The independent private foundation will provide grants, provide educational programs and support the work of its grantees
Vermont Business Magazine Margo Baldwin, President and Editor of Chelsea Green Publishing, has announced the creation of the Chelsea Green Foundation, an independent private foundation that will carry on the company’s legacy and mission, supporting and expanding its educational work in the United States and United Kingdom. The foundation will be based in Lebanon, New Hampshire and will operate as a not-for-profit foundation under NH law.
Founded in 1984 by Margo and Ian Baldwin, Chelsea Green Publishing is the leading publisher of books on sustainable living policy and practice. For nearly 40 years, it has published authors who provide both inspirational and in-depth, practical knowledge about organic and regenerative farming and horticulture, ecology and the environment, healthy eating, local economies and community resilience, systems thinking and integrative health and wellness.
The foundation, like Chelsea Green Publishing, will work at the intersection of ideas and practices of people and organizations at the forefront of change. The new foundation will provide scholarships to individuals and organizations, offer in-person and online educational programs, and directly support the work of its grantees on both sides of the Atlantic. It is Chelsea Green Publishing’s intention that the Foundation will directly and effectively support activists, artists, farmers, writers and other practitioners in challenging orthodoxy by sharing creative and critical thinking that becomes more ecological through practical knowledge of soil and food and societal resilience inspires water, health, business, energy, politics and local communities.
The newly formed foundation will be led by Margo Baldwin and will be chaired by Matthew Derr in the role of Executive Director. Derr is an accomplished university leader whose background in community organizing has long focused on critical thinking, creativity, and the human relationship with the natural world. Derr is President Emeritus of Sterling College in Vermont, where he spent nearly a decade founding the Rian Fried Center for Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems, the School for the New American Farmstead and EcoGather Online. While at Sterling, Derr worked with the Berry Center to establish the Wendell Berry Farming Program in Kentucky. In 2010, he was named Chief Executive of the Year by the Counsel of the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
Jon Rae, former head of Schumacher College in the UK, will sit on the Board of Trustees alongside Derr and Baldwin. Like Sterling, Schumacher is an ecologically oriented institution. Jon has a lifelong practice of opening and holding spaces for people and ideas to thrive within communities and the web of life. “Jon’s background in promoting environmental education, his knowledge of the world of philanthropy and his experience in university leadership prepare him to support the early development of the Chelsea Green Foundation. We’ve put together a really strong team and we’re looking forward to getting started,” said Baldwin.
“By leveraging the extensive community of practitioners who have written for Chelsea Green and that of its board members, the Foundation will have a unique place within the mosaic of non-profit organizations committed to sustainability in the United States and United Kingdom. ‘ after Derr. At its core, the foundation seeks to identify, inspire and promote practical solutions to environmental and societal problems by supporting leaders who can scale up to make a positive impact. “We are delighted that Chelsea Green Publishing is taking this important step at this critical time for society. Like the company, I believe the foundation will draw attention to new ideas and practical thinking,” said Kevin Ellis, board member of the company.
White River Junction, Vermont, September 20, 2022 – Chelsea Green Publishing | ChelseaGreen.com
