The Education Foundation builds partnerships with corporations, foundations, governments, and nonprofit organizations at all levels: local, state, national, and international. Today, nearly half of the 50 U.S. states have accepted our offer to create a permanent fund for geography education. We also work with National Geographic Television, providing educational extensions—activities, lesson plans, and more—for the Society's signature programming.

Our partners include the following:

Asia Foundation
In cooperation with the National Geographic Society, the Asia Foundation launched an accelerated girls' education program with an Afghan non-governmental organization, ASCHIANA. The program enables 270 girls to complete five years of primary education over three years and re-enter middle school. Further support from the National Geographic Society is assisting to rebuild the Rabia-e Balkhi Girls School—14 classrooms and a unique multipurpose resource center with a library, Internet facilities, and a conference hall are being constructed and will open this fall.

With a network of 17 offices throughout Asia, the Foundation is a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization committed to the development of a peaceful, prosperous, and open Asia-Pacific region.


Asia Society
National Geographic works with the Asia Society to host an International Studies in the Schools online community for educators to foster teaching and learning about world history, languages, cultures, and current affairs in American schools. In addition, we collaboratively host an InternationalEd online community, providing connections and resources to leaders in 20 states working together to create supportive policies and share best practices with a common goal of ensuring their students succeed in a knowledge economy.

National Geographic and Asia Society also jointly host the online Explore Asia site, providing teachers with content knowledge and classroom-ready resources. Lastly, we are working together on the MapMachine Student Edition, an interactive student atlas designed to encourage young people to learn about Asia.

A national nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization, Asia Society is America's leading institution dedicated to fostering understanding of Asia and communication between Americans and the peoples of Asia and the Pacific.


Chesapeake Bay Foundation
In partnership with the Education Foundation, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) offers the Chesapeake Classrooms education program. Participating teachers receive professional development to integrate field experiences into standards-based classroom studies and conduct ongoing field studies in their schoolyard and in the local watershed. The initiative also provides participants with curriculum materials, visits from CBF educational consultants, and classroom-based Bay restoration projects to engage schools over the school year.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is the largest conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the Chesapeake Bay watershed and conducts education, protection, and restoration programs.


Freeman Foundation
National Geographic's work on Asia—teacher communities, curriculum materials, and the MapMachine Student Edition—is made possible through the generous support of the Freeman Foundation.

Established in memory of businessman and benefactor Mansfield Freeman, a cofounder of the international insurance and financial conglomerate American International Group, Inc., (AIG) the Freeman Foundation is dedicated to augmenting international understanding between the United States and the nations of the East.


Verizon Foundation/Marco Polo Consortium
National Geographic is a proud member of the MarcoPolo consortium, a nonprofit partnership among eight leading educational organizations and the Verizon Foundation. MarcoPolo features seven discipline-specific, standards-based Web sites that house partner-created and reviewed Internet-based lessons and resources—all available at no cost to K-12 educators, students, and parents.

National Geographic's award-winning contribution is Xpeditions, home of the U.S. National Geography Standards and thousands of lesson plans, activities, and maps that bring them to life.

The other content partners in the consortium are the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (host of the ARTSEDGE site), the National Council on Economic Education (host of the EconEdLink site), the National Endowment for the Humanities (host of the EDSITEment site), the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English (hosts of the ReadWriteThink site), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (host of the Science NetLinks site).

Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Verizon, is one of the largest corporate foundations in the world. With a focus on education, safety, and health in the 21st Century, the Verizon Foundation supports Verizon’s vision of advancing technology that touches life.


NOAA
Through virtual teacher workshops, National Geographic and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) bring cutting-edge science into the classroom years ahead of textbooks, provide multimedia information through video, photographs, and more, and let educators connect directly with scientists.

Through field studies at U.S. marine sanctuaries, both teachers and students gain hands-on exposure to geographic concepts such as stewardship and interconnectedness. In addition, students are introduced to the importance of observation and data collection through a youth media project.

NOAA is also leading the charge to promote ocean literacy—an understanding by the public of the importance of the oceans to the health of the planet and to life on Earth.

An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA conducts research and gathers data about the global oceans, atmosphere, space, warning of dangerous weather, charting the seas and skies, guiding the use and protection of ocean and coastal resources, and conducting research to improve understanding and stewardship of the environment which sustains us all.


WGBH
With support from National Geographic, Web site producer WGBH is creating interactive, online geographic adventures as a part of their "Fur, Fin and Feather Bureau of Investigation" site. Twelve adventures for kids-crossing all continents-will launch in the 2004/5 school year.

WGBH produces more of the PBS prime-time lineup and Web content than any other source and is a key supplier to the nation's public radio stations.

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