Earth First! Journal, PO Box 3023, Tucson, AZ 85702
Phone 520-620-6900 | Fax 4132540057 | Email collective@earthfirstjournal.org
A note accompanying the Earth First! Journal's 1994 federal income tax return read: "The beginning balance in April of our checking account was $1,041.57 less than the ending balance in March. Despite half a day of exhaustive efforts, I was unable to locate the source of the discrepancy." The note was signed by Karen Wood, "Business Manager."
Business Manager?
For a movement that claims it has no formal organization, the financial infrastructure supporting Earth First! would make Enron executives envious. There are hundreds of Earth First! affiliates, with names like the Bioengineering Action Network, the Cascadia Wildlands Project, and the Trees Foundation. Each has its own funding sources, and the money trail is positively Byzantine.
One of the advantages of maintaining this nearly impenetrable web of financing is that it makes law enforcement's job more difficult. It is almost impossible to trace the funds that support any specific action.
At the same time, many tax-exempt Earth First! organizations are not at all shy about where donations end up. You can make a tax-deductible donation to Mendicino Earth First! or North Coast Earth First! from the website of the Trees Foundation. And the website of the Fund for Wild Nature (FWN), which also enjoys a federal tax exemption, lists the likes of Wild Rockies Earth First! and Arizona Earth First! as its grant recipients.
FWN, which used to be called the Earth First! Foundation, is the most significant recycler of money to Earth First! It gathers money from several sources, and then redistributes it to militants on the ground -- insulating donors from directly supporting violence.
But many donors to FWN aren't satisfied with just one degree of separation. That's why much of its money is first routed through community foundations. A donor can write a check to a community foundation, with limited risk of that donation being revealed, and suggest that the money be passed on to FWN. For example, the San Francisco Foundation is an annual contributor to FWN, and the Oregon Community Foundation has kicked in funds to FWN as well. One of the world's most prolific money-launderers of this type, the Tides Foundation, funneled $50,000 to FWN in 1998.
Unfortunately, Earth First! doesn't require all that much money to operate. As Rodney Coronado pointed out in early 2003 before a crowd of hundreds of young activists at American University, it only costs "about two dollars" to turn a milk jug into a firebomb.
Below is a partial sketch of money that flows into the Earth First! movement.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
| Recipient | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Earth First! Journal | $7,072.00 | 1999 |
| San Diego Earth First! | $400.00 | 1988 |
| Manila Earth First! | $300.00 | 1999 |
 | | |
Patagonia Fund
| Recipient | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Katuah Earth First! | $6,000.00 | 2000-2001 |
| North Coast Earth First! | $6,000.00 | 2002 |
| Wild Rockies Earth First! | $3000.00 | 2000 |
| | |
Fund for Wild Nature
The Fund for Wild Nature, the principal grant-making organization within Earth First!'s universe, was originally named the Earth First! Foundation. A list of organizations funded by FWN can be found at the bottom of this page.
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Naturganic Foundation | $252,000.00 | 1999-2000 |
| Tides Foundation & Tides Center | $62,500.00 | 1998-2002 |
| Turner Foundation | $22,500.00 | 1995-1997 |
| Oregon Community Foundation | $21,500.00 | 1998-2000 |
| San Francisco Foundation | $16,000.00 | 1998-2001 |
| Harold K. Hochschild Foundation | $15,000.00 | 1995 |
| Foundation for Deep Ecology | $11,000.00 | 1992-1996 |
| Vanguard Public Foundation | $5,303.00 | 1998-2000 |
| New-Land Foundation | $5,000.00 | 1996 |
| Rogue Wave Foundation | $3,000.00 | 1997 |
| New York Community Trust | $1,000.00 | 2000 |
| | |
League of Wilderness Defenders
The League of Wilderness Defenders (LOWD) describes itself as a "501(c)(3) non-profit providing fiscal sponsorship to grassroots projects and organizations throughout Oregon who are working to defend wilderness." These projects include the Oregon Forest Research & Education Group, which boasts: "Members of the OFREG collective gained experience working with groups such as Cascadia Forest Defenders, Canopy Action Network, Cascadia Forest Alliance, and various Earth First! groups." Another LOWD project is the McKenzie River Printers Guild, which proclaims: "We are a collectively run outfit primarily made up of former editors of the Earth First! Journal." LOWD has paid Daily Planet Publishing, the legal entity behind the Journal, "to perform educational reporting work."
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Blue Moon Fund | $130,640.00 | 1993-2001 |
| Deer Creek Foundation | $45,000.00 | 1999-2001 |
| Foundation for Deep Ecology | $37,500.00 | 1993-2002 |
| McKenzie River Gathering Foundation | $36,200.00 | 1999-2001 |
| Wilburforce Foundation | $32,500.00 | 1998-2000 |
| Patagonia Fund | $26,570.00 | 1998-2001 |
| Max & Anna Levinson Foundation | $20,750.00 | 1998-2000 |
| Ben & Jerry's Foundation | $14,000.00 | 1998-1999 |
| Rogue Wave Foundation | $10,650.00 | 1999-2000 |
| Ruth Mott Foundation | $7,500.00 | 1998 |
| Columbia River Bioregion Campaign | $6,000.00 | 2000 |
| A Territory Resource Foundation | $5,000.00 | 1999 |
| Norcross Wildlife Foundation | $5,000.00 | 1999 |
| Rex Foundation | $3,750.00 | 1998 |
| | |
Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project
Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project (BMBP) is a project of the League of Wilderness Defenders. It is run by Karen Coulter and Asante Riverwind (a.k.a. Michael Christian). Promoting an appearance by Coulter, one group describes her as an "active Earth First!er." She is also a longtime board member of the Fund for Wild Nature, which has funded BMBP and other LOWD projects. Riverwind was fined for his participation in an Oregon logging protest/blockade and has, along with Earth First!, conducted seminars on "tactics used to block roads, harbors, and entrances to buildings."
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Blue Moon Fund | $95,140.00 | 1993-1998 |
| Foundation for Deep Ecology | $10,000.00 | 1999 |
| Patagonia, Inc. | $3,000.00 | 2002 |
| | |
Trees Foundation
The Trees Foundation serves as the fiscal agent for several official Earth First! "affiliates," including Mendocino Earth First! and North Coast Earth First!, as well as other groups that work with Earth First!
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund | $145,000.00 | 1993-2000 |
| Giles W. & Elise G. Mead Foundation | $125,000.00 | 1999-2002 |
| Ancient Forest International | $79,860.00 | 2000-2001 |
| Educational Foundation of America | $50,000.00 | 1996 |
| Natural Resources Defense Council | $22,902.00 | 1997 |
| Columbia Foundation | $21,000.00 | 1996 |
| Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation | $20,000.00 | 1996 |
| Heller Charitable & Educational Fund | $19,000.00 | 2000-2001 |
| Rockwood Fund | $12,000.00 | 1997-1999 |
| Bill Graham Foundation | $9,500.00 | 1997-2000 |
| Furthur Foundation | $7,000.00 | 1998-2001 |
| Tides Foundation & Tides Center | $2,500.00 | 2001 |
| Walter & Elise Haas Fund | $1,000.00 | 1996 |
| Northern California Grantmakers | $1,000.00 | 2000 |
| | |
Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers
Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers (CMCR) began as a project of Earth First! before being spun off and becoming its own entity. CMCR was also a member group of the Cove/Mallard Coalition, a lengthy Earth First!-led forest protest in Idaho. More than half of CMCR's annual budget goes to pay for the "Buffalo Field Campaign," whose activists have been routinely arrested.
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Elinor Patterson Baker Foundation | $30,000.00 | 2001-2002 |
| Pegasus Foundation | $23,500.00 | 1999-2001 |
| Norcross Wildlife Foundation | $22,000.00 | 2000-2001 |
| Community Foundation of Jackson Hole | $15,000.00 | 1998-2000 |
| Park Foundation | $10,000.00 | 2001 |
| Guacamole Fund | $7,000.00 | 2000 |
| Foundation for Deep Ecology | $5,000.00 | 2001 |
| Lemmon Foundation | $4,000.00 | 1999-2000 |
| Humane Society of the United States | $3,069.00 | 2000 |
| Patagonia, Inc. | $3,000.00 | 2000 |
| Fremarch Foundation | $1,000.00 | 2001 |
| Oregon Community Foundation | $500.00 | 1999 |
| | |
Buffalo Field Campaign
Buffalo Field Campaign (BFC) is a project of Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers. BFC uses "direct action" to block government officials from keeping buffalo in and around Yellowstone Park from passing on the contagious disease brucellosis to nearby cattle. As of December 2002, at least 21 Buffalo Field Campaign activists had been arrested. In March, 2003 the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference's agenda included BFC's Dan Brister and Earth First!'s Karen Picket as the two experts for the panel called "Direct Action: Exploring Tactics Past and Present."
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Park Foundation | $10,000.00 | 2001 |
| Norcross Wildlife Foundation | $10,000.00 | 1999 |
| Acorn Foundation | $10,000.00 | 2000 |
| Rockwood Fund | $3,000.00 | 2000 |
| Maki Foundation | $3,000.00 | 2001 |
| Environmental Support Center | $2,000.00 | 2000 |
| Lemmon Foundation | $1,000.00 | 2001 |
| Fremarch Foundation | $1,000.00 | 2001 |
| Animal Protection Institute | $250.00 | 2000 |
| | |
Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH)
The Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (BACH) is run by Karen Pickett, who controls the Earth First! Direct Action Fund. BACH's telephone line is frequently used as an Earth First! contact number. The group has publicized at least one speech by convicted Animal Liberation Front arsonist Rodney Coronado.
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund | $10,000.00 | 1996 |
| Rockwood Fund | $3,000.00 | 1997 |
| Foundation for Deep Ecology | $10,000.00 | 1998 |
| Furthur Foundation | $4,000.00 | 1998-2000 |
| | |
Cascadia Wildlands Project
The Cascadia Wildlands Project (CWP) board and staff are heavily populated with prominent Earth First!ers. President Lauren Reagan, according to the Eugene Weekly, "represents many activists here, including Earth First!ers." When CWP hired Josh Laughlin as communications director, the group boasted that "his most recent gainful employment was as an editor for the Earth First! Journal." Another Journal veteran, Jim Flynn, (no stranger to direct action himself), is on the CWP board. And board member Mick Garvin is a self-described "long-time Earth First!er."
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Furthur Foundation | $4,500.00 | 2000-2001 |
| Patagonia, Inc. | $11,000.00 | 2000-2002 |
| Lazar Foundation | $5,000.00 | 2001 |
| Norcross Wildlife Foundation | $10,400.00 | 1999-2001 |
| | |
Redwood Justice Fund
The Redwood Justice Fund serves as the fiscal agent for the Redwood Summer Justice Project, which provided financial assistance for a lawsuit filed by Earth First! leader Darryl Cherney against the FBI and City of Oakland Police Department.
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| California Endowment | $21,000.00 | 2002 |
| Columbus Foundation | $10,000.00 | 2002 |
| ZZYZX Foundation | $7,000.00 | 2000 |
| | |
Environmentally Sound Promotions
Environmentally Sound Promotions (ESP) was a project of the Trees Foundation, which serves as the fiscal sponsor of several Earth First! organizations. ESP is led by Earth First! leader Darryl Cherney, whose music it distributes. ESP was heavily involved in Cherney's lawsuit against the FBI.
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Ancient Forest International | $5,236.00 | 1999 |
| Rockwood Fund | $2,500.00 | 1998 |
| Furthur Foundation | $2,000.00 | 1999 |
| As You Sow | $1,000.00 | 2001 |
| | |
The Ecology Center, Inc.
The Ecology Center, Inc. (TECI) has served as a pass-through organization to fund various Earth First! efforts, including the legal defense of convicted EF!/Animal Liberation Front arsonist Rodney Coronado. TECI also re-granted thousands of dollars used in the Cove/Mallard Earth First! protest in Idaho. TECI's phone number has frequently been posted as the number for Wild Rockies Earth First!.
| Donor | Total Donated | Time Frame |
| Turner Foundation | $455,000.00 | 1993-2001 |
| Trust for Mutual Understanding | $178,500.00 | 1996-2001 |
| American College of Naturopathic Medicine | $102,000.00 | 1995 |
| Charles Stewart Mott Foundation | $80,000.00 | 1993 |
| Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund | $45,000.00 | 1996-2002 |
| Norcross Wildlife Foundation | $41,300.00 | 1998-2000 |
| Brainerd Foundation | $30,000.00 | 2001-2003 |
| Foundation for Deep Ecology | $25,000.00 | 1997-1998 |
| Lannan Foundation | $20,000.00 | 1999 |
| Deer Creek Foundation | $15,000.00 | 1999 |
| Weeden Foundation | $15,000.00 | 1997 |
| San Francisco Foundation | $15,000.00 | 2000 |
| Initiative for Social Action and Renewal in Eurasia | $13,000.00 | 1995 |
| Scott Opler Foundation | $10,000.00 | 2000 |
| Wilburforce Foundation | $10,000.00 | 2001 |
| National Audubon Society | $10,000.00 | 1999 |
| National Environmental Trust | $10,000.00 | 2001 |
| Human-I-Tees Foundation | $9,000.00 | 1995 |
| Patagonia, Inc. | $9,000.00 | 1995 |
| Bernard Osher Foundation | $5,000.00 | 2001 |
| Greenville Foundation | $5,000.00 | 1993 |
| Maki Foundation | $5,000.00 | 1998 |
| Rex Foundation | $5,000.00 | 1995 |
| Lazar Foundation | $3,000.00 | 1995 |
| Voice of the Environment | $2,500.00 | 1995 |
| Strong Foundation | $2,000.00 | 1998-2000 |
| Fanwood Foundation | $2,000.00 | 2000 |
| Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition | $1,000.00 | 1995 |
| Ben & Jerry's Foundation | $500.00 | 1995 |
| Vanguard Public Foundation | $500.00 | 2000 |
| Heartwood | $500.00 | 1995 |
| Fund for Animals | $500.00 | 1998 |
| Rose Foundation | $50.00 | 1998 |
| | |
The following groups have received funding from what was originally named the Earth First! Foundation, now known as the Fund for Wild Nature:
| A Sense of Humus |
| Action for Community & Ecology in the Rainforests of Central America |
| Action for Social & Ecological Justice |
| Action Resource Center |
| Alameda Creek Alliance |
| Alaska Wildlife Alliance |
| Allegheny Defense Project |
| Alliance for Sustainable Jobs & the Environment |
| Ancient Forest Rescue |
| Animal Liberation of Texas |
| Appalachian Restoration Campaign |
| Arctic Quest |
| Arizona Earth First! |
| Asheville Global Report |
| Ballona Wetlands Land Trust |
| BARK |
| Bay Area Activist Support Center |
| Bay Area Coalition for Headwaters (Ecology Center, Calif.) |
| Beehive Design Collective |
| Bella Coola Valley Women's Group |
| Beyond Biodevastation |
| Big Mountain Support Campaign |
| Big Mountain/ Native American Support Project |
| Big Mountain Video Support Project |
| Bikes Across Borders |
| Biocentric Awareness Project |
| Biodiversity Conservation Alliance |
| Biodiversity Legal Foundation |
| Bioengineering Action Network |
| Blackleaf Canyon Oil Development |
| Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project (Project of League of Wilderness Defenders) |
| Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League |
| Border Action Network |
| Broken Chain |
| Buckeye Forest Council |
| Buffalo Field Campaign (Project of Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers) |
| Call to Action |
| Canadian Ocean Habitat Protection Society |
| CanSolidated (Canada) |
| Cascade Resources Advocacy Group |
| Cascadia Ecological Education Project |
| Cascadia Forest Alliance (Affiliate of the Native Ecosystem Education Project, which is a Project of the League of Wilderness Defenders) |
| Cascadia Leadership & Action Workshops |
| Cascadia Rising Activist Center |
| Cascadia Times |
| Cascadia Wild! |
| Cascadia Wildlands Project (Project of League of Wilderness Defenders) |
| The Center |
| Center for Biological Diversity |
| Center for Environmental Equity |
| Center for Environmental Politics |
| Center for Native Ecosystems |
| Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center |
| Climate Action Now! |
| Coalition to Stop Vail Expansion |
| Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers |
| Committee for Idaho's High Desert |
| Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund |
| Conservation Action Project |
| Conservation Alliance of the Great Plains |
| Cove Mallard Coalition (The Ecology Center, Inc.) |
| Cycle Circus Sin Fronteras |
| Direct Action Campaign |
| Earth Angel Parrot Sanctuary |
| Earth Angel Parrot Sanctuary (fiscal sponsorship only) |
| Earth First! Journal (Daily Planet Publishing, Inc.) |
| Eastern Forests Direct Action Camp (Hosted by: The National Forest Protection Alliance, Katuah Earth First!, the Dogwood Alliance, Heartwood, Buckeye Forest Council, Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project) |
| Eastern Forest Project Action Camp |
| Eco-City Builders |
| Ecology Center |
| The Ecology Center |
| Ecosolidarity Andes |
| Elaho Earth First! (Canada) |
| The Endangered Front Project (Project of Cold Mountain, Cold Rivers) |
| End Corporate Dominance Alliance |
| Environmental Flying Services |
| Eyak Preservation Council |
| Eyak Rainforest Preservation Fund |
| Flagstaff Activist Network |
| Flying Rutabega Circus Review |
| Food Not Lawns / Unity Seed |
| Forest Watch of British Columbia (Canada) |
| Fossil Fuels Policy Action Institute |
| Friends of the Bitterroot |
| Friends of the Clearwater |
| Friends of Rough and Ready Creek |
| FRONT Communications |
| Gateway Green Alliance |
| Genetic Engineering Action Network |
| GenetiX Alert Press Office |
| Gifford Pinchot National Forest Documentary Video |
| Gifford Pinchot Task Force |
| Gila Watch |
| Granby Wilderness Society (Canada) |
| Grant County Conservationists |
| Great Basin Mine Watch |
| Great Plains Restoration Council |
| Green Anarchy Collective |
| Green Fuels Project |
| The Green Highlands Project |
| Grizzly People |
| Headwaters Worker Outreach |
| Heartwood |
| High Plains Films (a.k.a. The Ecology Center) |
| Home Grown Media |
| H.O.P.E. Farm |
| Idaho Sporting Congress |
| Indiana Forest Alliance |
| Indigenous Support Coalition of Oregon |
| John Muir Project |
| Jumping Frog Research Institute |
| KBOO Community Radio |
| Kentucky Heartwood |
| Kettle Range Conservation Group |
| Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (Formerly a Project of League of Wilderness Defenders) |
| Liberty Cabbage Theatre Revival |
| Live Oak Alliance |
| Lomakatsi Restoration Project |
| Madagascar Biodiversity and Conservation |
| Media Rights |
| Medical Committee for Human Rights |
| Medicine for Activists Seeking Health & Healing |
| Mendocino Earth First! (Fiscal agent is the Trees Foundation) |
| Minnesota Ecosystems Recovery Project |
| Missouri Heartwood |
| Montana Trout |
| National Endangered Species Network |
| National Forest Protection Alliance |
| Native Forest Network - Eastern North America |
| Native Forest Network - Missoula |
| Native Forest Network, MT |
| Native Forest Network, NC |
| Native Forest Network - Yellowstone |
| Native Forest Network, VT |
| Native Trout Watch |
| New Mexico Wilderness Alliance |
| New West Research |
| North Coast Earth First! (Fiscal agent is the Trees Foundation) |
| Northern Rockies Preservation Project |
| Northwest Resistance Against Genetic Engineering |
| NW Resistance Against Genetic Engineering |
| Northwoods Summer Anti-Mining Campaign |
| Northwoods Wilderness Recovery |
| Ootsa-Nechako Watershed Protection Committee (Canada) |
| Oregon Forest Research and Education Group (Project of League of Wilderness Defenders) |
| Oregon Natural Desert Association |
| Oregon Peaceworks |
| Oregon Wildlife Federation |
| Oregon Wildlife Federation (State Forest Organizing) |
| Orlo |
| Pacific Crest Biodiversity Project |
| People's Earth Network |
| Pickaxe Productions |
| Predator Conservation Alliance |
| Predator Defense Institute |
| Predator Project |
| The Polaris Institute (Canada) |
| Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy |
| Project Lokaro (Canada) fiscal sponsorship only |
| Protect Our Public Lands |
| Public Lands Without Livestock (Project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs) |
| Quiet Use Coalition |
| Rainforest Relief |
| Red Rock Forests |
| Rio Grande Forest Watch |
| Rocky Mountain Recreation Initiative |
| The Ruckus Society |
| San Bruno Mountain Watch |
| San Luis Valley Ecosystem Council |
| SCW7CWLK (Skowquiltz) Valley Forest Campaign (Canada) |
| Seeds of Peace |
| Sequatchie Valley Institute |
| Seventh Generation Fund |
| Share the Nechako |
| Shenandoah Ecosystem Defense Group |
| SINAPU |
| Sixth Street Community Center |
| Sky Island Alliance |
| Smith River Preservation Project |
| Southern Appalachian Biodiversity Project |
| Southern Plains Land Trust |
| Southern Rockies Ecosystem Project |
| Southern Rockies Forest Network (c/o Land and Water Fund of the Rockies, a.k.a. Western Resource Advocates) |
| Spirit of the Sage |
| Strategy Education Project |
| Superior Wilderness Action Network |
| Tahoe Forest Issues Group |
| Target Earth NW |
| Treesit Trainers Guild |
| Urban Wilds Project |
| Victory Gardens |
| Victory Gardens Project |
| Walama Restoration Project |
| Web of Life Audio |
| Western Land Exchange Project |
| Wetlands Action Network |
| Wild Alabama |
| Wild Earth - Resisting Ecocide |
| Wild Farm Alliance (Project of the Tides Center) |
| Wild Rockies Earth First! |
| Wild Wilderness |
| Wildlands Center for Preventing Roads |
| Wildlife Damage Review |
| Wolf & the Habitat Web |
| Yelapa Solarization Project (Mexico) (fiscal sponsorship only) |
| The Xerces Society |
Foundations listed on ActivistCash.com may provide funding to a wider variety of nonprofit groups than those profiled here.
This website focuses on activist groups that concentrate on food- and beverage-related issues.
