Once upon a time, a handful of visionary donors invested in a group of young, untested lawyers who argued that the courts could be expertly used to protect the environment. Those first contributors to the Natural Resources Defense Council seemed hopelessly idealistic to many observers of the time. The harrowing problems of air, water, and toxic pollution in the late 1960s appeared too big -- and this new legal action group looked far too small and inexperienced.

History decided differently. A start-up investment in NRDC turned out to be the single most important action a person could have taken in 1970 to safeguard the environment. That initial investment paid off in the cornerstone legal victories of modern environmentalism and a towering framework of protections for the natural world that is the envy of all other nations. Thanks to that all-important seed money, NRDC demonstrated time and again that a talented and tenacious advocate could have an outsized impact on the most formidable of environmental problems. As a direct result, America's skies are now clearer, our rivers cleaner, our children healthier, and our natural heritage more secure.

Today, we are once again seeking visionary partners, this time for a far more ambitious venture. NRDC's Partnership for the Earth aims at nothing less than solving the emerging crises that now threaten our global commons. Undertaking a campaign of this magnitude will challenge us to secure $400 million in funding through 2010 in order to carry out our long-term strategies, expand our online network to more than 2 million people strong, and build the array of strategic tools needed to achieve our environmental goals.

If past is prologue, then a small group of farsighted donors will play an early and indispensable role in ensuring the success of this momentous endeavor. We invite you to be among them.

Philip B. Korsant, Wendy Kirby Schmidt,
Wendy Neu, John H. Adams
Co-Chairs, NRDC's Partnership for the Earth

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