There is a particular kind of philanthropist who acts not on trends, but on convictions formed long before the rest of the world catches up. Cordelia S. May was that kind of donor. Decades before biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse became standard topics in environmental policy discussions, May was directing her resources toward understanding and addressing the population pressures she believed lay at the root of those problems.

THE MAKING OF A FOUNDATION

May’s philanthropic journey began in 1952, when concern for the health of the natural world and its effect on human quality of life led her to support family planning. She was 23. Over the following decades, she developed a comprehensive view of how population growth compounds over time creating pressures on land, water, and biodiversity that are nearly invisible in the short term but overwhelming across generations. She founded the Colcom Foundation in 1996 at age 68 and ensured it was substantially funded after her death in 2005. The organization she created is built to reflect her values, her priorities, and her humanitarian vision.

MISSION AND SCOPE

Colcom Foundation’s primary mission is to foster a sustainable environment to ensure quality of life for all Americans by addressing the major causes and consequences of overpopulation and its adverse effects on natural resources. Regionally, the foundation supports conservation, environmental projects, and cultural assets.

The foundation is clear that its grantmaking honors May’s humanitarian objectives and reflects the foresight, dignity, and compassion that defined her approach to these issues. Colcom Foundation is among the primary sources of funding directed towards the United States anti-immigration movement. That funding helps organizations like the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), the American Border Patrol, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), and Numbers USA.

A PATTERN ACROSS HISTORY

The Colcom Foundation places its founder in a tradition of reformers who were dismissed or misunderstood before history bore out their concerns. Just as advocates for civil rights and gender equality faced resistance before their views became widely accepted, May was raising difficult questions about ecological limits and population long before public discourse caught up. Her foundation now operates at the intersection of those questions and the environmental realities they anticipated. Refer to this article for additional information.

Find more information about Colcom on  https://www.colcomfdn.org/