|
The International Galapagos Tour
Operators Association (IGTOA) recently announced that a recent emergency
fundraising campaign in support of the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) has
reached its target of raising $75,000.
 IGTOA
launched the campaign in December to help the Foundation weather a year-end
budget crisis which threatened to close the venerable scientific research and
conservation organization forever.
IGTOA and an anonymous donor committed to match every dollar donated to a
special fund with an additional donation of two dollars, up to $25,000, until
Jan. 31. The campaign generated $25,573 in donations from individuals and
IGTOA’s member companies. IGTOA and the anonymous donor will donate an
additional $50,000 to the Foundation as a result of the campaign’s success.
Many of IGTOA’s member companies also actively promoted the campaign to their
past guests through email and social media.
The Charles Darwin Foundation is the oldest, largest
and most important scientific
research organization in the Galapagos Islands. Since 1959 staff, researchers
and visiting scientists have spearheaded some of the most ambitious and
successful Galapagos conservation initiatives, including the first captive
breeding program for giant tortoises. (Once teetering on the brink of
extinction, these iconic reptiles can now be seen in large numbers in the wild
throughout the Galapagos archipelago.) It also helped establish the Galapagos
Marine Reserve, the world’s fourth largest, and helped create a biosecurity
agency to stop unwanted species from entering the Islands.
According to Foundation officials, the year-end budgetary shortfall was preceded
by the soaring cost of running its research station and by the forced closure by
municipal authorities in July of the Foundation’s newly expanded and upgraded
gift shop.
 Swen
Lorenz, Executive Director of the Foundations, says, “Our joint fundraising
campaign is a new high point of our collaboration with IGTOA. It also shows the
potential for involving tour operators and their guests in supporting vital work
in the Galapagos Islands. The funds provided by IGTOA members and their guests
are making a significant difference in achieving our overall fundraising goal.”
The CDF recently announced that it needed to raise $1m to stay in operation. The
fundraising campaign by IGTOA and its members was part of this wider effort.
The Galapagos Islands are one of the world’s most pristine oceanic archipelagos
and home to hundreds of species found nowhere else on Earth. The islands’ unique
biodiversity, famously inspiring Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural
selection, face a variety of threats, including invasive species, illegal
fishing and poaching, and the impacts of population growth and development.
“It is great to know that so many people around the world support and value the
critically important work of the CDF,” says Matt Kareus, Executive Director of
IGTOA. “Our member companies are deeply committed to the idea that our industry
and has a moral obligation to support science and conservation in the Galapagos
Islands. So it was an honor for us to be able to support the CDF during this
critical time.”
 About
the Charles Darwin Foundation
The Charles Darwin Foundation is an international scientific non-profit
organization with over 50 years of experience working for the conservation of
the Galápagos Islands. Its mission is to provide knowledge and assistance,
through scientific research and complementary action, to ensure the conservation
of the environment and biodiversity in Galapagos.
 About
the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association
IGTOA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit association of travel providers dedicated to the
complete and lasting protection of the Galapagos Islands. Through its Galapagos
Traveler Conservation Fund, IGTOA raises money to support critical Galapagos
conservation initiatives and educates travelers about the challenges facing the
islands.
# # #
Media Contacts:
Charles Darwin Foundation
Contact Name: Swen Lorenz
Email: swen.lorenz@fcdarwin.org.ec
Web: http://www.darwinfoundation.org |
