US-Mexico Border Partnerships | Baja Partnerships | ICF-UN Foundation Partnerships

Isla Espiritu Santo

With the support of the Packard Foundation, an endowment was created for the long-term management of the island. At the same time, ICF contacted the United Nations Foundation to address the interim conservation management needs for Isla Espiritu Santo and explore expanded protection for the 244 islands of the Gulf of California Islands National Park.

Through collaborative efforts among ICF donors, Conservation International, and the UN Foundation, $500,000 was raised to finance early infrastructure needs on the island, to begin eradication of non-native species and to provide support to FUNDEA to propose the declaration of the national park and surrounding marine areas as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The UNESCO designation was approved in July 2005, encompassing nine protected areas and a total area of 1,838,012 hectares, of which 25% are terrestrial and 75% are marine. It represents 5% of the total area of the Gulf of California, including valuable nursery areas, coral reefs, sea mounts, and fishing grounds that have previously received no protection.

On December 26, 2004, an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale hit off the coast of Indonesia triggering a massive tsunami that resulted in a loss of over 280,000 lives. Over 5 million people were left homeless across 11 countries with Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, and Thailand among the hardest hit. In response to this crisis, the UN Tsunami Disaster Relief Fund was established at ICF to partner with the UN Foundation for tsunami relief efforts.

ICF's initiative brought together a unique collaboration of community foundations, San Diego area companies, and several employee giving programs. Grassroots fundraising efforts were also undertaken at several San Diego area schools as well as social and athletic clubs.

Collectively, these groups raised almost $650,000, matched by $325,000 from the UN Foundation, totaling almost $1 million for disaster relief. These funds supported housing reconstruction in Banda Aceh, measles immunization throughout the tsunamiaffected areas, and immediate needs of the UN coordinating agencies as they began this monumental relief effort. In total, ICF’s tsunami relief efforts reached $1.3 million, including non-UN Foundation support.


In recognition of this collective generosity, ICF awarded its 2005 Collaborative Grantmaking Award to all tsunami relief donors at its annual gala in May 2005. For a complete list of tsunami relief donors, please refer here.

Red Cross nurse (M) with Markadir (L) and Hendra (R), two orphans who lost their family in the tsunami disaster, Aceh Besar, Indonesia.