July/August 2025

Newsletter

Half a Million Dollars for 10 Planet-Saving Ideas

Our planet urgently needs to mitigate climate change by 2030 to avoid irreversible negative impacts. Global native forest restoration could deliver up to one-third of the natural carbon capture we need. And Terraformation is a Hawaii-based organization that is building a pipeline of future reforestation projects across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia to help answer this clarion call.

https://tinyurl.com/Keeling-Curve-Prize

Terraformation is just one of 10 organizations recognized by the Global Warming Mitigation Project (GWMP) as winners of the 2025 Keeling Curve Prize (KCP). The Keeling Curve Prize — overseen by GWMP, a Brooklyn Story Lab partner — supports organizations developing practical, scalable answers to the climate crisis.

This year, the 10 winning organizations were announced by Jacquelyn Francis, Founder and Executive Director of GWMP, at the TED Countdown Summit main stage in Nairobi, Kenya, awarding $50,000 to each project to help expand their impact in the fight against climate change.

Learn more about the 10 winning organizations — and GWMP — here.

How IS GWMP Decarbonizing the Planet?

Bringing Order to the ‘Wild West’ Ocean

Travel 200 miles from any country’s shoreline and you enter the “High Seas,” the UN’s designation for international waters. The High Seas might as well be the Wild West, as there are few laws that govern this territory, which covers 43% of Earth’s surface (the ocean itself covers 71%).

That chaotic lack of law jeopardizes the future health of the ocean, including the Blue Economy: the food that 3 billion people globally count on, and the economic opportunities on which 11% of the planet depends.

The third UN Ocean Conference — which convened last month in Nice, France — addressed the issues top of mind related to governing and protecting the ocean. And Brooklyn Story Lab was there, with its partner Blue Planet Alliance.

Among other events, we helped produce “Together, We Rise,” with UN DESA (the Department of Economic and Social Affairs), an evening recognizing the leadership of two ocean champions: Surangel Whipps, Jr., the President of the Republic of Palau, and Peter Thomson, the UN S-G’s Special Envoy for the Ocean.

Read more here about our experience in Nice, and how Blue Planet Alliance was a ubiquitous presence in France.

Learn More About the UN High Seas Treaty and UNOC

Elephant Mothers

Elephants are a matriarchal species.

This year, World Elephant Day (August 12) is honoring both the matriarch elephants AND the women conservation leaders and rangers in communities in Africa and Asia who are working to protect them.

Check out this video with more info about #WorldElephantDay — narrated by Daryl Hannah and with music courtesy of Peter Gabriel.

The mission of World Elephant Day (BSL founder Lance Gould is on the Board of this nonprofit) is to bring awareness to the continuing plight of endangered African and Asian elephants. Elephants are climate change mitigators, and a keystone species that help ecosystems thrive. Protecting them is protecting the planet.

Donate to World Elephant Day

EXCLUSIVE OFFER FOR BROOKLYN STORY LAB READERS

Expert Fundraising Offer for BSL Readers

Fundraising is expensive. Yes, it takes money to make money, and hiring a consultant can be hugely impactful, but doing so can also be costly.

For startups or small nonprofits already reeling from the shock and awe of recent political events, that can create a barrier to entry that has existential implications.

Our strategic partners at boutique fundraising firm Hudson Ferris have come up with a dynamic solution: a new platform called Margaret, which democratizes the fundraising experience at an affordable price point (hundreds a month as opposed to thousands). Membership offers unlimited fundraising questions from experts in the field via the platform.

Margaret already includes partners such as Civic Hall (which has 62,000 members), fundraising CMS platform Arreva, and donor-research tool DonorAtlas, the latter two of which have integrated Margaret into their platforms.

To learn more about Margaret — and a special introductory package for the Brooklyn Story Lab community — visit here.

Take a Video Tour of Margaret

July/August Calendar

Though the new Administration has banned references to many, there are social-awareness days or tentpole events every month that can help organizations like yours connect to a larger, purpose-driven audience. By creating content connected to these key dates, you have the potential to create viral experiences. Here are the global dates that stand out to us in July and August.

6/30-7/3: Green Climate Fund Board Meeting (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea)

6/30-7/3: International Business Forum (Seville, Spain)

6/30-7/4: SDG Investment Fair (Seville, Spain)

7/6-7/7: BRICS Summit (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

7/7-7/11: Montreal Protocol, 47th Meeting (Bangkok, Thailand)

7/7-7/25: International Seabed Authority Assembly (Kingston, Jamaica)

7/8-7/11: AI for Good Global Summit (Geneva, Switzerland)

7/11: World Population Day

7/12: International Day of South-South Cooperation 2024

7/12: International Malala Day

7/14-7/23: UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (New York, U.S.)

7/17: Day of International Criminal Justice

7/18: Nelson Mandela International Day

7/27-7/29: UN Food Systems Summit Stocktake (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

7/29: International Tiger Day

7/31: World Ranger Day

8/5-8/8: UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (Awaza, Turkmenistan)

8/9: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

8/10: World Lion Day

8/12: International Youth Day

8/12: World Elephant Day

8/19: World Humanitarian Day

8/20: World World Mosquito Day Day

8/23: International Day for Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition

8/24-8/28: World Water Week (Stockholm, Sweden)

8/26: Women’s Equality Day

8/27: World Lake Day

8/29: International Day Against Nuclear Tests

Ask us how to create noteworthy content that connects with these dates for your purpose-driven organization or brand — or how to get more attention for your social media, digital media, or feature stories.

Let’s Tell Your Story

Brooklyn Story Lab is a globally focused media consultancy that creates content solutions for purpose-driven organizations, with a particular focus on their social good commitments. Our work is aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals — a blueprint for making sure no one on the planet is left behind.

If you would like your purpose-driven project to reach new audiences and deliver more impact, we’d love to help you tell the story through our Content Solutions:

Articles and Impact Stories
Brand Strategy
Campaign Ideation and Execution
Content Strategy and Storytelling
Fundraising Collateral and Strategy
Newsletters
Op-Eds and Thought Leadership
Podcasts: Audio and Video
Seminars, Panels, and Moderated Events
Social Media Campaigns and Events
Storytelling Workshops
Strategic Partnerships
Video: Longform and Short
Web Design and Development

Please send us more information about your project so we can help you get started. Fill out our contact form here, or email info@brooklynstorylab.net.

Get in Touch