Why Colcom Foundation Focuses on Overpopulation as an Environmental Issue

Environmental organizations typically concentrate on specific symptoms of ecological decline: habitat loss, species extinction, water quality, carbon emissions. Colcom Foundation takes a step back to examine a root cause that many in mainstream conservation circles have been reluctant to name overpopulation. The Pittsburgh-based foundation was built around this premise by its founder, Cordelia S. May.

The Founding Vision

Mrs. May recognized the ecological implications of population growth when she was still a young woman. By 1952, at age 23, she was already contributing to family planning causes not as a demographic policy matter, but as an act of environmental stewardship. She saw that the incremental nature of population growth made it easy to ignore, even as its cumulative effects built toward a potential ecological crisis.

The consequences she worried about aquatic and terrestrial habitat destruction, pollution, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem collapse now appear with regularity in environmental coverage. Yet, as Colcom Foundation notes, the broader culture rarely identifies overpopulation as the underlying driver. Mrs. May was working to close that gap decades before it became a recognized problem.

A Living Legacy

Colcom Foundation was incorporated in 1996, when Mrs. May was 68. It was substantially funded after her death in 2005. The organization’s primary mission is to foster a sustainable environment that protects quality of life for all Americans, specifically by addressing the causes and consequences of overpopulation and its adverse effects on natural resources. Colcom Foundation supports several special programs, including the Conservation Catalyst Fund, which grants conservation organizations working to protect threatened species and habitats. By offering financial support and resources, this foundation allows these groups to make significant strides in conservation efforts.

Colcom Foundation also pursues regional conservation, environmental, and cultural asset projects throughout western Pennsylvania. The entire grantmaking program is designed as an expression of Mrs. May’s humanitarian values and the lifelong conviction that shaped her philanthropy. Refer to this article for additional information.

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