1990

Vermont Governor Madeleine M. Kunin monitors the first democratic elections in Bulgaria.

Inspired by the potential for change, Kunin and her policy advisor, George Hamilton, return to Vermont with the commitment to help communities in the region address environmental, economic, and social challenges.

After discussions with Douglas Costle and Jonathan Lash among others, Kunin conceptualizes a new organization: the Institute for Sustainable Communities.

ISC receives a seed grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

1991

ISC signs its first agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and receives support from six private foundations to begin its first projects.

1992

In two projects in Bulgaria and Hungary, ISC helps local governments work with citizens to identify environmental priorities, develop action plans, and implement cost-effective solutions to the most urgent environmental issues in each community.

ISC introduces interactive teaching techniques in Hungary. In collaboration with a teachers' college, we share our methodology with more than 500 schools throughout the country.

1993

The Bulgarian Minister of Environment invites ISC to help develop a national solid waste management policy based on citizen participation.

At USEPA's invitation, ISC begins work in Russia. George Hamilton makes ISC's first visit to the formerly closed industrial city of Nizhnii Tagil.

ISC helps establish a network of Environmental Management Training Centers in Poland, Bulgaria, and Hungary.

1994

The Bulgarian Community Action project results in 10% savings of water usage in Troyan, while also helping protect a UN-designated biosphere reserve from a proposed dam.

Among the results of the Hungarian Community Action project is that country's first curbside recycling program, which continues today.

In Sofia, Bulgaria, ISC opens its first overseas office in collaboration with its partner organization This is My Environment (TIME).

ISC begins working on a project in Nizhnii Tagil, one of the most heavily polluted cities in the world, using public participation to support new approaches to improving environmental health.

1995

ISC's model of interactive teaching methods is introduced in Poland, and is later replicated in 250 schools across that country.

Through the Democracy Network Program (DemNet) in Macedonia and Bulgaria, ISC helps hundreds of NGOs work to develop a new civil society.

1996

An ISC office in Moscow opens to support the nationwide activities of the Replication of Lessons Learned (ROLL) program in Russia.

ISC develops the first Smoke School in Russia, training inspectors in Volgograd in a low-cost visual method for identifying air-polluting emissions from factories.

ISC initiates sister-lake relationship between Lake Ohrid in the Balkans and Lake Champlain in the U.S. For the first time, Albanians and Macedonians discuss how to manage Lake Ohrid, an important shared resource and an international natural heritage site.

1997

The U.S. President's Council on Sustainable Development issues a report on education for sustainability-affirming ISC's approach to community-based education.

ISC works with Krag and Polish educators to publish A Guide to Community-Based Environmental Education.

1998

The Bulgarian Parliament adopts a new solid waste management law, incorporating key elements of the national policy developed with ISC's help two years earlier. An ISC-hosted meeting of Bulgarian NGOs revives a draft NGO law, which later passes.

ISC opens a second Russian office in Khabarovsk to introduce sustainable business practices to the Russian Far East through a grantmaking initiative for local enterprises.

ISC and its Russian partner Clean Home help the citizens of Nizhnii Tagil develop and implement the city's first solid waste management plan.

Working with Shelburne Farms, ISC begins study exchanges between Vermont and Japan on education for sustainability.

1999

The Polish cities of Radom and Elk are featured at the World Exhibition EXPO 2000 in Hannover, Germany. ISC's project model is replicated in four additional Polish communities.

As the Kosovo crisis floods Macedonia with refugees, ISC grantees respond with shelter, housing, and other support.

In Vermont, the Burlington Legacy project results in a broadly agreed-upon, 30-year vision for the city's future. ISC's first U.S. project also identifies 77 successful community practices for others to model.

2000

Through exchanges between U.S. and Japan educators and community leaders, the Renkei project enhances ISC's work on education for sustainability.

ISC produces the Guide to Implementing Local Environmental Action Programs (LEAPs) in Central and Eastern Europe, and supports the formation of a LEAP practitioners' network.

Together with regional organizations, ISC hosts international conference on sustainable small business practices in the Russian Far East.

2001

ISC embarks on the Sustainable Rural Development Project in Romania to train and support a Romanian NGO to conduct community action projects in the coming years.

ISC launches a new project in Serbia, Community and Youth Action, to help disaffected young people become involved in their communities.

New office opens in Kyiv, Ukraine to coordinate theLocal Environmental Action Program with ISAR "Ednannia."

2002

ISC and its partners launch the Ukraine Citizen Action Network (UCAN) program, an innovative civil society initiative to develop the skills and capabilities of Ukrainian civil society organizations and improve the environment, resources, and expertise available to the NGO sector.

The Russian Far East Civic Initiatives program is initiated to mobilize citizen participation, stimulate grassroots activism, and strengthen NGO resource centers to support the region's community-based organizations.

After successfully completing the Democracy Network Program in Bulgaria, a number of former staff members from that office creates an indigenous nonprofit organization, 3NET, to further encourage civil society in that country.

2003

With ISC Macedonia's active participation and help from the U.S. Agency for International Development, four Macedonian NGOs submit a successful application to the Global Fund to provide $6.3 million over the next three years to build a coordinated national response to prevent a major HIV/AIDS epidemic in the small Balkan nation.

ISC's Replication of Lessons Learned (ROLL) program in Russia coordinates a country-wide photography contest targeted toward increasing the awareness of Russians about the interaction between humankind and the environment.

ISC joins with the Citistates Group, the New England Council, the University of Massachusetts, Lowell; and Mt. Auburn Associates to form the Partnership for New England, which will identify areas, e.g., education, high tech, and tourism, where the New England states would benefit from a more regional approach.

2004

At the close of the Ukraine Local Environmental Action Program (LEAP), ISC's Ukrainian staff and that of its partners, ISAR Ednannia, form a new NGO, the Institute for Community Development, which continues to provide training and support to communities across Ukraine.

ISC's Macedonia DemNet staff form their own NGO, the Center for Institutional Development (CIRa) and staff of the ROLL program also form an NGO, the Fund for Sustainable Development.

The Presidential elections in Ukraine demonstrate how people tiring of corruption can fight for the right to be heard. ISC's Ukraine Citizen Action Network program builds on these events and helps citizens advocate for their needs.

2005

ISC launches the Macedonian Activity for Civil Society Strengthening program along with its consortium partners Center for Institutional Development, Macedonia Institute for Media, and the European Center for Non-Profit Law. This program will elevate the civil society sector to new levels of legitimacy, accountability, and viability.

A series of six newspaper articles written by seasoned journalists from the Citistates Group are published in 27 newspapers around New England through the New England Futures project. The articles address six primary issues: regional identity; energy; higher education; growth and affordable housing; transportation and broadband; and health.

ISC President George Hamilton and ISC Board Member Peter Clavelle make their first trip to Mississippi to assess the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina. ISC raises $50,000 to launch the Gulf Coast Renewal Project, which will help Moss Point, followed by other affected Gulf Coast communities, develop and realize shared, sustainable visions for their futures.

2006

In January, ISC President George Hamilton travels to China to explore the possibilities for bringing its successful Replication of Lessons Learned (ROLL) approach to China, where a rapidly growing economy is ravaging the environment and people's health.

ISC launches a five-year, nationwide program in Serbia to support the development and strengthening of Serbian civil society and citizen advocacy.

After more than 20 years of groundbreaking work in the field of social justice advocacy, the Advocacy Institute announces in September that it will transfer its assets and programs to ISC. As a result, ISC will take over administration of the Ford Foundation's signature Leadership for a Changing World awards program.

2007

On January 1, ISC formally hands over all of its Russia programs to its legacy organization, the Fund for Sustainable Development. ISC continues to work with FSD on a energy efficiency program.

ISC launches a China program in Guangdong Province. The program combines a community focus on energy efficiency, environmental management training for business and government, and a policy and research component with education for sustainable development.

In June, ISC unveils its new logo and website. With the new look, ISC focuses its message on the value it brings to communities; updates the logo so that it conveys ISC's global reach and expanded program capabilities; and creates a website that connects its donors more immediately to program results.

ISC launches a new Advocacy and Leadership Center as a home for cutting-edge knowledge on advocacy and leadership best practices and as a resource to advocacy practitioners worldwide. The Center is home to the Advocacy Institute's intellectual assets, its storehouse of tools and knowledge on a range of topics.