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Sustainable Ebony Farming in Cameroon

$12,550
104%
Raised toward our $12,000 Goal
78 Donors
Project has ended
Project ended on December 15, at 12:00 AM PST
Project Owners

One day left!!

December 30, 2018

Hello, 

 

Today is the last day for our campaign to raise money to make the 3rd annual sustainable ebony project possible! 

 

We have 14 hours left and $825 to raise, and we need your help!

 

Please keep sharing our project with your friends and family, and on Facebook (Facebook). And check out our spark page for more information and to make any last minute donations (UCLA Spark)!

 

Thank you so much for your continued support! Wishing you a Happy New Year!

 

All the best,

Team Ebony

40% in 4 days!!!

December 27, 2018

Hello, 

 

I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season! 

 

As you may have heard, the sustainable ebony project is continuing for another year! But we need your help, we have 4 days left and have 40%  left to reach our fundraising goal. 

 

We need your support to make the third annual trip to Cameroon happen. Your donations will be going directly to travel and research costs to work with local communities to develop a sustainable and equitable method for ebony harvesting. You can donate and get more information through our spark page (UCLA Spark), or even just a facebook share really helps us get the word out (Facebook)! 

 

Thank you in advance!

 

All the best,

Team Ebony 

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The Ebony Project Continues!

December 21, 2018

Hello everyone, 

 

Through UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability Senior Practicum Projects, the sustainable ebony project will continue! But we need your support to make it happen. 

 

In 2016-2017, the students started a preliminary study to set the foundation for sustainable ebony harvesting. 

 

Last year, the students worked on gaining a better understanding of ebony's growth characteristics and the best locations to grow ebony. 

 

This year, we will be working to develop an economic model for sustainable production that is advantageous for local communities, producers and consumers. To do this project, we need to do fieldwork to better understand the state of the field and to work with local people. 

 

We need your support, we are trying to raise enough to travel to the Congo Basin and do field work for 10 days. Your donations will directly fund our airfare, meals, transportation, and research. You can directly donate through this year's spark campaign (UCLA Spark) and find more information on our facebook page (Facebook). 

 

Thank you so much in advance! We appreciate your continued support and are looking forward to going on this journey together!

 

All the best,

Team Ebony 2018-2019 

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Five more weeks to go: NAMM, perks, and more!

February 09, 2018

The perks have arrived! Taylor Guitars delivered their t-shirts and coasters to us, and you can see some of them in the photo below. We'll be working on distributing these, as well as our cards and videos, within the next couple of weeks.

 

Since our last update, Team Ebony got the chance to attend the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) show at the Anaheim Convention Center, where we got to observe the scale of the music industry and meet Bob Taylor, founder of Taylor Guitars. He was just as excited for our project as we were and provided us with tons of helpful information and advice.

 

There's only five weeks left until we go to Cameroon, and our group has been busy putting together our project proposal and taking care of pre-trip items and scheduling. However, we would like to ask you all to please keep supporting our campaign! We still need a couple thousand more to cover some unexpected travel costs, so please share our Spark page with your networks. By spreading the word, you can maximize your impact, and show your own passion for sustainability.

 

If you would like to share our posts using Facebook, here is the link to our page: https://www.facebook.com/IoESOneTreeSpecies/

 

Once again, thank you all for helping us reach $12,000 - we're amazed by all your support. Just half a quarter to go!

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It's 2018 and Team Ebony is ready to go.

January 12, 2018

Our team hopes you all had a wonderful holiday experience! We just returned to classes from winter break and we're ready to hit the ground running with research, planning our project, and talking to relevant stakeholders. We're excited to show you our progress during the next two quarters, and wanted to start by sharing a Ted Talk of our amazing faculty advisor, Dr. Kevin Njabo. Watch him talk about his work in the video here.

 

Once again, we are incredibly grateful to all of you for your donations; our team is currently working on obtaining and delivering perks. We'll continue to keep our campaign page open for anyone who didn't have a chance to donate but would still like to support us. (The extra money may come in handy if unexpected issues arise.)

 

We will be posting many more updates on our Facebook page, so please follow us there: https://www.facebook.com/IoESOneTreeSpecies/

 

Thank you for all your support, and get ready to follow us in our research!

WE DID IT!!!

December 14, 2017

With 10 hours left in our campaign, we made it to $12,000!!!

 

Our team is overjoyed, and we want to thank you with all our hearts. Because of you, we will be able to send all six of us to Cameroon for nine days to conduct field work, visit sawmills and research sites, and talk with local forest communities. Each and every one of you has contributed to our research in developing a model for sustainable ebony production.

 

Your generous support will aid the planet #onetreespecies at a time, and we can't wait to document our progress and update you on what we find. As our team finishes up finals and compiles literature reviews for our ebony-related topics, we'll be gearing up for a winter quarter filled with research, trip preparation, and hard work.

 

Please like us on Facebook to follow our progress: https://www.facebook.com/IoESOneTreeSpecies/

 

Once again, THANK YOU! We couldn't have done it without you. Stay warm and happy for the holidays!

1 day. $1,000.

December 13, 2017

This is it. Tomorrow is the last day in our campaign, and we have $1,000 left to raise.

 

With your help, we've raised $11,006 over the past month. Our team is amazed that we've made it this far, and we feel an overwhelming support from you, the donors, who helped get us here. Thank you, to all of you. Every donation brought us closer to the finish line, and now we're less than $1,000 away.

 

Please help us in our final push to close that gap. Whether it's a personal message to a relative who would be interested or a simple share on Facebook, any awareness of our campaign will help. Let your loved ones know about why you support sustainable ebony production - because in the end, it's our passion for the project that carries it forward.

 

Once again, we are so grateful for all of your help, and we hope you'll continue with us on our journey to save the planet #onetreespecies at a time.

Did you know THIS about the Congo Basin?

December 08, 2017

The Congo Basin alone provides 32% of the world's oxygen! That's about 1/3 of the air we breathe. If you live in Los Angeles like we do, the recent wildfires might have made you miss the feeling of clean, fresh air.

 

We want to send out another great "THANK YOU!" to all our donors, as we've now surpassed $9,000! We are more than 75% of the way to our goal and have less than a week left in our fundraiser. You've shown such generosity so far, and we hope you can help us for this last push in our campaign. If we keep going at the same pace, we'll reach our goal in time, but we need your support.

 

Please continue to share our campaign with your family, friends, and network. Every amount helps; we wouldn't have been able to make it this far without donors like you. Maximizing your impact by spreading our fundraiser around will not only help us raise money - it can teach others about the importance of sustainable forestry, too.

 

We appreciate all your help, and wish you luck on finals, holiday prepping, or whatever your case may be!

THANK YOU for all your #GivingTuesday donations!

November 29, 2017

A HUGE thank you to everyone who donated yesterday! By the end of the day we had raised $5,194, which is enough to take two out of six of our team to Cameroon. We are incredibly grateful for all of your support, and will continue to work hard and conduct research for sustainable ebony production.

#GivingTuesday may be over, but our campaign is still going on, so please continue to share our Spark page with your family and friends! We're almost halfway to our goal, and thanks to your donations, we are even closer to being able to make an impact on ebony forests and the people that live around them. 

Let's keep our campaign running strong so we can help our forests #OneTreeSpecies at a time!

It's #GivingTuesday; share your story supporting our campaign today!

November 28, 2017

Our team hopes you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving break! Today is #GivingTuesday; similar to post-Thanksgiving shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday brings people together to donate to their favorite charities and causes.

We encourage you to join the millions of Americans participating across the country on this day that truly embodies the spirit of giving. For those of you who've already donated, thank you so much! Want to maximize your impact even more? You can use the #MyGivingStory hashtag on social media to share your passion for our project, and why you choose to fight for sustainable ebony and the local communities that depend on it.

If you're on the UCLA Campus, stop by the Spark table at De Neve! You may get a chance to talk to some of our team members about our project. Stay tuned for more updates!

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NEW Video About Our Project Description & Goals

November 19, 2017

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to our campaign so far! We're ecstatic that we get to carry out a project with such a positive impact on Cameroon's ebony forests and the communities that surround them, and we appreciate all your support. Please continue to share our campaign with your family, friends, and coworkers! 

As Thanksgiving approaches, we hope you'll be able to spread your passion for sustainability with your loved ones. Our team gives thanks to our planet, which has supplied us with so much, and hope to give back to it through this project. 

We have added a video to our Spark website, where our team members explain more about this project and why it is so important, to both them and to our world. Please have a look and share.

We hope you have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Our way
of Thanking You

$8

Thank You *8* Clap!

Every donation counts! To thank you for helping our research team get to Cameroon, Africa, our team will send you a UCLA *8* Clap of gratitude.

3 of 100 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: December 2017

$25

Personalized Social Media Post

In return for helping us achieve our goals for this project, you will receive a shout-out on our team's Facebook page thanking you for your donation and generous support of the cause.

8 of 75 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: December 2017

$50

Personalized Thank You Video

As a thank you for donating, our team will send you a personalized video thanking you for your support.

5 of 75 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: February 2018

$100

Handwritten Thank You Card

To thank you for your donation, we will be sending you a handwritten thank you card written by one of our team members and signed by the entire research group.

9 of 75 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: February 2018

$250

Taylor Guitars Coasters

To thank you for your donation, we would like to give you Taylor sound hole coasters made from cutouts of the tops of guitars. (tax deductible donation of $238)

6 of 10 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: March 2018

$500

Taylor Guitar Shirt+Dinner

Taylor Guitar Shirt+Dinner Join us to know more about our trip in Cameroon while enjoying delicious Cameroon-inspired cuisine, and earn a Taylor Guitars t-shirt! (tax deductible donation of $468)

2 of 10 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: March 2018

$750

Tree Dedication, Dinner+Shirt

Along with giving you the $500 prizes, we will plant a tree in your honor in California, as well as dedicate an ebony tree in your name in Cameroon. Your donation will not only help us get to Cameroon, but will also assist in reforesting two parts of the world. You will receive a picture via email of your tree in both locations when planted. (tax deductible donation of $700)

1 of 10 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: March 2018

$1,000

Sustainable Partner Package

As a thanks for your donation, we will be giving you Taylor Guitar coasters, a Taylor Guitar t-shirt, a tree dedication, an invite to our end-of-year celebration, and a personalized thank you video from the research site in Cameroon. (tax deductible donation of $948)

2 of 10 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: March 2018

$3,000

Taylor Guitar + Tour

One special donor will receive a Taylor Guitar GS Mini, get a tour of the Taylor Guitars Facility, and the opportunity to meet Bob Taylor! This package also comes with a celebration invite and a personalized thank you video from the research site. (tax deductible donation of $2,480)

1 of 1 Claimed
Estimated Delivery: March 2018
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