Colcom Foundation Honors a Legacy of Early Environmental Advocacy

Being early to an idea is not always comfortable. Cordelia S. May, the founder of Colcom Foundation, began advocating for family planning in 1952, decades before population and environment were widely discussed together. She was twenty three at the time, and her concern stemmed from watching the natural balance of the planet come under growing pressure.

Comparisons to Other Misunderstood Reformers

Colcom Foundation has drawn a direct line between May and other reformers who faced skepticism in their own time, including advocates for gender equality during the era of Susan B. Anthony and civil rights supporters during Lincoln’s presidency. The foundation suggests May’s early focus on population and ecological balance belongs to that same lineage of ideas that took years to gain acceptance.

That comparison is not incidental. Colcom Foundation uses it to explain why its grantmaking continues to prioritize causes that may not yet be widely understood, trusting that the value of the work will become clearer with time, much as it eventually did for May’s own advocacy.

A Foundation That Followed Her Death

May formally created Colcom Foundation in 1996 at age sixty eight, but the organization did not reach its full funding until after her death in 2005. That timing meant much of Colcom Foundation’s grantmaking history has unfolded posthumously, guided by the values she established rather than her direct oversight.

Today, the foundation supports conservation, environmental projects, and cultural assets within its region, describing this work as a way of honoring the humanitarian objectives, foresight, dignity, and compassion of its founder. Colcom Foundation’s mission remains centered on addressing the causes and consequences of overpopulation and its effects on natural resources. In addition to population-related issues, the Colcom Foundation also invests in projects that enhance the preservation of ecosystems and natural habitats. Colcom Foundation supports several special programs, including the Conservation Catalyst Fund, which grants conservation organizations working to protect threatened species and habitats.

The comparison to earlier reformers is one Colcom Foundation returns to often, framing May not as an outlier but as part of a longer history of people whose early convictions eventually shaped public opinion, even if recognition came only after their lifetimes had ended. Refer to this article for more information.

More about Colcom Foundation on https://waterlandlife.org/land-conservation/colcom-revolving-fund-for-local-land-trusts/

Being early to an idea is not always comfortable. Cordelia S. May, the founder of Colcom Foundation, began advocating for family planning in 1952, decades before population and environment were widely discussed together. She was twenty three at the time, and her concern stemmed from watching the natural balance of the planet come under growing…