Press Releases

Michael Shuman, author of “The Small-Mart Revolution,” spent an hour with the U.S. Endowment’s Board and staff in Denver in late May. Not the “big box bashing” that some expected, Mr. Shuman high-lighted findings from his recently published book including targeted discussion on why local ownership matters. He suggested that the Endowment work in communities […]

At its most recent Board of Directors meeting in Denver, the U.S. Endowment adopted an update to its programmatic spending policy. “This refinement to our policy allows programmatic predictability in meeting our missional commitments in our early years while remaining consistent with obligations set-forth under the Softwood Lumber Agreement that serves as the Endowment’s ‘organic […]

In keeping with its commitments to openness and transparency in all its affairs, the U.S. Endowment’s Board of Directors has adopted a policy to formalize an approach to addressing any external complaints that may arise. “The Board’s decision to adopt this policy continues our commitments to set the highest standards in ethical conduct and accessibility,” […]

The U.S. Endowment’s Audit Committee Chair Peggy Clark provided the Endowment Board of Directors a detailed review of the organization’s first external audit. The work done by Dixon Hughes PLLC covered fiscal year 2007 and resulted in an unqualified or “clean” audit. A full copy of the report may be found under the Governance and […]

The U.S. Endowment’s Board of Directors convened in Denver for its first in-person meeting of 2008. Among key agenda items were updates from principals leading work on two Endowment-sponsored projects — the state of community-based forestry in America and the potential for agricultural check-offs to grow softwood lumber markets. Additionally, the Board heard reports on […]

The U.S. Endowment today released its fourth Request for Pre-proposal (RFP). “This particular project is an exciting first-step to scope the potential to pull disparate sources of land conservation data into a single system that could empower conservation planning and rural economic development in ways never before possible,” said Endowment President Carlton Owen. The work […]

The Board of Directors of the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities has voted unanimously to endorse the “Rural Compact” — a set of principles for building stronger rural communities and a stronger nation. Endowment President Carlton Owen said, “Perhaps the preamble to the compact says it best — When rural communities succeed, the nation […]

The U.S. Endowment today released a report entitled, Forest Conservation Easements: Who’s Keeping Track. The document not only summarizes findings from a convening of conservation interests — both federal agencies and not-for-profits — working to collect and manage conservation data across the U.S., but it also serves as an overview of some of the nation’s primary […]

At the request of the Blandin Foundation and its “Vital Forests/Vital Communities” initiative, U.S. Endowment President Carlton Owen today conducted an hour-long “webinar.” The webinar was entitled, “The Softwood Lumber Dispute: What It’s About, Why and What It’s Got to do with The U.S. Endowment.” The overall purpose of the educational seminar was to better […]

“One of our core values is openness and transparency in all that we do,” says Endowment President Carlton Owen. “That’s why we work hard to update our website, share our thinking and progress and provide fairly explicit plain language quarterly stewardship reports.” The Endowment’s 2007 Annual Report – its first such report – showcases the […]