Basic Organization Information
The Language Conservancy
- Also Known As:
-
The Language Conservancy
- Physical Address:
-
Bloomington, IN
47404
- EIN:
-
20-3840826
- Web URL:
-
www.languageconserva...
- NTEE Category:
-
R Civil Rights, Social Action, Advocacy
-
R01 Alliance/Advocacy Organizations
-
A Arts, Culture, and Humanities
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A23 Cultural, Ethnic Awareness
-
B Educational Institutions
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B02 Management & Technical Assistance
- Year Founded:
-
2005
- Ruling Year:
-
2009
- How This Organization Is Funded:
-
Lakota Language Consortium - $5,000
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Mission Statement
The Language Conservancy believes that all
languages have an inherent right to exist - that they are irreplaceable
embodiments of a people’s culture, subtle records of histories and ethical
systems specific to their place. All humanity is enriched by awareness of the world’s linguistic
heritage.
Our Mission
We are dedicated to rescuing the world’s endangered
languages, restoring them to vital use, and safeguarding them for future
generations. The Language Conservancy helps prevent the extinction of languages
by 1) raising funds for research, 2) increasing the international public
awareness of the social and personal consequences of indigenous language loss,
and 3) providing technical support to organizations and communities engaged in
revitalizing their languages.
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Impact Statement
Indigenous languages have been the early victims
of historical pressures whose effects are only now starting to be fully
realized in retrospect. Given current trends, an estimated 90% of the
world’s 6000 languages will become extinct or near-extinct in the next 100
years. In the United States alone, perhaps only a dozen Native American
languages of the original 400-500 have a chance of surviving beyond the next
thirty years – a single generation holds the future of Navaho, Lakota, Ojibway
and others in their hands. Government aid for this problem has been
severely limited and the few grant-making private foundations working on
language revitalization are strained by the demand. There are very few
organizations working to rescue the world’s endangered languages. The Language
Conservancy is uniquely positioned to become a vital player in this cultural
preservation movement.
Revenue and Expenses
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Financial Statements
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Chief Executive
Wilhelm Meya
Term:
Since
2004
Chief Executive Profile:
CEO/Executive Director Statement:
Officers for Fiscal Year
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Highest Paid Employees & Their Compensation
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Program:
"Rising Voices" Documentary
- Budget:
-
$600,000
- Category:
-
Civil Rights, Social Action & Advocacy
- Population Served:
-
Native Americans/American Indians
-
Adults
Program Description:
Rising Voices is a documentary Film that exposes the social consequences of Native American language loss and rescue, focusing on the passion of youth taking creative control of their destinies by speaking their heritage languages. Rising Voices will be accessible to a broad audience through television
broadcast and grassroots media sharing online.
Program Long-Term Success:
Rising Voices is intended for a broad public television and Internet audience interested in a shared national history – that of Native American tribes, which have rarely been explored in a context of revival and emerging postmodern relevance. Regional public television stations will have the opportunity to expand the centerpiece 90-minute film on Lakota with a 15-30-minute short film by a Native filmmaker from the local region, which looks at the language history of a tribe from that station’s broadcast area.
Program Short-Term Success:
Rising Voices exposes the social consequences of Native American language loss and rescue, focusing on the passion of youth taking creative control of their destinies by speaking their heritage languages. Rising Voices will be accessible to a broad audience through television broadcast and grassroots media sharing online.
Program Success Monitored by:
The overall Rising Voices project reaches far beyond public television broadcast of a documentary film, to become a national curriculum on Native American languages, created by Natives themselves through grassroots use of mobile technology and localized youth initiatives.
A web portal will showcase images, stories, and short films produced by Native people
themselves, for distribution through the Internet and social media. By agreement with the
makers, this material can be incorporated into the 15-minute short, professionally-produced films about a selected tribe’s unique language challenges. Interns for the 15-minute shorts will be identified and selected from contributors to the web portal. Media-making workshops for use of
mobile technology and editing programs will encourage grassroots storytelling, and will be held on reservations and in cities with significant Native populations, with the express purpose of building content for the web portal and identifying interns.
Program Success Examples:
Five Native American filmmakers will create the 15-30-minute short films on regional Native languages local to the broadcasting station. This component of the overall project, plus the 90- minute Lakota film, provides abundant opportunities for internships and mentoring novice Native filmmakers of all ages.
Program:
Grantmaking
- Budget:
-
$150,000
- Category:
-
- Population Served:
-
Ethnic/Racial Minorities -- General
Program Description:
Grants of $1,000 to $5,000 to linguistic researchers or grassroots education and advocacy programs.
Program Long-Term Success:
Program Short-Term Success:
Program Success Monitored by:
Program Success Examples:
Program:
Fundraising
- Budget:
-
$150,000
- Category:
-
- Population Served:
-
Ethnic/Racial Minorities -- General
Program Description:
Soliciting funds from private foundations, government agencies, and individuals to build the endowment for making grants.
Program Long-Term Success:
Program Short-Term Success:
Program Success Monitored by:
Program Success Examples:
Funding Needs
R&D, Production, Post-Production, Completion and Publicity funding for Rising Voices documentary film and web portal project.
Request for In-Kind Contributions
Web site design for Rising Voices documentary film and Web portal project.