Fund for Geo-Literacy
Photograph by Mark Thiessen, National Geographic
The Fund for Geo-Literacy supports the National Geographic Society's efforts to promote and improve geo-education across the United States and around the world. Donations to the Fund support the development and distribution of print and online materials for learners, professional development for educators, and programs to build awareness of the importance of geo-education.
What We Do
National Geographic’s Center for Geo-Education conducts a wide range of programs to improve teaching and learning in geography, the earth sciences, and the other subjects that make up a well-rounded geo-education.
- Materials development: We develop and disseminate instructional materials and learning resources for use in schools, homes, and other educational settings.
- Professional development: We create and deliver programs that help teachers and other educators extend their professional knowledge and skills.
- Messaging and community-building: We raise awareness about educational challenges and opportunities, and we recruit stakeholders to address them.
- Capacity-building: We provide financial and technical assistance in support of efforts to develop leadership and build capacity in organizations that share our mission.
Our Impact
The Center offers free resources, including interactive games, teaching materials, reference materials, maps and mapping tools, and citizen science tools through the National Geographic Education Portal at NatGeoEd.org. Each year, more than 15 million teachers, students, and parents use these resources.
Peggy Steel Clay, retired teacher, first Teacher-in-Residence at National Geographic:
"I received from the National Geographic Society an awareness that I mattered. They cared about me—and they wanted to make sure that I had all that they had, so that I could bring it back home."
Charlie Fitzpatrick, K-12 Education Manager at ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute):
"[Working at NGS]... Focusing on geography for hour after hour and days on end, I began to see patterns, relationships, and interaction where before had drifted a numbingly vast sea of details... What had begun as a pleasant little voyage of personal discovery had morphed into a mission that continues—to help people see and embrace the richness and relationships in the world around them, to be sentient decision-makers, and to understand the infinite ways in which geography matters."
Support the Fund for Geo-Literacy
National Geographic’s geo-education initiatives are supported in part by National Geographic Society membership dues and proceeds from other Society activities. However, the Center for Geo-Education also relies on donations to support our programs.
Become a partner with National Geographic and classroom teachers across the United States by supporting the Fund for Geo-Literacy. Your tax-deductible contribution supports the development and distribution of world-class teaching materials, expansion of geographic technology in classrooms, teacher professional development, and awareness. We depend on the support of people like you to make education programs possible. Your gift of $25, $45, $100, or more will give our kids and teachers the best tools and resources so that our students of today can be tomorrow's global leaders. Donate today!