Twenty-five years ago, I became executive director of the Xerces Society, then a small organization with a tight budget. Guided by science and driven by hope, I now lead a staff of nearly 100 conservationists working to put invertebrate decline at the forefront of public discourse.

Since our founding, loyal Xerces members and donors have been the key to our success. Xerces staff work every day to put your support into action. We engage partners from all sectors of society, including land managers, farmers, gardeners, policymakers and school children. Our partners have one thing in common – a shared desire to make a better world by helping the “little things” that we depend on for clean water, pollination services, and biodiverse, healthy ecosystems. 

Thanks to you, we have had great success over the last 25 years preventing the extinction of species that you love, working to reverse insect decline, and promoting the health of pollinators and people by keeping pesticides out of our communities. Together we achieved so much:  

• Through workshops, talks, farm walks and more, we have reached millions of people with our message of invertebrate conservation. 

• We have conducted numerous studies, thousands of insect surveys, helped tens of thousands of people become community scientists, and managed incredibly large data sets – all to better understand how to conserve these important animals. 

• We have also passed important policies for invertebrates, such as language in the 2008 Farm Bill that made pollinators a “priority resource concern” for the USDA, unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars for research and conservation on farms. 

• We have protected imperiled animals, including the island marble butterfly, Salt Creek tiger beetle and the rusty patched bumble bee, by working with federal agencies to add them to the Endangered Species Act. 

• We have protected millions of acres, including pristine watersheds, from toxic insecticides and helped hundreds of cities eliminate or minimize impacts from pesticides across city parks and open spaces.  

• Working through partnerships, we have protected and restored over four million acres for insects and other invertebrates and have improved management on tens of millions of additional acres.

Your passion for our shared mission is the fuel that keeps all of us at Xerces going. That is why I am coming to you today. Whether you have supported Xerces for 25 years or are new to supporting the organization, we need your help. The issues facing invertebrates are many and serious and we need your help to continue protecting butterflies and bees, freshwater mussels and land snails, monarch butterflies and soil invertebrates, and the places they need to thrive. Please consider making a year-end, tax-deductible donation to Xerces today to fund this essential work in 2026.

Sincerely,

Scott Black, Director

P.S. Xerces is looking to you to keep this movement going. If you are able, please give a tax-deductible, year-end gift this year.