Conservation
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This $50 Million Funding Challenge Seeks Solutions for a Resilient and Sustainable Gulf Coast
It was 15 years ago that the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded and caught fire, killing 11 crew members and triggering the largest marine oil spill in history. An estimated 60,000 barrels of oil per day poured … [Read more...] about This $50 Million Funding Challenge Seeks Solutions for a Resilient and Sustainable Gulf Coast
Why Philanthropy Should Recommit to America’s National Parks
In recent years, and particularly in the last few weeks, we have witnessed tangible impacts of the polarizing and divisive discourse heard all too frequently. And in an era when people often emphasize what divides us, we must not forget the power of … [Read more...] about Why Philanthropy Should Recommit to America’s National Parks
Billionaire Climate Donors’ Interest in Food and Agriculture Is Surging. That’s Helped This Fund Soar
A Look at Eight Major Conservation Regrantors Based in the Global North
A Year and a Half After Its Founder’s Passing, Robertson’s Green Program Looks Abroad
In the decades before his death, Julian Robertson established the Robertson Foundation as one of America’s top environmental funders — and one with a particular fondness for the nation’s biggest green groups.The Environmental Defense Fund, for … [Read more...] about A Year and a Half After Its Founder’s Passing, Robertson’s Green Program Looks Abroad
Funding for a Better Farm Bill Has Been Sparse and Inconsistent. Is That Changing?
How Many Green Groups Won Support in MacKenzie Scott’s First Open Call?
In her 13 years leading the Alaska-based environmental justice nonprofit Native Movement, Enei Begaye has often partnered with conservation groups, despite concerns that the work did little to shift the status quo.For years, such projects were … [Read more...] about How Many Green Groups Won Support in MacKenzie Scott’s First Open Call?
Post-WeWork, the Neumanns Are Still Billionaires. Whatever Happened to Their Philanthropy?
In August 2019, WeWork cofounders Adam and Rebekah Neumann made an unusual philanthropic pledge. In a 220-page filing for an initial public offering, the couple said they would donate $1 billion to charity in the decade after the company went public. … [Read more...] about Post-WeWork, the Neumanns Are Still Billionaires. Whatever Happened to Their Philanthropy?
What Happened to Laurene Powell Jobs’ and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Once-Ambitious Green Group?
Three and a half years ago, Laurene Powell Jobs, Leonardo DiCaprio and private equity billionaire Brian Sheth unveiled a joint effort called Earth Alliance to confront the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss — and convince the public … [Read more...] about What Happened to Laurene Powell Jobs’ and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Once-Ambitious Green Group?
How the Head of Holdfast Collective Is Giving Away Patagonia’s Profits
After more than eight years in Patagonia’s legal department, Greg Curtis now has a very different role at the outdoor apparel company: he gives away its profits.The one-time mergers-and-acquisitions lawyer recently marked his one-year anniversary as … [Read more...] about How the Head of Holdfast Collective Is Giving Away Patagonia’s Profits
More Funding is Flowing to Support Indigenous Peoples. How Much Is Making it to the Front Lines?
More philanthropic dollars than seemingly ever before have been pledged to support Indigenous peoples in recent years, topped by a $1.7-billion-dollar commitment made in 2021 for land rights in tropical forests. But how much is actually reaching … [Read more...] about More Funding is Flowing to Support Indigenous Peoples. How Much Is Making it to the Front Lines?
Green Funders Show Improvement on Diversity, But More Than Half Still Don’t Share Data
More environmental grantmakers than ever shared their demographic data this year with the leading project tracking diversity in the field, but green philanthropy still gets a failing grade for participation.Over half — 26 of 50 — of the foundations … [Read more...] about Green Funders Show Improvement on Diversity, But More Than Half Still Don’t Share Data
With Food Systems in the Spotlight at COP28, Philanthropy Tries to Build Momentum
This year’s United Nations climate change summit is putting food and agriculture center stage for the first time, and foundations have helped organize a flurry of announcements to make the most of the moment.Dozens of philanthropies have signed onto … [Read more...] about With Food Systems in the Spotlight at COP28, Philanthropy Tries to Build Momentum
Three Key Green Giving Trends Underlined by New Ocean Funding Report
Can we humans save the ocean from ourselves? Last year’s United Nations biodiversity summit took a big step toward that goal, with nations agreeing to protect 30% of the world’s oceans and land by 2030, formalizing the pact known as 30x30. But the … [Read more...] about Three Key Green Giving Trends Underlined by New Ocean Funding Report
The Kendeda Fund is Writing its Last Checks — and the Last Chapter of a 30-Year Story of Giving
About 30 years ago, Diana Blank began to ramp up her philanthropy through what became known as the Kendeda Fund, drawing the name from her three children, Kenny, Dena and Danielle. Tapping into wealth derived from the Home Depot empire, which was … [Read more...] about The Kendeda Fund is Writing its Last Checks — and the Last Chapter of a 30-Year Story of Giving
Funder Spotlight: How the Kalliopeia Foundation Supports Ecological and Community Regeneration
We periodically publish quick overviews of grantmakers on our radar, looking at recent developments and key details about how they operate. Today, we’re taking a look at the Inverness, California-based Kalliopeia Foundation, which is “dedicated to … [Read more...] about Funder Spotlight: How the Kalliopeia Foundation Supports Ecological and Community Regeneration
A Grassroots Legal Empowerment Organization Attracts Global Climate Justice Dollars
How do ordinary people overcome extraordinary imbalances of power? Vivek Maru, CEO of Namati, the social and environmental justice organization he founded, has found an answer in the law. “For all its flaws, for all the ways in which it’s been … [Read more...] about A Grassroots Legal Empowerment Organization Attracts Global Climate Justice Dollars
Why This Texas Billionaire Is Giving Big for Biodiversity Science in the Lone Star State
In an era when climate stressors and human development are driving sudden and sweeping changes to plant and animal life, policymakers and pretty much everyone else will have to adapt. Effective adaptation is going to require the best knowledge and … [Read more...] about Why This Texas Billionaire Is Giving Big for Biodiversity Science in the Lone Star State
Tracking Green Regrantors: Who’s Funding in the Amazon, Brazil and Beyond?
With climate champion Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva back in power in Brazil and the Amazon seemingly at a dangerous tipping point between carbon sink and net emitter, a new group of billionaire donors has opened their checkbooks for the world’s largest … [Read more...] about Tracking Green Regrantors: Who’s Funding in the Amazon, Brazil and Beyond?
Billionaires Are Backing Brazil and the Amazon. What Do Locals and Longtime Funders Think?
When Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced $50 million in grants early this summer to protect the tropical rainforest for which he named his globe-spanning company, it was just the latest instance of a new wave of billionaires lining up to back the … [Read more...] about Billionaires Are Backing Brazil and the Amazon. What Do Locals and Longtime Funders Think?
AI for the Planet: How One of the World’s Biggest Tech Firms Is Backing AI-Powered Climate Science
Last summer, as the COVID-19 pandemic settled into a state of relative control, Google.org turned its attention to an even larger and more complex global emergency: climate change. The corporate philanthropy's 2022 Impact Challenge on Climate … [Read more...] about AI for the Planet: How One of the World’s Biggest Tech Firms Is Backing AI-Powered Climate Science
Bezos Pledges $50 Million a Year for Urban Greenery, With a Focus on Communities of Color
For most of the last 30 years, government spending for urban greenery has barely budged, at least within the USDA. Farm Bill support for urban and community forestry hovered around the same level for most of that stretch, according to a history from … [Read more...] about Bezos Pledges $50 Million a Year for Urban Greenery, With a Focus on Communities of Color
Save the Bees, Bats and Butterflies: How Rotary International Is Making Pollinators a Priority
Bees, butterflies, bats, beetles, birds, moths and other insects may be tiny creatures, but their work is no small matter. They are all pollinators, and they’re a big deal in terms of the world’s global food production, clean air and economy. Biting … [Read more...] about Save the Bees, Bats and Butterflies: How Rotary International Is Making Pollinators a Priority
The Schmidt Ocean Institute Cracks the Champagne on One of the World’s Largest Research Vessels
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy Schmidt have spent much of the last two decades ramping up their philanthropy, not just in terms of dollar amounts — by 2019, they'd given about $1 billion and committed to give yet another billion — … [Read more...] about The Schmidt Ocean Institute Cracks the Champagne on One of the World’s Largest Research Vessels
The Growth of Green Regrantors: Tracking an Evolving Ecosystem of Funding Intermediaries
When Jeff Bezos’ new climate fund announced its first round of funding in late 2020, nearly a fifth of all its grants — about $141 million — went to a handful of climate justice regrantors. In some cases, those recipients received more money from … [Read more...] about The Growth of Green Regrantors: Tracking an Evolving Ecosystem of Funding Intermediaries
Seven Questions with Anna Lappé, Incoming Head of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food
When Anna Lappé was in her mid-20s, she published a book with her mother, the celebrated cookbook author, researcher and activist Frances Moore Lappé.Called “Hope’s Edge,” it was based on trips to places around the globe where people were joining … [Read more...] about Seven Questions with Anna Lappé, Incoming Head of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food
The Evolution of the Woodcock Foundation: A Progressive Family Funder Branches Out
Polly W. Guth was an heir to one of the founders of the pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. She was also an active philanthropist, heavily involved in groups like Planned Parenthood of New York City and Asia Society. In 1996, Guth founded the Woodcock … [Read more...] about The Evolution of the Woodcock Foundation: A Progressive Family Funder Branches Out
Gordon Moore’s Philanthropy Was Rooted in a Fundamental Optimism About Science and Tech
If you’re reading this on a computer, and chances are good that you are, you have Gordon Moore in large part to thank for it. Moore, who passed away last week at the age of 94, was among the pioneering group of mid-20th-century engineers and … [Read more...] about Gordon Moore’s Philanthropy Was Rooted in a Fundamental Optimism About Science and Tech
New Study Underscores Longstanding, Persistent Biases in Green Grantmaking
A major new study of environmental funding is perhaps the most exhaustive examination to date of the overwhelming preference in green philanthropy for big, coastal nonprofits led by white men and focused on conservation. “Examining Disparities in … [Read more...] about New Study Underscores Longstanding, Persistent Biases in Green Grantmaking
