With support from The Overbrook Foundation, researchers from Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) traversed the Amazon basin, searching for scientists and forest villagers with relevant conservation experiences. Working with scientists from CIFOR, neighboring communities collected long term data on the "invisible income" offered by forests. The results of their work attracted the attention of the Brazilian government who requested a manual on the local benefits of biodiversity for the Amazon region.

Young People For needs your help to identify emerging activists, leaders and social and political entrepreneurs in whom you think YP4 should make a long-term investment. For all students selected, YP4 will provide capacity building and financial support, access to YP4's network of over 275 Fellows and established leaders in the progressive movement. YP4 will also provide one-on-one professional development, trainings on organizing, mentorship opportunities and more, ensuring that each Fellow is prepared for a life-long role in the progressive movement. All Fellows receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C. to attend the annual Young People For Summit to kick-off their fellowship year. Please submit your nominations at the YP4 web site, click here.

Human Rights First's "End Torture Now" campaign was featured by Bob Herbert in his July 26th New York Times column. Writing about the policies of the Bush administration since September 11, particularly those relating to the military commissions at Guantánamo Bay which were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court in June, he focused on testimony presented to the Senate Armed Services Committee by Human Rights First Washington Director Elisa Massimino. In her testimony, Ms. Massimino criticized the failed military commission system: "That's not how justice is done." She urged Senators to use the existing Uniform Code of Military Justice to try war crimes suspects. Ms. Massimino's testimony and Mr. Herbert's subsequent column both reinforce Human Rights First's belief that building respect for human rights and the rule of law will help ensure the dignity to which every individual is entitled and will stem tyranny, extremism, intolerance, and violence. More information on Human Rights First's "End Torture Now" campaign is available at www.humanrightsfirst.org.

The NYCLU's Reproductive Rights Project scored a major victory when a federal jury found that the Suffolk County Police Department discriminated against female officers by denying them access to limited duty positions, such as desk jobs, during their pregnancies. RRP brought the case, Lochren v. Suffolk County, with the ACLU Women's Rights Project. NYCLU clients, six female officers who had been pregnant, were forced to choose between their pregnancies or their paychecks. All six used up their accrued sick and vacation days, and some had to go without pay - when they were still willing and able to work. The jury found the policy unlawful and awarded damages to all six plaintiffs.

WITNESS - See It, Film It, Change It:

"Dual Injustice" exposes feminicide and torture in Ciudad Juarez/Chihuahua, Mexico through the story of Neyra Cervantes who disappeared in May 2003, and her cousin David Meza, who was tortured to confess to her murder and spent 3 years in prison awaiting a verdict - Acquitted June 2006.

"A Duty to Protect" was screened and distributed to key International Criminal Court (ICC) officials in November 2005 in order to encourage the ICC to investigate and prosecute people responsible for recruiting and using child soldiers - Suspect Arrested.

"Against the Tide of History" started a campaign resulting in free access to prostheses for landmine survivors in the Casamance region of Senegal and unprecedented international donor and national government support for income-generating projects for landmine survivors - Campaign Anchored.

To help foundations play more active roles in the corporate-governance and social-responsibility issues of publicly held companies, As You Sow and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors have collaborated to publish Unlocking the Power of the Proxy: How Active Foundation Proxy Voting Can Protect Endowments and Boost Philanthropic Missions. Unlocking the Power of the Proxy walks readers through the myriad issues relating to proxy voting, from the roles played by various entities such as investment managers and public pensions to definitions of key terms and a discussion of related legal issues.