The Virtual Foundation

The Virtual Foundation is the philanthropic arm of ECOLOGIA, and was founded in 1996.

Mission

The Virtual Foundation is an online philanthropy program which supports grassroots initiatives in the fields of environment, health, poverty alleviation and sustainable economic activity, around the world. The focus of Foundation is twofold: to encourage private philanthropy among citizens from all walks of life, and to support local projects initiated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in their own communities. The Foundation tries to minimize borders and geographic restrictions. It actively seeks transboundary projects that increase cooperation among different ethnic groups and nationalities.

Personnel

Early Advisory Committee Members

The following were initial members of the Advisory Board for the Foundation:

• Bill Eichbaum
• Juergen Hess
• Eliza Klose
• Robbie Ross Tisch
• Krystyna Wolniakowski

Staff

As at June 24, 2008, the following were staff members of the Foundation:

• Randy Kritkausky, President of ECOLOGIA and the Virtual Foundation
• Carolyn Schmidt, Virtual Foundation Program Manager

Health Proposal Review Committee:

• Diana Barnard
• Christina L. Pease
• Scott D. Smith

Proposal Review Committee - Environment and Sustainable Development:

• Alene Case
• Giedre Tang
• Randy Kritkausky
• Carolyn Schmidt

In addition to the listed staff, credit and thanks was offered to Lydia Thompson, Donovan Meyer, Irmgard Hunt, Alyssa Deutschler, Andrius Ciziunas, Shannon Simrell and John Oakes, "for their achievements in the earliest stages of developing the Virtual Foundation".

Board of Directors

As at June 24, 2008, the following served on the Board of the Foundation:

• Randy Kritkausky, Board President
• Aleg Cherp, Board Member
• Rachel E. Golden, Chicago Illinois, President of the Rachel E. Golden Foundation
• Carolyn Schmidt, Board Secretary
• Ed Shoener, Board Treasurer
• Paul Soler-Sala, Board Member

Donors

As at Feb. 26, 2008, the following had donated funds to the Foundation, and to programs the Foundation was running:

• Dr. Masato Akutsu, Japan
• American Association
• Peter Ames, Massachusetts
• Association for Progressive Communicators, with matching funds from the Trust for Mutual Understanding
• Ron Blum, Massachusetts
• Cynthia Brisson, Vermont
• Marion Butler
• The C. E. & S. Foundation, Kentucky
• Stuart Carroll, Massachusetts
• Alene Case, Pennsylvania
• Alene and Mike Case, Pennsylvania
• Barbara and John Chaffee, New York State
• Chenango Forks Model United Nations Conferences at Broome Community College, New York State
• Derek Chung Fund, San Francisco Foundation
• Kellie Cremer, Colorado
• Andrea Crescente, New York State
• Nathan Cummings Foundation Staff Grant
• Kirk Davis, New York State
• Philip Deely, Massachusetts
• David and Sara Deever, Ohio
• John Deever and Lisa Swaim, in the names of their bridal party: Amy Deever, Mark Dilley, Darcy Galane, Frank Gordish, Hans Gorsuch, Mara Matteson, Miriam Matteson, Helen Rowe, Jeff Scott, Hector Garcia Santana, Paul Swaim, Ewan Todd, David Tracy and Jeanne Work
• Timothy Douglas, Washington DC
• Timothy and Yulia Douglas, Washington DC
• Draper Consulting Group Employee Matching Gifts Program, California
• The Dudley Foundation, Washington State
• Marianne Eaton, Vermont
• ECOLOGIA Board of Directors
• Peter W. Ellison
• Tracy Ermon, Yukon Territory, Canada
• EurasiaGroupa, student NGO at Central European University, Budapest
• Sam Evans, Washington State
• The First Parish in Lincoln, Massachusetts
• Fleury Family, Vermont
• Ford Foundation
• Friends of the Fragile Earth, Church of the Epiphany, Pennsylvania
• Friends of Marion Butler, Pennsylvania and Florida
• Friends of the University of Vilnius Botanical Garden
• Rachel E. Golden, Illinois
• Katherine Gould-Martin, New York State
• Shelley and David Hamel, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
• Christine, Gary, and Elise Harmon
• Allan and Carolyn Harris
• Lory Harris
• Josephine and Willlis Hay
• Juergen Hess, Illinois
• Dr. Takemi Ichimura of Tokyo Life Science Laboratory, Japan
• Sam Johnson, Massachusetts
• Daniels Jhon, Indonesia
• Tomohiro Kagamitani
• Keystone College, Pennsylvania
• The Family of Dr. Anthony R. Kritkausky
• Joe and Kim Ksyniak
• Jean-Francois Labarre, Quebec
• Liz Lee, Vermont
• Mr. and Mrs. Ned Link
• Patricia Link
• Scott Link and Shannon Simrell
• Lithuanian Regional Television (Kaunas TV), with VF matching funds
• Peter Lynch, Vermont
• Bonnie MacDonald
• Ellanore McKenna, Arizona
• Dorothy and Bill McPherson, Pennsylvania
• Susan Macias, California
• Manlius Pebble Hill School Model United Nations, New York State
• Rebecca Marrer, Arizona
• Merck Pharmaceutical Employee Contributions Plan/United Way Fund
• Middlebury College, Vermont
• Middlebury Union High School Model United Nations, Vermont
• Stanley Music & Natia Gvatua Music, with funds matched by the Tri-State United Way Fund, via Merck Pharmaceutical Employee Contributions Plan
• National Center for Nonprofit Boards, Washington DC
• Professor Nobuo Ohta & students at the Chiba University of Commerce, Japan
• David and Andy Nowakowski
• Yutaka and Yoshiko Okamoto, Tokyo
• Linda Oot, New York State
• Joe Pierpont
• Catherine Pognat, Washington DC
• Katherine Randolph, California
• Jean and David Rosenberg, Vermont
• Sacred Earth Network and Social Ecological Union
• St. Joseph County (Michigan) Community Environmental Management Council
• Esther Schmidt, New York City
• Diane Schnaars, Pennsylvania
• Charles Scott
• Rachael Sharon
• Lori Shemanski
• Michael Shor
• Shannon Simrell
• Matthew, Sarah and Bradley Sopinski
• Dr. Yayoi Takei, Japan
• Nanei Tamura, Japan
• Lydia Thompson, in memory of Nate Krueger
• Lydia Thompson, and the 6th Floor Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection co-workers
• Barbara Tinker
• Trust for Mutual Understanding
• The US Baltic Foundation
• Upper Mohawk Valley Model United Nations Conference at Hamilton College, and Upper Mohawk Valley UNA-USA
• Jan and Nick Vasilius, Arizona
• Thomas Walski, Pennsylvania
• Ariane White
• Clara Wolf
• Kimberly Wolf, Pennsylvania
• James Woodworth, Pennsylvania
• Andrew Yim, Connecticut

Supportive Organizations

The following organizations provided major funding and assistance during the founding and early years of the Virtual Foundation (1996 - 2000):

• Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund
• Open Society Institute - New York
• Trust for Mutual Understanding
• Turner Foundation
• The Moriah Fund, Washington DC
• W. Alton Jones Foundation

References

Template:Reflist