Start International Inc

“The governing body reviews the Form 990 electronically prior to filing with the IRS.”

“If an employee has any indication that he or she has a direct or indirect conflict of interest, or if an employee receives information regarding a potential conflict of interest for another, the Director of Human Resources must be notified immediately of the potential concern. Members of the Board of Directors are required to sign a statement affirming their adherence to START's policies each year at our annual in-person Board meeting.”

“The Executive Director's compensation is annually reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors.”

“START's governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are available to the public upon request.”

“In 2024, START activities included: START, in partnership with EPIC-N, led the advancement of the EPIC model in Africa and Asia. The EPIC model focuses on supporting capacity building through linking local universities with local governments to address local environmental challenges. During the reporting period, the following activities were carried out. - Africa: Supported the completion of 4 individual EPIC projects in Africa. Organized and supported logistics for four on-site trainings in The Gambia, Liberia, and Zimbabwe; organized and led the EPIC Africa-wide learning event in South Africa; convened online trainings in West Africa and South Africa, co-hosted the EPIC Africa Committee meetings and supported the committee's growth in its strategic and management role of the EPIC Africa Network; represented START and EPIC at the SRI Africa event in Nairobi, and supported relevant sessions at the SRI and at the EPIC Annual Conference, both in Chicago. - Asia: Supported the completion of 9 individual EPIC projects in Asia; provided virtual training on the EPIC model to university lecturers; hosted EPIC Asia's Annual Regional Meeting and organized the EPIC Asia Regional Workshop; represented EPIC Asia at the Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development; supported the publication of academic papers stemming from EPIC Asia projects; co-hosted sessions on EPIC at the SRI and the Belmont Forum. START led a UN Environment Program project that worked with 13 universities in Africa and South Asia to increase the flow of expertise and resources into their respective national efforts to increase resiliency. This project (UNI-LEAD) involved creating three university think-tanks (2 in Africa; 1 in South Asia) that increase university-government collaboration on resource and expertise mobilization for addressing resiliency challenges related to agriculture, cities, coastal zones, extreme events (drought, flooding), etc. The project also developed short-courses for training, to better understand how to increase mobilization for resiliency across the 13 countries. The think-tanks and the short courses were completed during this reporting period. START led a project on behalf of the UN Industrial Development Organization to support the creation of a university think-tank in Mozambique (linked to item 1 described immediately above). That think tank prioritized provincial and district level planning on resiliency related to drought, agriculture and forest systems. This project also developed a series of training modules on risks, impacts and responses in coupled human-natural systems. Global Observation of Forest Cover and Land Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD): START coordinates capacity building efforts within the GOFC-GOLD network by organizing or supporting training and learning events, providing early-career scientists with knowledge and resources for accessing and using earth observation data. START also promotes the participation of scientists from the GOFC-GOLD networks in international events providing an opportunity to learn, connect and exchange knowledge and information with a larger community of scientists. Cascading Climate Health Risks in African Cities (CASCADE): START embarked on a collaboration with several African universities and the Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre on using transdisciplinary approaches to engaging local communities in creating actionable research on climate change and health. This effort, through the CASCADE project, renews long-standing, productive relationships with African partners. START is partnering with the University of Ghana to support action research on ecosystem services in northern Ghana and southern Burkina Faso. The project (AV-STEC) is currently in its launch phase so the activities have been mostly confined to initial planning meetings. START's role in this project will be to provide capacity building related to conducting actionable research with local communities.”

“Other professional and consulting fees: Program service expenses 417,085. Management and general expenses 56,089. Fundraising expenses 0. Total expenses 473,174.”