and consumption; Catalog Choice, for expansion of its work to reduce paper waste and combat climate change; Clean Air-Cool Planet, for the expansion of its Community Catalyst Fund; GreenBlue, for general support of its projects in packaging, sustainable product design, greener chemicals and more; ioby.org, for the redevelopment of its web platform, crucial to its operations; and the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, for the continuation of GreeNYC's project to identify and implement the most effective greenhouse gas-saving behaviors for NYC residents.

For its work supporting Public TV, Radio and Other Media, the Foundation awarded $35,000 to Island Press for continued general support of its environmental science and conservation publications and for its outreach efforts.

The Environment Program also supported the Gulf Coast Fund for Community Renewal and Ecological Health for its work helping grassroots, local communities in the Gulf Coast region respond to the ongoing effects of the BP oil spill disaster.

Once again, the diversity of its grantees reflects the Environment Program's commitment to conservation and innovation. Click on the links above to learn more about these wonderful organizations!