National Geographic Society

Programs: Experiences and outreach the experience and outreach programs include: the national geographic museum exhibits, the museum store, live lectures, impact video, website, social media, and marketing. Experience and outreach program descriptions continued on sch. O.

impact initiatives national geographic's operating programs represent a series of impact-driven projects that are helping the national geographic society achieve its ambitious targets and thereby deliver on its mission. Our work is organized under three thematic lenses - human journey, wildlife, and changing planet. Impact initiatives/program descriptions continued on sch. O

the grants program provides grants that fit into the society's three focus lenses: changing planet, wildlife, and human journey. The grants cover conservation, education, research, storytelling, and technology, and fund work all over the world. In addition, the society awards early career grants to find and support the next generation of global change-makers. Changing planet grants focus on the dynamic ecosystems of the earth and our ocean. These are the foundation of life on the planet, yet are increasingly threatened by exploitation, mismanagement, and climate change. This focus lens seeks projects that illuminate these issues and develop more informed decisions about environmental problems. This area of focus seeks to reduce negative human impacts on ecosystems and earth processes by increasing knowledge, creating solutions, and inspiring action. Changing planet supports innovative leaders in research, conservation, technology, education, and communication who seek a deeper understanding of earth and its systems, as well as those who seek practical solutions for conserving large natural spaces on land and in the sea to promote long-term sustainability. Wildlife includes projects on all living organisms, where they live, and the local evolutionary and ecological processes that sustain them. While extinction is a natural part of evolution, the current accelerated loss of species means that we need novel approaches and solutions that support biological diversity and abundance. This area of focus supports projects that seek to discover and identify species and ecosystems, and to mitigate threats to earth's life-forms. Projects will improve understanding of biological diversity, including behavior, life history, evolution, ecology, and habitat requirements. Human journey focuses on learning more about who we are as a species and what our future is on this planet. It supports projects in a range of fields that are helping us understand the origins and development of our species; how we modified and adapted to diverse landscapes across the globe; the evolution of cultures and societies; and the current status of and trends in our cultural, linguistic, and genetic diversity. Recognizing that human society is currently out of balance with the natural world, this lens also seeks projects that propose solutions to mitigate this imbalance. Human journey supports innovative leaders in research, conservation, technology, education, and communication who will change human attitudes and behaviors to help protect the cultural and natural resources of this planet and secure our future. In 2017, over 270 early career grants were awarded, totaling almost $1. 5 million - an increase of more than $1 million from 2016. For 2017, additional funding areas were created, and grants were awarded in the areas of conservation, education, research, storytelling, and technology. The grant amount was increased, and applicants were allowed to apply for up to $10,000. The average grant award was over $6,000. Since the program's inception in late 2006 through december 2016, 676 grants totaling over $3 million have been awarded. The second round of collaboration grants for early career grantees were also awarded in 2017. This was a funding opportunity open to all previous young explorers grantees/early career grantees. Grantees were encouraged to team up to propose creative and innovative projects in science, conservation, and exploration. This new grant is helping the society's younger explorers develop the big ideas that they may have imagined, but lacked the capacity or expertise to implement on their own. The grants program awarded two collaboration grants of $25,000 each, totaling $50,000. In 2017, the grants program also piloted a new leadership program for the younger grantees. Previous young explorer/early career grant recipients were invited to apply for a yearlong program to engage with national geographic and collaborate with each other during the crucial early years of their careers. This program arms promising younger explorers with the skills, experiences, and support necessary to propel their careers to the next level, and includes mentorship, media and leadership training, and project development guidance. A class of 15 explorers was selected for the pilot program and had an orientation week in august 2017 with leadership and media training. Each participant was matched with a senior explorer to serve as their mentor for the year. Over the course of the year, explorers will also participate in monthly webinars, work on new grant projects ideas, and partner with a national geographic educator for virtual classroom visits. The outcomes of the pilot class are being carefully tracked to inform future efforts. Finally in 2017, the national geographic education team provided grant support to university-hosted geography alliances and other nonprofits for the purpose of improving geographic literacy.