Inside Philanthropy

Who's Funding What & Why

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Additional Ventures

OVERVIEW: Additional Ventures makes grants and/or investments to support biomedical research into a cure for single ventricle heart disease and investigations into the use of Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement for ocean-based CO2 removal. To a lesser extent, it supports organizations working to increase access to healthcare and basic needs in communities around the world, and strengthen democratic systems in the United States.

IP TAKE: Additional Ventures, which claims to back “high-risk innovations,” is a newer, major player on the climate mitigation front that makes international grants in its areas of giving. Grantseekers interested in applying for this funder’s biomedical research grants should first look over its Research Roadmap to get a better idea of how Additional Ventures plans to structure its grantmaking in this area for the foreseeable future.

While this is a global funder, aspects of its Community & Democracy program stay within the United States. AV is also accessible and transparent. Its Biomedical Research and Climate Action initiatives are singularly focused, so grantseekers will need to stay within the stated interest areas as a means of large-scale carbon dioxide removal. This is a funder that encourages reaching out first prior to attempting to apply.

PROFILE: Established in 2017, Additional Ventures is based in Palo Alto and makes grants and/or investments to leverage “evidence-based research and deep subject matter expertise to make an outsized impact” and take “bold, high-risk innovations to solve some of humanity’s most complex challenges.” It was founded by Erin Hoffmann and Mike Schroepfer, who was the chief technology officer at Meta and Facebook until he stepped down in 2022. Hoffman is a software engineer who is a former CTO at Citrus Lane, worked as principal software engineer at LinkedIn, and as Senior Director of Engineering at SurveyMonkey. Before working at Meta, Schroepfer was Chief Technology Officer for Sun Microsystem’s data center automation division and was the Vice President of engineering at Mozilla Corporation, where he oversaw the launches of Firefox 1.5, 2, and 3. He has also served on the boards of Ancestry.com, Wealthfront Inc., and Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology.

Additional Ventures, according to its website, “is comprised of multiple entities […] including Additional Ventures Foundation, a nonprofit 501(c)(3), Additional Ventures LLC, and a donor advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.” Its focus areas include Biomedical Research, Climate Action, and Community & Democracy initiatives.

Grants for Science Research and Diseases

Additional Ventures’ Biomedical Research initiative focuses on finding a cure for congenital heart defects called single ventricle heart disease, where a child is born with only one ventricle that is capable of pumping blood. Programs through this initiative change frequently, so grantseekers should check back frequently.

  • Among the current programs is the Expansion Award, which provides up to $50,000 for one year to both new and established single ventricle researchers.

  • The Catalyst to Independence Award funds up to $1.2 million over 6 years to mentored late-stage postdoctoral researchers as they transition to an independent tenure track research position.

  • The Single Ventricle Research Fund is an annual research grant program that offers up to $600,000 in direct costs to supported research projects over three-years.

    • Together with the American Heart Association, Additional Ventures has partnered to establish the AHA/AV Collaborative Sciences Award in Single Ventricle Heart Disease (CSAs) to support “multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research teams addressing key knowledge gaps in the clinical sequelae of single ventricle heart disease and its treatment plan.” Awards offer up to 2.25 million over 3 years.

  • Additional Ventures also partners with the Life Sciences Research Foundation to fund a three-year postdoctoral fellowship of $67,000 per year. Applicants must apply within five years of earning their Ph.D. or MD.

Interested grantseekers should look over the single ventricle Research Roadmap, the organization’s comprehensive ten-year plan for solving single ventricle heart disease. Look over its most recent annual report here to get a better idea of the types of organizations this initiative supports.

Grants for Climate Change and Clean Energy, and Freshwater and Marine

Climate Action grantmaking funds research and development “to create solutions that can safely remove CO2 at costs consistent with gigaton scale.” AV conducts work related to climate mitigation and decarbonization through two initiatives, Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement and Carbon to Sea.

  • The Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement initiative previously offered an Engineering Award and a Research Award, but these opportunities have since closed. Look for evolving opportunities through this area, which occur rapidly.

  • The Carbon to Sea initiative is an “ambitious effort to advance ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) as a potentially safe and scalable method to remove atmospheric CO2. Carbon to Sea supports rigorous scientific research, innovative engineering work, and prudent policy development. It is funded by leading philanthropies committed to climate research and ocean conservation.”

Previous climate action grantees include (carbon)plan, Spark Climate Solutions, Ocean Visions, The Green Lining Institute, Aspen Climate Cohort, and Carbon180.

Grants for Democracy and Community Development

This funder’s Community & Democracy initiative takes a two-pronged approach and works to increase access to basic needs for communities around the world and seeks to “accelerate systemic changes to make American democracy stronger and fairer.” This work has intersected with immigrants and refugees, humanitarian aid, as well as voting rights and civic engagement.

Past Community Support grantees include Second Harvest of Silicon Valley and International Rescue Committee. The Center for Ballot Freedom is a previous grantees of the Democracy focus area.

Important Grant Details:

Additional Ventures held more than $175 million in total assets in a recent year. The organization committed over $26.5 million in funding just for research and infrastructure development in 2020 in the biomedical research space. Look over its most recent annual report here. Interested grantseekers may contact AV at info@additionalventures.org with general questions.

AV strongly encourages applicants to consult with Additional Ventures program staff prior to submitting a pre-proposal. Contact them at grants@additionalventures.org for guidance on program scope, feedback on proposal fit, and any other inquiries.

PEOPLE:

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