Why Work With the International Community Foundation?

Community workshop in Coclesito, Panama sponsored by CIAM.

A large part of the International Community Foundation’s value and expertise involves its ability to recognize critical needs in developing countries and connect interested donors with those needs in order to effect change. The establishment of Centro de Incidencia Ambiental (CIAM), which is now focused on enforcement of environmental laws in Panama – is just one example of the foundation’s success when it comes to making meaningful connections that have real impact.

In early 2006, an anonymous donor asked the International Community Foundation to investigate potential environmental grantees in Panama.

Based on this research, several preliminary grants were approved through a donor-advised fund at the International Community Foundation, with the goal of improving terrestrial and marine conservation enforcement in the country’s existing protected areas. Six months later, the International Community Foundation visited Panama as part of a due diligence trip and, after many interviews, determined that there was a gap in the area of legal advocacy in Panama. Most of the largest and most well-known environmental groups were not able to or did not want to intervene in cases dealing with the government’s enforcement of environmental laws, so biodiversity protection was suffering. The International Community Foundation made a strong recommendation to tackle this issue.

With a positive response from the donor, the International Community Foundation and a small group of local advisors embarked on a process to interview potential host and partner organizations, review candidate resumes, and establish an orientation and training program, which ultimately led to the establishment of an independent organization called the Centro de Incidencia Ambiental (CIAM) or Legacy Advocacy Center. The International Community Foundation helped hire the first two staff at CIAM, identified potential board members, and connected the new staff with legal resources in the U.S., Mexico, and Panama. When the launch of the organization in October 2007 was official, the International Community Foundation was acknowledged as the primary impetus for fulfilling this critical role in the environmental community. After just one year of operations, CIAM won its first case in the Panamanian Supreme Court.