Funding Proposal for the
Environmental Conservation Organization (ECO)
P.O. Box 191, Hollow Rock, TN 38342
This proposal seeks to fund three projects:
1. Internet expansion: $53,600
2. FAADS Database: $26,500
3. Rapid Radio Response expansion: $10,200
Total $90,300
Internet expansion:
<Freedom.org> is a project of ECO, conceived to provide communications capabilities to the
grassroots property-rights community, similar to the capabilities provided to environmental
organizations through the Institute for Global Communications (IGC) and the Association for
Progressive Communications (APC). IGC-APC, funded primarily by the Tides Foundation,
began providing Internet connectivity to environmental NGOs in the mid 1980s, and is largely
responsible for the increased effectiveness of those groups in the last decade. This project will
expand the capability of <freedom.org> to provide the same kind of connectivity to more than
200 selected organizations that offer policy alternatives to traditional environmental NGOs.
<Freedom.org> is an Internet Provider, currently hosting web sites for ECO; Sovereignty
International; Freedom Week; Environmental Perspectives, Inc.; the Property Rights Congress;
and Pennsylvania Landowners Association. During its seven months of operation,
freedom.org> has maintained an average of nearly 100,000 "hits" per month, disseminating
more than 3,677MB of data to 38,487 clients in 64 countries. This proposal seeks to expand
the hardware and band width capacity to provide more than 200 organizations with
communications services that are not currently available.
Specifically, we will upgrade the band width capacity from ISDN to T-1, which will provide 256
IP addresses. We will convert our internal network to fiber optics, which will increase transfer
speed and further secure the system from potential threats. Each IP address will "connect" an
organization to the network. Each organization will have its own web site with public access
similar to that provided by any commercial Internet Provider. <Freedom.org>, however, will
provide additional communication services that are not currently available from commercial
providers.
Each site (or organization) may have a secure, encrypted communications capability. This
capability can be used for private communications with chapters, or officers within the
organization, as well as within the network. Each site may have access to the <freedom.org>
master library. Any participating organization may communicate privately with any or all of the
other organizations within the network. This is the specific capability provided by IGC-APC
which has allowed the development of policy agendas and the simultaneous promotion of events
and issues that has been used so effectively in preparation for UN conferences, and domestic
events. <Freedom.org> will be able to provide this same communications service to
organizations within the network.
The cost of this project is $53,600.
FAADS Database:
The Federal Assistance Awards Data System (FAADS) is the system through which each federal
agency reports to the General Accounting Office, the amount of money paid to non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). The data is public information, but is available only in a format readable
by customized software on "main-frame" computers used by the government. Data between
1989 and 1996 is available only on magnetic tape. Since 1996, data has been forwarded to the
GAO in a different format. This project seeks to acquire the available data, translate the data,
and develop a searchable database.
When completed, any Internet user will be able to enter the name of any NGO and discover each
grant that was made to the NGO by any federal agency.
The purpose of this project is to provide a basis for generating public outrage at the amount of
tax dollars being spent to empower NGOs to promote the federal policy agenda. Archived data
must be purchased from the government, translated, and then incorporated into a database that is
usable by the general public. This effort is extremely labor intensive during the initial process.
Thereafter, the acquisition, translation, and integration into the database will be essentially
automatic, providing an ongoing resource that is currently not available. This project will require
several months to complete.
The cost of this project is $26,500.
Rapid Radio Response expansion:
Rapid Radio Response (RRR) is a project of ECO initiated in August, 1998, to provide audio
clips (sound bites) by e-mail to approximately 3000 radio stations. The development phase of
this project has revealed additional opportunities to provide longer time segments through new
compression techniques, and higher audio quality through emerging technology. Both of these
enhancements require more sophisticated hardware than we are presently using. Moreover,
additional storage capacity is needed to file and organize audio files for future retrieval.
This project allows us to interview virtually anyone by phone, incorporate excerpts from the
interview into a "news report" which can be forwarded immediately by e-mail to our
participating radio networks. Audio files become quite large, and compression is essential for
transmission. Therefore, specialized equipment is necessary to maximize the effectiveness of
this unique capability.
The cost of this project is $10,200
The total funding request for ECO is $90,300 to implement these three projects. Most of the
expenditure will be for one-time equipment purchases that will upgrade our capabilities for the
long-term future. None of the request is for staff expansion or support of existing operations.
These new capabilities will provide invaluable resources to the entire community of
organizations that support the policy objectives of the Environmental Conservation Organization.
Respectfully submitted,
Henry Lamb,
Executive Vice President.