Seacology Announces Permanent Endowment for Falealupo Rain Forest
"Philanthropists have long used endowments to guarantee the survival and perpetuation of hospitals, universities, and professorships beyond their life spans. To my knowledge, no one has previously established a permanent endowment for a rain forest," explained Seacology Chairman, Paul Cox who donated his $37,500 Goldman Prize to the Seacology Foundation to establish a permanent endowment for the Falealupo Rain Forest Preserve.
Cox's donation was quickly matched dollar for dollar by Nu Skin International, Inc. and Nature's Way Products, Inc. leveraging Cox's Goldman Prize into $112,500. Of these funds, $100,000 will be deposited into blue chip securities by Seacology, with the interest being donated annually to Falealupo village to maintain trails, signs, and other facilities in the Falealupo Rain Forest Preserve.
The other $12,500 will form the basis of a similar endowment for the Tafua Rain Forest Preserve. "Too often the business community has been seen as an opponent to conservation efforts," Cox said. "But here two major companies quickly and compassionately responded my request to help indigenous people on a permanent basis."
In press conferences in San Francisco, New York, and Washington, DC, reporters were thrilled to hear of the generous support of Nu Skin and Nature's Way for the Samoan rain forest. In fact, Richard Goldman, founder of the Goldman Environmental Prize and heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, seemed to be the most excited of all. He believes that the example set by Nu Skin and Nature's Way will entice other companies in the future to cooperate with the Goldman Foundation in international conservation."
Seacology continues to solicit matching funds for the Goldman Prize to be used to build the Tafua Rain Forest Endowment. Interest from private businesses and corporations are particularly solicited, and individual donors who wish to dedicate their funds to building the Tafua Rain Forest Endowment can do so by indicating this on their donation slip.
Corporate donors who wish to follow the example of Nu Skin International, Inc. and Nature's Way Products, Inc. should contact Lorraine Clark at (801) 489-1728.
