It is so simple to make the Difference

A rewarding corporate responsibility proposition.

For 10 years, the Mona Foundation has worked 24/7 to end the exploitation of primates in Spain. Maybe you have seen us in the Chimp Diaries series on National Geographic. But if you are unfamiliar with the Mona Foundation, please allow us a fraction of your time, to explain why we ask your company to team up with Mona.

Imagine these were your working conditions...Chimpanzees, forced to entertain, living in circumstances you cannot even begin to imagine: in road side zoo’s, rusty circuses, chained and locked in small cages by beach photographers, or held as pet –often dressed up- in private homes.

Through legal actions we succeed in transferring more and more of these chimps into our care at the Mona sanctuary near Gerona. You should see them arrive in terrible shape, some of them seeing another chimp for the very first time in their lives.

Our specialized vets and professional keepers -trained at different Spanish universities and supported by the University of Barcelona- and our priceless volunteers, strive to reverse the damage, ranging from depression to self-harm. Step by step we “rebuild” their physical and mental health and slowly resocialize them into family groups, like chimps in their natural habitat. Our results are excellent, but the damage done is sadly never fully reversible. Therefore our chimps would not stand a chance in the wild. They will need our care for the rest of lives. And that is why we ask you to read this brochure carefully.

Why Mona, why you.We aim to convince your company to “adopt” Mona in any way you can. The main reason to reach out to you, beyond our borders, is because we operate in a country where the protection of animals –to put it mildly- is not “topping the priority list”. We have grown accustomed to row our tight ship “upstream” since 2000, depending on private and corporate donations, either in funds and/or in free goods and services. We also gratefully receive annual contributions from supporters who adopt our chimps.

We need corporate support to finally “defy gravity”. As balancing our annual budget of € 250.000 requires all our energy -leaning heavily on our priceless volunteers- it is extremely tough to advance to our ultimate goal: ending the illegal trade and captivity of all chimps in Spain, providing them with the best care for life. And all that would take is a steady annual funding of € 600.000.

It could be so simple. If only...The thought that “indifference” is basically the only reason why the captivity and exploitation of these magnificent, intelligent creatures continues, is ironic. And if you feel the same, let’s make the difference today. Think with us for a moment, as your support to Mona would be equally rewarding to you:

• Great corporate responsibility displayWhen you are seeking a durable opportunity to express your corporate responsibility, we ask you to consider this: what could be more rewarding than instantly turning around the lives of these beautiful chimps forever and create great internal branding and PR opportunities at the same time? Becoming a corporate sponsor is all there is to it.

• Meaningful milestonesWhen you are celebrating a (corporate) anniversary the near future -like us, commemorating 10 years of Mona soon- wouldn’t a donation to our rewarding cause ad extra engagement to your celebrations?

• Inspiring teambuildingWhen you are planning an inspiring teambuilding session or incentive. Why not at our sanctuary? We are 10 minutes away from Gerona Airport and the beautiful Costa Brava offers all you might need, all year round. We are happy to accommodate our corporate sponsors with a Mona tour and an interesting lecture on primate behavior and teamwork. Under very strict guidelines your team could even help our keepers.

And if you have a plant, office or outlet in Catalunya, why not inspire your Spanish colleagues to support us. To relieve our budget and fulfill primary needs, our project would benefit hugely fom a steady flow of essential products and services for free.

...You could make a difference.Any support to help us reach our goal is extremely welcome. Maybe you could launch an awareness campaign in your company or social network, to promote our adoption scheme. Most likely you know professional peers who would be interested in receiving this brochure as well. Forwarding this link is about the easiest way to help us. Before moving on to our proposition, let us introduce you to our chimps...

MARCO was born in captivity in 1984. He is a very independent chimp and has assumed the role of leader of our all male group. He rarely seeks the attention of the caregivers at Mona or of visitors and instead keeps his eye on the other members of the group. He is always the first to comfort and calm the rest of the group when times are tense. Marco has not been very well over the past year and x-ray tests suggest that he has an enlarged heart. This condition is most likely caused by having had a very poor diet in the past, and especially from eating junk food. The condition is serious but not life threatening and Marco is now receiving supplements of vitamin E to help him. As with all the chimps, Marco loves his food, but his particular favourite is tomatoes. Sometimes in the summer we give them to him frozen, which he has to suck on until they gradually melt in his mouth. CHARLY was born in 1989 and likes to show his strength and character and he is a close companion of Marco. Charly likes nothing better than spending all afternoon stretched out on his back with the sun on his belly. He is probably the smartest of all the chimps at Mona and is usually the first to solve any puzzle. For example, he was the first work out how to dig honey out of termite holes and open a coconut.

TICOTico arrives to MONA in July 2005 at the approximate age of 20 years. He used to live in the Parc de les Aus from very small, which had been ceded by the authorities. It had been requisitioned to an individual who used it to the show after being away. He lives his life alone, without contact with any chimpanzee, until the arrival of another chimpanzee named July, when he was about 18 years. Right now shares his life with seven more chimps, three females and four males, ages ranging from age 6 to 53.

TONIwas bought in Lisbon, Portugal by the same animal trainer that owned several of the chimps now at Mona. For many years he was kept in the same small cage as Romie. Toni is a great favourite with the other chimpanzees and his caregivers because he is such an extrovert and very playful. Toni has a deformed back and his growth has been stunted. This condition was almost certainly caused in part by the terrible conditions in which he was kept before he was rescued. Although this limits his movements, his condition has improved a lot since he arrived at Mona, thanks to all the space he now has in which to live.

ROMIEwas born in the wild in 1979. A few years later, she was obtained by a photographer in the Canary Islands who used her to take photos with tourists. After that, Romie was sold to an animal trainer in Valencia, who owned several of the other chimps now at Mona. Her life has been the hardest of all the chimps at the sanctuary because before her rescue she was used to produce as many babies as possible. All of these babies were taken away from her and sold or trained for the entertainment industry. Although she is very quiet, her sweetness knows no limits and she gives kisses and caresses to all of her companions. At Mona, she has been reunited with two of her children, Sara and Nico, and has also adopted three other youngsters.

TOTOis the oldest chimp at the Mona sanctuary, having been born in the wild in Nigeria in 1957. When he was about a year-old, he was captured from the wild and a German woman brought him to Europe to be kept as a pet. He was later given to Berlin Zoo where he lived some years. He was later moved to Frankfurt Zoo where he spent several years living entirely alone, without the company of his own kind. During this time he became very lethargic and fell into a deep depression. Toto was brought to the Mona sanctuary in 2003 with the aim of providing with a family. Today, Toto is a very wise and stable leader of the family group at Mona. He is a caring partner for Romie and a great father to the younger chimps such as Juanito and Nico. Toto is a very strong and healthy chimp for his age and could live until he is 60 or more.

Who is who at Mona. Meet a selection of our chimps.

Who is who at Mona. Meet a selection of our chimps.

WATYwas born in 1996 and was confiscated by the Spanish authorities from a travelling circus, who kept her illegally. In the circus she was kept alone in a small cage with barely enough room to stand up. Not surprisingly she was very nervous when she arrived at Mona and she also had some problems mixing with Romie and Bongo. However, her temperament has improved a great deal since that time and she now enjoys tumbling and playing with her new family. She is still a very boisterous and restless chimp, but she has become more relaxed since several young ones have joined the group. BONGOwas confiscated from the same circus as Waty where he was found in a tiny cage, smaller than a dog kennel, alone and in the dark. He was born in 2000. When he first arrived he was in a very serious condition and showed the typical stereotypical behaviour of a traumatized chimpanzee, rocking back and forth constantly. Although he has had a terrible start in life he is made excellent progress. He is in t

he bachelor group. He enjoys playing with his new friends Marco, Charly and Toni.

SARAis the daughter of Romie, although the two were separated a few months after her birth in 1998. She was trained to perform in circuses and TV shows by her owner, who refused to let her rejoin the rest of her family when Mona rescued them. After a three-year battle, during which she was kept in several different places, Sara was finally brought to the Mona sanctuary and the family was reunited.Because of her hard start in life, Sara still shows signs of disturbed behaviour such as rocking her head back and forth. However, she has mixed in well with the rest of her group and formed a good friendship with Waty, who is a similar age. It is unlikely that Romie actually understands that she is her real mother, but she behaves very kindly to her. The peace and security that she now enjoys at Mona should slowly help her to overcome the stressed behaviours that she sometimes exhibits.

JUANITO arrived at the Mona sanctuary shortly before Christmas 2003, when he was less than a year old. He was confiscated by Spanish customs in the Canary Islands at the moment when the owner wanted to sell him to an animal dealer in Madrid. Despite his tiny size he is full of confidence and has had no trouble mixing in with his new family. He is loved by all of them.

NICOis the younger brother of Sara and was born in 2001. Along with Sara, he was rescued from the hands of a circus trainer in 2003. Nico has a unique temperament and a distinctive expression which resembles that of Toni. It is likely that he is Toni’s son, although we are unable to be sure of this. His first couple of months at Mona were quite difficult for Nico because he was so humanised he was very stressed and he had to be watched 24 hours a day by staff and volunteers. He was slowly introduced to members of his new family one at a time and this has gradually helped him to feel more comfortable. In 2005 he was diagnosed with a congenital disease called Chiari malformation.

AFRICAJust in. TV vet Dr. Scott Miller joined us to rescue Africa from a home in Gran Canaria. Scott Miller said “It was awful to see how she had been living for the last 12 years. She had been confined in a dilapidated house and never allowed outside, out of fear that the authorities might discover her. Africa is now at the sanctuary and she is settling in very well. She had a severe skin condition covering her head and the top of her shoulders. Overall she is a calm and confident individual and we are certain that she will be integrated very soon.”

Our propositionThere is no fixed menu or price list for supporting Mona. We simply ask you to do whatever you can. Remember: we need € 600.000 annually to end primate exploitation in Spain and give those chimps a chance for the future.

• Exclusive corporate partnershipIs either defined as an exclusive commitment for at least 3 years, where our partner bites off as big a chunk off our annual financial needs as he can, or as a long term commitment to supply essential goods and/or services. Partnerships are made to measure, based on a considerable annual contribution. Partners enjoy industry exclusivity and Mona will constructively cooperate within the safety and health limits of its chimpanzees, to maximize their ROI.

• Corporate sponsorsAdopt a chimp for a 5 year minimum of € 20.000 annually. Sponsors enjoy full access to our corporate sponsor pack.

• DonorsDonations are highly appreciated as well. As donor you receive our Digital Publicity Pack. You will be acknowledged on our website and receive our electronic newsletter for a period of 1 year. Considerable contributions entitle donors full access to our corporate sponsor pack for the period of one year.

Companies whose products and services would really make a difference:• A credit card company providing a PIN machine, international money transfer and direct debit.• An employment agency donating 1 FTE to run our office.• A paint producer providing long term protection and color to our premises• A specialized legal consultant to explore and tap into Spanish and European subsidy streams• A car manufacturer providing a sturdy 4WD or minivan to safely transport chimps• A supermarket or food producers donating vegetables, fruits, cereals and dairy.• A Telco providing us with high-speed wireless internet, PDA’s and bundles.• An IT brand donating a 6 workstation network• A company granting a person for our scientific department.

Corporate Sponsorship PackPartners, sponsors and donors will be gratefully acknowledged on our site and in our publications. They will also receive our digital publicity pack, containing pictures, web based movies -including a video, thanking them for their support- and background information, for right free usage in their corporate media. Furthermore it is their exclusive right to visit our sanctuary with groups upon request, under strict supervision and within the safety and health limits of our chimps.

• Partners have the exclusive right to half a of day of photo/video shoot per year in our sanctuary, to which the same strict safety and health regulations apply. Our chimpanzees can not be disturbed for these shoots however.• Sponsors will receive periodic information on the chimpanzees they support. This information in text, video and/or photo’s will be made available through RSS feed.

Got inspired?Then let’s do what chimps do: grooming for mutual benefit. Let’s work together to make your companies support to Mona equally rewarding to you. Send an email to support@fundacionmona.org, requesting contact (please include your day/cell phone information). We will call you within 1 business day, to answer any questions and to work out a made to measure plan with you.

A final thoughtWe leave you with 2 quotes from Dr Jane Goodall, probably the world’s most renowned primatologist, she used to sum up her life and works: “the greatest danger to our future is apathy” and: “Only if we understand can we care. Only if we care will we help. Only if we help shall they be saved.”

We truly hope that you understand the urgency of ending the terrible conditions in which many chimps still have to live and entertain. And that you care. If so, help us in any way you can to end the exploitation of these beautiful animals forever.

Olga Feliu,Fundacion Mona.

For additional general information and a peek at Mona go to www.fundacionmona.org.

Fundacion Mona Centro de Recuperación de Primates Ctra Cassá 1km, s/n Riudellots de la Selva 17457 Girona SPAIN

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