FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 25, 2009
Cambridge, MA
Ellen L. Lutz, Executive Director
Cultural Survival, a 37-year-old international nonprofit that defends the lands, cultures, and human rights of Indigenous Peoples worldwide, announces it has merged with Global Response, a 20-year-old Colorado-based nonprofit that organizes international letter-writing campaigns on behalf of Indigenous and minority communities whose environments are threatened by climate change, industry, and ill-advised development.
By combining forces, the two organizations expand their reach and enhance their capabilities while reducing costs. Cultural Survival, awarded a four-star rating from Charity Navigator for fiscal responsibility, will further increase its administrative efficiency and spend a higher percentage of its budget on projects directly benefiting Indigenous communities. Global Response will gain resources allowing its staff to focus entirely on defending environments and communities around the world. The two organizations will operate under the Cultural Survival name, with Global Response designated as program of Cultural Survival. The work of each organization will remain much the same, though each will benefit from economies of scale and shared expertise. They will also each benefit from combining their memberships. Members of both organizations will enjoy all membership benefits of each, including the award-winning Cultural Survival Quarterly magazine.
"I see this kind of merger as the future for many nonprofits," says Roy Young, the founder of Global Response." It will make a world of difference for the peoples that both organizations serve while making donors' dollars go farther. The combined Cultural Survival and Global Response memberships can become an even more powerful force for change that benefits Indigenous Peoples and the environment." Cultural Survival executive director Ellen Lutz says that the combination brings much-needed expertise to the table. "For years Cultural Survival has been very effective in promoting Indigenous Peoples' rights and in empowering those peoples to defend themselves, but we have not had a strong conventional advocacy component. Global Response is especially effective in this area, stopping mines and dams and saving dozens of environments and communities around the world. By combining their expertise in letter-writing campaigns with our expertise in human rights law and Indigenous rights, we can make both efforts stronger and more effective. "
The first campaign to mounted by the partnership is on behalf of the Indigenous farming community in Didipio, Philippines, which is threatened by a mountaintop gold and copper mine being established in violation of Philippines law and international conventions. For more information, see the Cultural Survival website www.cs.org.
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