In keeping with our mission, EII sponsors, supports and promotes activists working on diverse environmental projects. As an alternative to dozens of separate nonprofits, each duplicating basic administrative functions, EII is a consortium of more than thirty grassroots campaigns, each functioning independently while sharing resources and benefiting from the synergistic exchange of experience, ideas, and energy. In additon to serving as sponsor and adminstrator, EII also offers its projects critical organizational support, offering the benefits of working within an established organization and the freedom to focus on development and implementation of campaign initiatives rather than administrative management. Once adopted by the Earth Island Board of Directors , Projects operate autonomously under the general supervision of Network Services staff and the board. While EII administers and provides support services for its projects, it does not directly fund or subsidize these projects.
Projects manage their own fundraising efforts with foundations and the general public.
Central to the concept of Earth Island is the belief that action should take precedence over bureaucracy. EII works on new initiatives and provides a support system for on-going projects. By providing assistance in strategic planning, fundraising, public relations, database management, and accounting, the Institute offers a lean and flexible organizational structure to advance the work of its many projects. EII also publishes the acclaimed quarterly Earth Island Journal . Citizen activists and emerging environmental leaders are drawn to Earth Island as a place to implement ideas.