Trees, Water & People receives another 4-star rating from Charity Navigator!

Sebastian Africano, Executive Director and Gemara Gifford, International Director pose with Doña Norma in front of a community-operated tree nursery in the community of La Tigra in Honduras.

For the third consecutive year we earned a coveted 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, which demonstrates our strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. 

The devastating events of the past year and the economic hardship the world is facing have hit the non-profit sector hard, forcing our organization to adapt, re-think, strategize and get creative. Through it all, our donors have stuck with us, as we recognize that the communities we serve need us the most at this moment.

We have spent the last 23 years working and advocating for some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, and have come to a crucial moment in which we need to step up in a big way. As we continue to work towards our goals during these trying times, being able to present our loyal donors with tangible and quantifiable results is crucial.  

In a letter to Trees, Water & People, Charity Navigator President Michael Thatcher wrote: “This is our highest possible rating and indicates that your organization adheres to sector best practices and executes its mission in a financially efficient way.” 

We are honored by this acknowledgement that we couldn’t achieve without our supporters, and thank you profusely for your trust in TWP. 

Check out our profile to learn more!

Charity Navigator has evaluated more than 160K U.S. based charities to highlight the work of efficient and transparent organizations and “show charitable givers / social investors how efficiently  a charity will use their support today, how well it has sustained its programs and services over time, and their level of commitment to good governance, best practices, and openness with information”.

Summer Farm Dinner Round 2!

by Patricia Flores White, Development Director

‘The Heart of Summer’ dinner brings together 160 people to celebrate community while cultivating a unique intersect between business and purpose, all set on the backdrop of the MotherLove 120 acre organic farm in Johnstown, CO. Fortified Collaborations works with the highest quality local food producers and businesses to create one of a kind pop-up dinners. These beautifully orchestrated events benefit non-profit organizations in town that have the power to affect change both in and beyond our community. They also serve as ‘community raisers’, bringing people together to experience thoughtful food, well considered concoctions, and purpose.

Tickets can be purchased at https://fortifiedcollaborations.ticketleap.com/heart-of-summer-dinner-2019/

 

This year, Verboten Brewery and Chef Rhys Edmunds have infused the menu, not only with our local foods provided by Colorado Stock and Grain and Motherlove, but with the addition of uniquely flavored honey and coffee from TWP’s programs in Guatemala.

Sampling TWP Approved Honey to infuse in flavors featured this Sunday!

 

“The Heart of Summer dinner is such a great example of our local food ecosystems at work and Trees, Water, People really embody the importance of that through their work. They are the perfect beneficiary for this event that connects people to the land.” – Kristina Cash, Fortified Collaborations founder.

“By introducing our Guatemalan communities to the climate-resilient practice of beekeeping, and training them to process and market honey, we will help them improve their livelihoods, reduce migration pressure, protect a threatened species of pollinator, and improve forest health.”
— Gemara Gifford, TWP International Director

Beekeepers from our partner community of La Bendición in Guatemala

If you haven’t been a part of their culinary adventures, visit https://www.fortifiedcollaborations.com/ to register while tickets are still available.

Fortified Collaborations Throws Heart of Summer Dinner Party for Trees, Water & People

15 August 2018

About two months ago, almost two-hundred people gathered at the MotherLove 120 acre organic farm in Johnstown, CO to break bread, clink glasses, and celebrate summer at a Fortified Collaborations fundraiser for Trees, Water & People.

Local guests preparing for evening dinner on the farm!

Fortified Collaborations is one of the gems that makes Fort Collins unique. They convene the best local food producers, businesses, unique venues, and non-profit organizations in town at six professionally curated dinner experiences that nourish the body and soul.

This summer, they chose Trees, Water & People as the feature organization for their annual Heart of Summer Dinner. While the weather was doing as Colorado weather does (changing drastically hour to hour), we all had a blast setting up at this beautiful venue, and the end result was a fantastic sunset over a farm filled with music, friends and a beautiful spread.

Fortified Collaboration’s founder, Kristina Cash, said about the collaboration with TWP: 

“The Heart of Summer dinner is such a great example of our local food ecosystems at work and Trees, Water, People really embody the importance of that through their work. They are the perfect beneficiary for this event that connects people to the land.”

Sebastian Africano, Executive Director of TWP (left) and Kristina Cash, Fortified Collaborations founder (right)

We greatly value the opportunity to share with new audiences, especially in our own community. Fortified Collaborations Heart of Summer Dinner gave us that opportunity, and put a fun exclamation point on TWP’s groundbreaking 20th year.

If you haven’t been to one of their amazing dinner experiences, visit https://www.fortifiedcollaborations.com/ to register for the next one!

Sun setting slowly over horizon on Motherlove’s farm

Welcome to Our New Development Director, Annalise Mecham!

by Annalise Mecham, Development Director

I come to Trees, Water & People as an East coast transplant, having spent a majority of my life living in Virginia and all over New England. After living on Cape Cod for the past 12 years, my husband and I were ready for a bigger town, more opportunities, and better winters! After extensive research, we decided to relocate to Fort Collins and a few weeks ago packed up our two young boys, put our house on the market, and drove cross country (U-Haul and all!). So far, it has been one of the best decisions of my life.

One of the most exciting parts of this move has been my new job as Development Director at Trees, Water & People. I discovered TWP a year ago when I was researching nonprofits in the Fort Collins area. I was immediately intrigued by its mission of improving communities through the care and management of their natural resources. My grandparents were supporters and actively involved with the American Indian College Fund, so I was happy to see TWP’s work with Tribal communities. I was beyond excited to see their job posting this fall for a Development Director. I think I was the first to apply!

I have been working in nonprofit development for the past eight years, receiving my M.S. from Boston University in nonprofit management in 2011. I received my undergraduate degree in Environmental Education and had the honor of taking a year to explore the United States with the Expedition Education Institute, a traveling college that teaches ecological leadership through experiential experiences. It was a year that changed my life and the way I approach people, communities and the environment. I have a strong belief that the health of a community is directly affected by how they protect and preserve their local ecosystem.

While in New England, I worked at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA where I became hooked on the idea that a well-organized nonprofit can have a direct influence on improving individual lives. From there, I moved into the Development Director role at Calmer Choice, a nonprofit that taught social-emotional learning to students in the Cape Cod public schools, many of whom were underserved. It was here that I discovered my passion for serving marginalized communities and seeing first-hand the change that happens when committed people work together.

TWP’s mission is a perfect combination of my passions for environmental education, community empowerment, and nonprofit management. I am excited to start my journey as the Development Director at TWP. I look forward to creating and developing relationships with TWP’s partners, supporters, donors, volunteers, board members, and staff. Please feel free to reach out and introduce yourself! I would love to hear from you.

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Improving the Local Environment as a Habitat Hero

by Skyler Smith, Development and Marketing Intern

There’s a new hero in town! Since this spring, Trees, Water & People (TWP) has been hard at work on our garden to create a sustainable, natural and chemical-free environment that both aesthetically enhances the neighborhood and provides a habitat for our native bird and butterfly species. We have been planting beautiful native flower species that have the combined benefit of requiring very little maintenance and water as well as inviting birds and butterflies to visit. We have also been striving to remove pests and invasive species solely through mechanical methods rather than using pesticides and herbicides so that our garden is as healthy and inviting as possible.

So when we saw that the Audubon Rockies had a “Habitat Hero” designation for homes and businesses that use “wildscaping” garden practices, we knew that we could take our garden to the next level and achieve that status! Our garden is a great mix of native plants, regionally adapted flowers, and tasty vegetables like tomatoes and peppers and we have recently added some great low-water plants such as echinacea, milkweed, sand cherry and a brand-new crabapple tree. We are proud of the work we put in to make our space a sustainable and wildlife-friendly habitat and even more pleased to announce that the Audubon Rockies’ awarded TWP the highest category: Habitat Hero Gold. An enormous amount of thanks is due to all of our volunteers and staff for working in the garden and making this possible!

We have collaborated with Audubon Rockies in the past and have admired their organization for quite some time, so we are very honored to have received this designation. It is imperative to acknowledge that we live in an arid climate, so the more that we can move away from water-intensive yards such as lawns and non-native gardens, the better! One of the biggest reasons we are proud to have achieved Habitat Hero status is that we hope to inspire others to do the same. We encourage you to check out Audubon Rockies’ website and start looking into ways that you can make your garden a sustainable habitat for local wildlife as well! If you are in the Fort Collins area, please drop in and check out our garden. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished and would love to share it with you!

If you would like to stay in the loop about Trees, Water & People’s work or how to get involved, please sign up for our email list.

 

Opening Eyes and Hearts in the Honduran Highlands: Part 2

by Courtney Peterson, Wildfire Mitigation Education Coordinator, Colorado State Forest Service

     

Courtney Peterson is the Wildfire Mitigation Education Coordinator for the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS). In her position with the CSFS, Courtney provides resources and educational opportunities to landowners, homeowners, and communities so they have the knowledge to fully prepare for future wildfires and make their homes and forest ecosystems more resilient. Courtney joined TWP on our recent work tour to Honduras.

For me, the best part of volunteer trips are the people. They are the ones that leave the biggest impact on you, give you the memories you take home and that you can never forget once you have left. The Center for Education in Sustainable Agriculture (CEASO) family was beyond welcoming and made us a part of their family during our stay, sharing their knowledge and experiences of the ecological, cultural, and social challenges and triumphs of their community. The CEASO family exuded their passion for their community in everything they taught us and showed our group how we are not alone in the challenges we face every day.

Over the last few days, some of you may have heard the news story about how there are over 800 million standing dead trees from insects and disease outbreaks in Colorado. This is nearly 1 in every 14 standing trees. This has crucial implications for our forest health, not to mention for our water supplies, public safety, wildlife, recreation opportunities, and climate. Well, in Honduras, they are dealing with these same challenges with a southern pine beetle outbreak. While the beetles in both Colorado and Honduras are native to their regions, severe drought and other tree-stressing factors have made the outbreaks more widespread than they have been in the past.

The mountain pine beetle has killed many of the pine trees in Grand County, Colorado, which has significant implications for Colorado’s forest health. Photo Credit: Colorado State Forest Service

I would never have thought about other countries facing these same challenges, especially not a pine beetle epidemic if I had not participated in the Honduras work tour! This trip provided me with an opportunity to share insights and lessons learned about two very different places dealing with the exact same issues. These aren’t local challenges; these are global challenges, and we need to be facing them as a global community with local solutions.

Many of the trees in Honduras have been impacted by the Southern Pine beetle. Photo Credit: Courtney Peterson

Trees, Water & People’s work is guided by two core beliefs: one is that natural resources are best protected when local people play an active role in their care and management. This is the same philosophy that I use to educate private landowners about forest management and creating fire-adapted communities, and this is the same philosophy that CEASO used to teach us about the finca humana, a concept of integrated human development and sustainable agriculture that is centered on the education of community members. The second core belief is that preserving local ecosystems is essential for the ongoing social, economic, and environmental health of communities everywhere. It is up to us as communities, locally and globally, to preserve our ecosystems for future generations. If we want to make a difference, we have to change people’s hearts, and we can’t do it alone. We have to work together.

If you are interested in going on a work trip with TWP, or learning more about what we do and the people we work with, sign up for our monthly eNewsletter!