[CPEO-MEF] CPEO: A Decade of Success

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@cpeo.org>]

CPEO: A DECADE OF SUCCESS

As we enter into our 10th year CPEO is launching an active campaign to 
attract individual donations to sustain and enhance our core services. We 
believe our capabilities, reputation, and influence are stronger than ever, 
but the institutional grants upon which we have historically relied tend to 
emphasize new projects rather than the activities for which people depend 
upon our organization--succinct and timely analyses of policy developments, 
encouraging open and inclusive discussion on our listserves, and helping 
communities in the field.  Please consider making a tax-deductible 
contribution to help us continue to make a difference.

A Bit of History

Ten years ago, a group of people at San Francisco State University formed 
CAREER/PRO in response to a series of military base closures in northern 
California. Now known as the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, we 
continue to address base closures and many other issues as a project of the 
Tides Center. We are currently based in Washington, DC, but our work takes 
us across the United States, from the Puerto Rican island of Vieques to 
rural Alaska.

No other organization of comparable size has the expertise and addresses 
topics with the range and depth of CPEO.  We have been at the forefront of 
the debate on unexploded ordnance policy and cleanup, perchlorate 
contamination, encroachment, and public participation in federal facility 
cleanups, often identifying areas of concern long before they become public 
issues.  We work to find or craft common sense solutions that benefit all 
parties

Our natural constituency is made up of the people who live, work, study, 
and recreate on or near federal facilities, former military bases, and 
other contaminated sites. However, we have developed and maintained 
constructive working relationships with every other stakeholder group 
involved in our issues, including the military, the private sector, and 
other federal, state, tribal, and local agencies. Our Military 
Environmental Forum listserve is widely viewed as one of the best fast, 
credible, and comprehensive sources of information on military 
environmental issues as well as a forum where divergent stakeholders feel 
comfortable expressing their views.

Over the years we have established long-term relationships with communities 
and citizens all across the country.  Often times it begins with a simple 
request for advice or to review a document and provide an analysis.  We 
believe we have a responsibility to provide our constituency with the very 
best service, information, and analyses possible.  This is a responsibility 
we take very seriously and one we hope we never have to abandon.

The Future

We have never charged--and don't plan to--for our work with communities and 
the services we provide to the general public through our listserves, our 
newsletters, and reports.  We believe that citizens need a resource that 
they can use, free of charge, to help them navigate the complex issues 
surrounding the cleanup of military installations, other federal 
facilities, and Brownfields, as well as other military environmental issues 
such as encroachment.  Over the years we've relied primarily upon grants to 
support our activities.

Looking forward, however, we have concluded that we need other sources of 
funding to maintain the continuity and flexibility of our basic operations. 
That is, we are able to obtain grant funding for a range of specific 
projects, but our two listserves and our ongoing work and activities with 
communities require a basic stream of support. We believe, therefore, that 
the best way to sustain our program is to seek and receive tax-deductible 
contributions from the people who use our services.

This solicitation is the start of a multi-faceted direct fund-raising drive 
for CPEO. If you value our work, please consider donating online by 
clicking on:  www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2086-0|721-0 or by 
writing a check, payable to CPEO, and mailing it to CPEO, 1101 Connecticut 
Ave, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036.

Thank you in advance for your generous support.  Your contribution will go 
a long way towards ensuring that CPEO can continue to provide citizens and 
communities with a vital resource as they work to protect the environmental 
health and safety of their neighborhoods and communities.



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Aimee R. Houghton
Associate Director, CPEO
1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1000
Washington, DC  20036
tel: 202-452-8039; fax: 202-452-8095
Email: aimeeh@cpeo.org
www.cpeo.org
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CPEO: A DECADE OF SUCCESS.  Your generous support will ensure that our important work on military and environmental issues will continue.  Please consider one of our donation options.  Thank you.
www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2086-0|721-0