EMF works with established Donor Advisors, Donor Advised Funds, community foundations and socially conscious investment professionals to offer opportunities to participate in supporting issues of importance through media production, distribution, and public education and outreach. Due to confidentiality constraints the entire portfolio of media opportunities available is not shown on our Projects Page. 

DONOR & INVESTOR ADVISORY SERVICES:  See Diagram of Services

Advisory Services are available to individuals, nonprofit and for profit organizations, foundations, corporations, investment bankers, other donor advisors and DAF managers seeking guidance about how to use film and media to maximize their impact on important environmental, health and social justice issues. 

EMF's services include:

• Philanthropic Giving: Developing customized giving plans to suit donor / foundation goals and financial planning needs.
• Investments:  Developing investment and asset allocation plans to suit investor goals and financial planning needs.
• Corporate Sponsorship:  Identifying marketing and branding opportunities that support EMF sponsored media projects.
• Leveraged and collaborative financing and distribution strategies to maximize the impact and outcomes of giving. 
• Professional due diligence on a project by project basis. 
• Real time overview of the media industry that can help donors and investors choose the most effective methods to achieve their philanthropic and public benefit goals.

DONOR ADVISED FUNDS:

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) have been part of charity giving for nearly a century and have been a staple of community foundations. EMF now offers DAFs to individuals who are interested in maximizing their choices and impact on environmental issues through media and film.

DAFs are typically arrangements by which a charitable organization like EMF establishes a separate fund or account to receive contributions from a donor. Contributions to a DAF are treated as contributions to the public charity, providing donors with certain advantages over private foundations. At the time funds are donated, the donor receives a tax deduction for their contribution. The funds are them, over time, granted to various EMF projects or other charitable organizations. The funds contributed or any other accrued benefits cannot revert back to the donor under any circumstances.

Please Contact Us to receive a copy of our Donor Advised Fund Agreement and to answer any questions you might have. We advise you to consult your own private tax specialist to determine if an EMF Donor Advised Fund is appropriate for your financial planning needs.   

BENEFITS:  EMF has been instrumental in securing financing and developing comprehensive outreach plans for educational media projects about important environmental, health and social justice issues. 

Of the large number of proposals submitted to EMF annually, we choose only a select few to recommend for support. Typically these projects exhibit a unique combination of artistic talent, professional skill and management capabilities by the producers, and have widespread distribution and public education potential. Vital components also include collaborative outreach campaigns and cost effective methods of achieving their goals. 

METHODOLOGY:  EMF vets projects prior to submission to donors to insure that proposals best suit the funder's priorities. We are results oriented.

• We seek opportunities where funding produces the greatest tangible benefits,
• We select only those projects that meet the highest professional standards,
• We help project participants and stakeholders leverage expertise and assets,
• We institute professional cost controls and project oversight,
• We stress collaborative project models,
• We work to insure that to the greatest extent possible outreach partners, distribution agreements (theatrical, television, cable, government, Internet, community, educational and grassroots) and re-purposing arrangements, including educational programming and media-based teaching tools for schools, are in place before financial commitments are made, and
• We actively seek out and support projects that (a) further our understanding of the complexity and interrelated nature of environmental, health and social issues, (b) communicate information in an unbiased, carefully weighed and thoroughly scientific manner, (c) reach the widest possible audience and are transferable to the greatest number of alternative distribution formats including digital, Internet and interactive technologies, (d) include diverse, under-served and independent voices that might otherwise go unheard, and (e) can have immediate impacts on personal choices, public policy, cultural norms and consumer behavior.

RECOGNITION FOR OUR WORK: In 2004 Environmental Media Fund’s charitable work was recognized by the noted law firm of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati which handles all of EMF’s legal services on a pro bono basis.  Projects developed and funding by EMF donors have won Emmy Awards, National Telly Awards, and numerous film festival honors.