NESTA Donations


Everyone remembers that one special teacher that made a huge difference in their life. Please consider these seven opportunities to "give back" and help support Earth and space science teachers across the country.

There is a crisis in Earth and Space Science education today in our country. In many places, Earth and Space Science courses are being removed from the required K-12 curriculum or dropped entirely, even though this is the last place where our society can ensure that all students achieve at least a basic understanding of the Earth system. There are more teachers teaching Earth science without significant disciplinary training than for any other science. Teachers are in dire need of support - to gain access to quality professional development as well as exemplary instructional materials for students. NESTA is working to help Earth and Space Science teachers across the country by providing access to professional development opportunities and exemplary educational resources through our programs at conferences and through our website at http://www.nestanet.org, by advocating for Earth and Space Science education at the national level, by working with our partner organizations, and community building at the national and state levels. Through these programs, NESTA reaches thousands of Earth and Space Science educators across the country each year.

As a volunteer run tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, NESTA works hard to keep its costs down, and NESTA leadership generously donates their time to the organization. Even so, there are always costs associated with our activities, whether it be for publication of our quarterly journal, The Earth Scientist (TES), or for our Friends of Earth Science Reception at the National NSTA conference. NESTA's membership fee is very low - only $20 per year for a membership including a print copy of TES (and $10/yr for online access to the journal), and our last dues increase was in 2004. In these difficult times, we are working hard to avoid another dues increase for our members.

Won't you please help NESTA help Earth and Space Science teachers across the country with a generous donation in support of our activities?

We offer a number of options for support of NESTA, and thank you in advance for your generosity! Donations of $50 or more include the option for an honorary 1-year membership in NESTA for the donor, and their choice of a print or online copy of The Earth Scientist.

  • General support for NESTA's activities - to be used at the discretion of NESTA.This critical unrestricted support, which we can use where NESTA needs help most, can cover all needs, including those identified below, as well as costs for other NESTA expenses such as copying and printing, conference calls of the Executive committee and Board, meeting travel, new member packets, and mailing costs.
  • Development of a fund to support NESTA teacher members to attend Earth and Space Science associated professional development or field conferences, with the requirement that recipients contribute to back to NESTA in some way, through an article, presentation, or other service. This support will be offered through a need-based application process once the fund reaches $5000.
  • Support for classroom materials grants for NESTA teacher members for Earth and Space Science educational resources and classroom tools. This support will be offered through a need-based application process once the fund reaches $5000.
  • Support for publication and mailing costs associated with NESTA's journal, The Earth Scientist.
  • Support for NESTA E-memberships for newly graduating Earth science teachers. Each E-membership costs $10/year, and your donation of $50 could provide 5 new teachers with membership in NESTA! As a special bonus, donors sponsoring membership of five or more new Earth Science teachers will have the option to receive an honorary 1-year membership in NESTA, and their choice of a print or online copy of The Earth Scientist.
  • Support for NESTA's events at the NSTA National meeting, this coming year, in Philadelphia. Each year, net costs associated with this meeting, where NESTA typically offers 14 events, come to ~$5000 annually, after taking into account income from our Rock and Mineral Raffle, and sales of tickets for our Field Trip and NESTA Breakfasts. See http://www.nestanet.org/cms/content/conferences for a partial list of the events we offer at the NSTA National conference. Your generous donation will help us cover these costs, and avoid raising membership dues.
  • Support for the transition of state-based Earth science teacher associations (ESTA's) to adopt the new NESTA website toolkit.

We offer two ways of making a donation to NESTA - through our online payment system or with a check. To donate with a check, please download this form, fill it in, and send it along with your check to the address indicated. Please note that a small fee of 1.9-2.9% is deducted from online payments by Paypal.