IP Briefing: What's Going on With Philanthropy on Climate Change and Clean Energy?

In a sentence: Climate change is the most pressing issue of our time—but even after some landmark recent pledges, it’s still receiving only a small share of philanthropy.

What’s going on

Despite the stakes, large-scale climate philanthropy is relatively new.

Philanthropy related to climate change and clean energy has been steadily increasing for a decade, and recent events from floods to fires have made the urgency of the matter abundantly clear. Big new funder pledges may signal accelerated growth in climate-related giving in coming years—but, as we reported in our State of American Philanthropy report on the topic, at this point, only a tiny share of philanthropy is going to address this global emergency.

“We need billions of dollars committed and moved out the door now, not saving for a rainy day 20 years from now,” said Sarah Shanley Hope of The Solutions Project. Time is running out for humanity to avert climate catastrophe—how fast, and at what scale, will philanthropy respond to meet the urgency of the need?

By the numbers

Funding for climate change mitigation accounts for only about 2% of foundation dollars, according to a report from the ClimateWorks Foundation.

Key funders

Major donors Jeff Bezos, MacKenzie Scott, Mark Zuckerberg and Laurene Powell Jobs have made big moves for the climate in the past two years, with Bezos becoming the world’s largest climate funder after making a $10 billion pledge to start the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020. This is a notable shift in a field that’s long been dominated by a handful of legacy foundations.

A few foundations have been giving to address climate and energy issues for decades, including through long-standing regrantor the Energy Foundation. Major climate giving was jump started in 2008 by a $1 billion commitment from the Hewlett, Packard and McKnight foundations. The Sea Change, MacArthur, JPB, Kresge, Barr and Heising-Simons foundations, and Bloomberg Philanthropies, have also been leading funders in this area. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Open Society Foundations have more recently stepped up.

Community foundations are playing a growing role in climate-related grantmaking. While they may give less in terms of dollar amounts, they have an important capacity to connect community, philanthropic and public resources, and to move rapid-response funds where they’re most needed amid disasters.

Environmental justice and front-line efforts

Large, legacy environmental organizations have been the main beneficiaries of philanthropic support so far. But growing amounts are going to groups focused on environmental justice and working with front-line communities. The Hewlett and Packard foundations, along with The North Face, are among the funders supporting the new grantmaking program Liberated Paths, which aims to build a more just and sustainable environmental movement by moving resources to BIPOC-led groups.

New and notable

The Bezos Earth Fund has made about $1 billion in grants so far. Most of the money has gone to large environmental organizations, with some significant recent grants going to climate justice groups.
Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank is ramping up his environmental giving. The Blank Family Foundation’s environmental portfolio concentrates on climate resilience and conservation.
Some foundations are funding grassroots efforts. The Swift, Panta Rhea and Kataly foundations are among those backing the grassroots opposition to fossil fuel infrastructure.
And some are divesting from fossil fuels. The Ford Foundation is the largest foundation to make a public divestment commitment. The MacArthur and Bill and Melinda Gates foundations join them in divesting from the climate-harming industry. The Rockefeller and McKnight foundations are the only two so far to publicly pledge a net-zero endowment.

Food for thought

“Coming to the right climate solutions will mean listening to the experiences and following the solutions of Indigenous communities that are already suffering some of the worst effects of climate change. It also means respecting their human rights, sovereignty, leadership and wisdom about how best to care for the planet we share.” — Suzanne Bennally, Rajazvini Bhansali, Carla Fredericks, and Tia Oros Peters, here.

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