Art For The Animals 2003 Offerings Unveiled at National Zoo Event
"Gifts of Giving" Appeal to Donors, Benefit Key Endangered Species
WASHINGTON D.C., November 15, 2003 -- What to give in a holiday season when the world is in an uproar, the economy remains shaky and "social responsibility" is the new phrase in town? Washingtonians found out on November 15 when AFTA Associates unveiled their 2003-2004 Art For The Animals Gifts of Giving program at a special event at Amazonia, the rainforest exhibit and science gallery at the Smithsonian's National Zoological Park.
Enthusiastic volunteers explained the Art For The Animals program to guests, helping them see how their gift Donations support wildlife and nature conservancy, and provide income to the artisans who create the folk and tribal art we use as donor premiums. Hosting the event at Amazonia, helped visitors make the habitat-conservation-community connection.
"Art For The Animals is pragmatic environmental conservation," points out Lori Stewart, founder of AFTA Associates, which runs the Art For The Animals program. "By using folk art and nature-friendly goods from Africa, India, Asia, Asia Pacific, and Latin America as donor thank you gifts, we can help create new and hopefully sustainable markets for these products -- encouraging alternatives to resource depleting economic development. When we create new income streams for communities in which endangered animals live, those communities will have both incentives and resources to help preserve their environment.
This year, Art For The Animals is supporting Smithsonian scientists' Red Panda and Endangered Cats conservation and research programs, through Friends of the National Zoo.
"Art For The Animals is a unique conservation program," said Miles Roberts, Deputy Head of the Department of Conservation Biology at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. "The Smithsonian's National Zoological Park has a long history and strong commitment to the scientific study and conservation of animals and their habitats throughout the world. We know that the biggest threat to wildlife conservation is poverty - people need a way to make a living from something other than land use and resource depletion. Art For The Animals creates a circular connection between conservation, and the economic and cultural well being of local people.
Launched as a pilot program in 2001, Art For The Animals now supports 20 threatened or endangered species programs of the ten conservation and research organizations now participating in the program. To the extent practical, Art For The Animals donor gifts are folk art and crafts made by artisan or crafts groups closely tied to these conservation organizations.
One of the most striking donor gifts in this year's pogram is an authentic Mongolian ger, the large white felt tent that has been home to Mongolians for more that 2500 years. The $15,000 Donation supports the International Snow Leopard Trust's (ISLT) work to find solutions to the long-standing conflicts between Mongolian herders and the endangered Snow Leopard. The portion of the Donation that covers the cost of the ger, also benefits Snow Leopard Enterprises, an ISLT program that gives the herders an opportunity to increase their household income, and add enormously to the value of their livestock products by producing hand-crafted items using wool from their sheep, camels and cashmere goats.
While the $15,000 Donation is at the high end of the giving spectrum, Art For The Animals offers a wide range of giving levels and art premiums. A $10 Donation to Project Seahorse is tied to a seahorse beanbag, made by the villagers in Handumon, Philippines, where income increasingly comes from Kanagmaluhan crafts rather than the seahorse trade. There are over 50 other donor gifts ranging from Maasai beaded dog collars ($90 Donation to African Wildlife Foundation); to Chilean horsehair flamingos ($150 Donation to Wildlife Trust's); and tagua nut rainforest carvings ($100 Donation to Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute); carved wooden cranes from Mozambique; embroidered linens from Madagascar; juggling balls from the gobi desert, and pine needle butterflies from Michoacan, Mexico.
"The program is pretty simple," says Stewart. "You decide to make a tax-deductable Donation based on the size of your wallet, your favorite animal and organization, or the art gift you want to receive. You can make the Donation directly, or as a gift Donation in the name of a friend. Art For The Animals does the rest. We send a gift card that describes the Donation to the conservation organization, along with a unique piece of folk art. 70% of the Donation goes to the conservation organization, and 20% goes to the artists -- giving them income, a way to preserve their culture, and a reason to preserve their environment.
Those who have given through the program wax enthusiastic about the concept and the donor gifts. Gift Donations are increasingly popular among aging boomers who have enough stuff and are looking to simplify the holidays and turn excess consumerism into conservationism. But during the holidays, it's nice to package that idea with a memento - a piece of art that represents the animal, the region or local culture. For some, it's a tiny sea turtle ornament, and for others its a ger - the program's appeal spans age groups and income levels.
Conservancy organizations currently participating in the Art For The Animals program include:
African Wildlife Foundation
Smithsonian Conservation and Research / Friends of the National Zoo
International Crane Foundation
International Snow Leopard Trust
Lemur Conservation Foundation
Michoacan Reforestation Fund
Project Seahorse
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Wild Camel Protection Foundation
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To view the Art For The Animals Donation packages, or request a catalog visit www.artfortheanimals.org or call 1-800-416-1271.
Art For The Animals is a program of AFTA Associates, Incorporated (www.aftaassociates.org) AFTA is a 501c3 non profit organization that works in collaboration with existing wildlife and nature conservancy organizations to preserve wildlife and nature through programs that make the business of saving wildlife, a business from which the people who share the region and resources with the animals can make a living.
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