Reclaiming the Commons

Founded in 1951, the Nature Conservancy works in all 50 states and more than 30 countries. To date, the group has protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of river around the world. It also operates more than 100 marine conservation projects in 21 countries and 22 US states. Read more about Nature Conservancy...

Founded three decades ago, the Media Access Project's early work implementing the FCC's fairness doctrine helped open TV networks to anti-war and civil rights activists. Today, the group works to promote common access to emerging technologies, such as broadband and low-power FM radio. Read more about Media Access Project...

Knowledge Ecology International (KEI) is a nonprofit working to improve the management of knowledge resources.  Its programs are particularly focused on achieving social justice for vulnerable populations. Read more about Knowledge Ecology International...

Established in 1977 by noted author Jeremy Rifkin, the Foundation on Economic Trends examines the economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts of new technologies introduced into the global economy. Over the years, the group has been a participant in many efforts to limit the patentability of life forms and preserve the common gene pool (human genome) from becoming privately owned. Read more about Foundation on Economic Trends...

Founded by media activist Jeff Chester in 2001, the Center for Digital Democracy aims to enhance public understanding of digital media, develop media activists, encourage nonprofit participation in media, and promote the development of a new online "commons," in which the public will have access to a variety of noncommercial sources of information and service. Read more about Center for Digital Democracy...

Founded in 1990, Bioneers hosts an annual gathering of scientific and social innovators who have demonstrated visionary and practical models for restoring the Earth and communities, as well as conducting programs in the conservation of biological and cultural diversity, traditional farming practices, and environmental restoration. Bioneers seeks to unite nature with culture and create economic models founded in social justice. Read more about Bioneers...

Founded in 1976, the Alliance represents over 1,000 public, educational and governmental access organizations and community media centers that broadcast over cable systems throughout the United States. The group works to protect community media centers and advance policies that will aid their transition to digital communications and other advanced technologies. Read more about Alliance for Community Media...

WorldChanging.com, begun in 2003, is a web-based discussion forum platform of social change activists. The site works from a simple premise: that the tools, models and ideas for building a better future lie all around us and plenty of people are working on tools for change, but the fields in which they work remain unconnected. The group pays special attention to tools, ideas and models that may have been overlooked in the mass media and aims to show ways in which seemingly unconnected resources link together to form a toolkit for changing the world. Read more about WorldChanging.Com...

The PSF was created in 1854, through a $2,000,000 appropriation by the Texas legislature for the benefit of the public schools of Texas. The State Constitution of 1876 stipulated that certain lands and all proceeds from the sale of these lands should also constitute the PSF. The proceeds from the sale and the mineral-related rental of these lands including, bonuses, delay rentals and royalty payments, become the corpus of the Fund, providing a permanent source of funding to support public schools. Today, the value of the fund is approximately $5.5 billion. Read more about Texas Permanent School Fund...