Vicki and Roger Sant

Vicki Sant and her husband, Roger, share a strong commitment to conserving the world’s natural and cultural resources for future generations, including their six grandchildren. In addition to making a lead commitment to National Geographic’s new endowment supporting the Society’s grantmaking in research, conservation, and exploration, the Sants generously support the visual arts, population and reproductive health issues, the empowerment of women around the world, marine conservation and research, and Amazon conservation projects. National Geographic’s Council of Advisors benefits from Vicki’s many years of experience in nonprofit board leadership.

PNY

National Geographic is excited to welcome PNY Technologies® as the newest member of the Society’s Mission Partner Program. Mission Partners are a select group of corporate partners whose business practices align with National Geographic’s mission to inspire people to care about the planet. PNY’s support is directed toward National Geographic’s exploration efforts, specifically, the Emerging Explorers Program.

PNY is a leading supplier of computer graphics cards, memory upgrade modules, and Flash Media and Flash peripherals. PNY’s high-speed cards are able to perform in the most extreme explorer situations. With PNY’s support, National Geographic’s explorers are prepared to capture valuable data, photos, and video from the field.

Pictured: 2008 Emerging Explorers Josh Thome and Sol Guy highlight the Society’s partnership with PNY Technologies at a photo industry trade show.

Iara Lee

Iara Lee, Brazilian of Korean descent, is a filmmaker, philanthropist, and activist. She travels frequently in the Middle East and Africa, where she has been committed to supporting Middle Eastern culture and activism. Iara’s initiative Cultures of Resistance, a network that works on multiple fronts to promote peace with justice through education, communication, and political engagement, was active in helping make possible the New York Philharmonic’s unprecedented performance in North Korea.

A member of the Council of Advisors since 2006, Iara serves as an ambassador for the Society throughout her travels. Her support of National Geographic through the Iara Lee & George Gund Foundation reflects her diverse interests, ranging from the Emerging Explorers program to the Center for Sustainable Destinations’ collaboration with Ashoka.

Kurt Ephraim

Growing up in Nazi Germany, Kurt Ephraim remembers being cut off from the rest of the world. When he and his wife, Helene, moved to the U.S., he felt the world was finally opened to him through the pages of National Geographic.

Kurt established his first charitable gift annuity after Helene became sick and moved to a nursing home. He wanted the guaranteed payments so Helene’s expenses would be covered if anything should happen to him. A year later he established another annuity for supplemental retirement income, and in 2007 he established a third.

Through his annuities, Kurt enjoys consistent income and the confidence of knowing his gifts will help support National Geographic, the organization that changed his world view and, he hopes, that of many generations to come.

The Harold Shore Trust

Mary Margaret Shore grew up in a small town in the Hill Country of Texas. After a year of college she went to work as a stenographer for a firm in Houston. It was there that she met her future husband, Harold Shore, a professional geologist and geophysicist and an accom­plished amateur photographer.

“He was completely enamored with geography and with reading the National Geographic magazine,” recalled Mrs. Shore. She shared her husband’s love of plants and natural beauty and particularly enjoyed learning about women explorers, photographers, and filmmakers who work for National Geographic.

Before he died in 1969, Mr. Shore had the foresight to establish a Trust that provided Mrs. Shore with income until her death in April 2007 at age 96. Half of the residuum from The Harold Shore Trust will provide substantial support for National Geographic research, conservation, exploration, and education projects around the world.

Verizon Foundation

At the click of a mouse, teachers, students, and parents find free, top-quality lesson plans, interactive activities, and other educational resources from the nation’s leading education organizations—thanks to Thinkfinity.org, the cornerstone of the Verizon Foundation’s Literacy, Education and Technology initiative. As a Thinkfinity content partner, National Geographic provides standards-based resources for teaching and learning geography on our award-winning Xpeditions website. Xpeditions also features an atlas with more than 1,200 printable maps and a virtual museum of geography.

A generous supporter of the Society’s work to improve geographic fluency, the Verizon Foundation is committed to harnessing the power of innovative, technology-based approaches to literacy and education to help students achieve success in the 21st century.

Expanding Education Efforts in Afghanistan

On May 20, 2008, National Geographic undertook an important change when it transitioned the Afghan Girl’s Fund to the Afghan Children’s Fund. While the fund’s name has changed, the Society’s grantmaking will continue to be closely aligned with the fund’s original purpose. By widening the scope of our support, we will have an even greater impact on the future of Afghanistan as we support education efforts and build classrooms for all children in Afghanistan. Programs serving Afghan refugee children living in Pakistan will also be eligible.

More about the Afghan Children’s Fund can be found at nationalgeographic.org/afghanchildrendsfun.