Mission and History

The Slate Foundation is a nonpartisan nonprofit focused on providing impoverished, rural communities in East Africa the education and fundamental resources necessary to create sustainable eco-friendly development that protects the environment and surrounding wildlife. The Slate Foundation has been a registered 501(c)3 since 2005.

The Slate Foundation was founded by Bill and Madison Slate in 2005. Bill and Madison were commissioned to film a documentary about the gorillas of Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), only to find, upon their arrival, that there were no gorillas. After asking around the village, they discovered that most of the gorillas had been trapped and killed by women in the surrounding villages to feed their families or sell at the local market. Bill and Madison were devastated by the annihilation of the gorillas, but they were equally devastated that it was poverty and hunger that drove these women to resort to killing the gorillas. Bill and Madison wanted to figure out a way to help both the community and the gorillas; and they came up with their first project, chicken and rabbit farms. At first the program provided 5 women with a couple of chickens and rabbits and a pen to house them. As the animals began to reproduce, the women were able to sell the offspring and the chicken eggs at market. The program quickly grew to feed and generate income for over 500 women, reducing their need to kill gorillas. After the success of their first project, Bill and Madison decided to create The Slate Foundation with the underlying belief that one can help both humans and animals simultaneously. They have been turning that belief into a reality ever since.

Our Philosophy and Approach

The Slate Foundation takes a holistic approach to aid work. We believe that the world is interconnected; that you cannot truly address the needs of one ecosystem without addressing the needs of the others. Originally, The Slate Foundations? mission was to preserve endangered wildlife in East and Central Africa. We quickly realized that environmental destruction and poaching is not only caused by ignorance and greed, but also from the basic need to survive.

We realized that you cannot change the circumstances of the wildlife without changing the circumstances of people. Consequently, the mission of the organization shifted from animal preservation to eco-friendly community development.

Our philosophy is that we can equip people with the knowledge and tools they need to enhance their quality of life through environmentally conscious practices that decrease the incentive or need to poach. We believe that it is essential that our programs are derived from and driven by community participation and interests; that the local communities must participate in the development of programs that are relevant and beneficial to their lives. Community participation will also foster community ownership of the programs and promote development that is sustainable and not reliant on The Slate Foundation. Consistent with our philosophy, we prioritize hiring and training local staff to ensure that the skills and knowledge we provide will permeate the community and be passed on to future generations.

The Slate Foundations? philosophy utilizes two different approaches to influence behavior: education and incentives.

Education: In a complex world, it is very difficult to fully understand the consequences of your actions. Education helps people understand the costs and benefits of their actions, especially when the costs and benefits are neither immediate nor obvious. By explaining to students how their actions impact the environment and wildlife, students will have a better understanding of the true costs and benefits of their actions. Similarly, by informing students of the benefits of education, students are more likely to understand its value and actively pursue educational advancement.

Incentives: Incentives play an important role in how people make decisions. Some people may poach for pleasure or ritual, but others may simply poach for survival. Strong incentives to poach, such as hunger or poverty, can lead a poor mother to hunt an endangered animal. However, by changing peoples? incentives you can influence their behavior. By introducing alternative means of producing income and food, the Slate Foundation makes it easier for families to make more environmentally and wildlife friendly choices.