February 09, 2023 There’s a New Giant in Climate Change Philanthropy. Here’s Everything We Know So Far February 09, 2023/ Michael Kavate There’s a lot of excitement about the arrival of Sequoia Climate Foundation, which launched in late 2020 and moved $180 million last year. Here’s where the money is headed, who’s calling the shots, and who’s funding it (we think).Read More
February 06, 2023 Think the Gates Foundation Is Too Influential? It May Get a Lot Bigger — Or Never Go Away February 06, 2023/ Michael Kavate The largest foundation in the U.S. will soon spend $9 billion a year. But a look at the numbers suggests that’s still far from enough to fulfill its pledge to spend down, if that’s actually the plan.Read More
February 02, 2023 Sergey Brin's Off-the-Radar Foundation Is Huge — and Growing Fast. Here’s What We Know About It February 02, 2023/ Michael Kavate Sergey Brin’s foundation has nearly $5 billion in assets and a portfolio spanning Parkinson’s disease, science and activism. It’s not known for transparency, but we do know a fair amount about what it supports and why.Read More
January 25, 2023 What We Learned From a Deep Dive into Funding for Conservation, Pollution and Agriculture January 25, 2023/ Michael Kavate For our latest State of American Philanthropy report, we spoke to more than a dozen experts and dove into the latest data about conservation, pollution and agriculture funding. Here are the key takeaways.Read More
January 12, 2023 Laurene Powell Jobs Pledged $3.5 Billion for Climate Action. Here’s What She’s Backing So Far January 12, 2023/ Michael Kavate Billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs is now one of the world’s top climate funders. Find out where her Waverley Street Foundation’s first two years of grants went, who’s helping make those decisions, and what we still don’t know.Read More
December 22, 2022 Green Middleweights: 25 Prominent, Mid-Sized Environmental Grantmakers December 22, 2022/ Michael Kavate We previously compiled the top 25 green funders based on 2021 giving data. Today, we round up the next 25 on the list — a wide-ranging set of grantmakers who all gave $10 million or more to environmental causes.Read More
December 21, 2022 Green Heavyweights: The Nation’s 25 Largest Environmental Grantmakers December 21, 2022/ Michael Kavate We compiled a list of the top green funders in the U.S., based on the most recent full year of giving data available. One big takeaway: Living billionaires now dominate the list.Read More
December 19, 2022 Climate Justice Pledge Keeps Winning New Commitments, but Many Funders Still Silent December 19, 2022/ Michael Kavate The Climate Funders Justice Pledge has helped shift $60 million in new commitments to BIPOC-led climate groups since early 2021. Still, despite its intentionally low bar, many top grantmakers have yet to sign on.Read More
December 13, 2022 More Green Funders Than Ever Shared Diversity Data in 2022, but Most Still Avoiding the Sunlight December 13, 2022/ Michael Kavate For six years now, Green 2.0 has been tracking the diversity of staff at environmental nonprofits and foundations. More are submitting data than ever, but overall participation — and diversity at the top — remain frustratingly low.Read More
November 30, 2022 A Half-Dozen Top Climate Programs Are Led by Alumni of This Think Tank. Why Is That? November 30, 2022/ Michael Kavate Veterans of the World Resources Institute hold positions across climate philanthropy, including leading six top programs. Here are a few reasons that may be — and why that prevalence concerns some in the field.Read More
November 22, 2022 Green Groups Got Another Chunk of MacKenzie Scott's Billions. What Kind of Work Does She Fund? November 22, 2022/ Michael Kavate The billionaire philanthropist has sent millions to environmental nonprofits, but they remain a lower priority for the mega-donor thus far. What does this latest round of giving tell us about her priorities in this space?Read More
November 16, 2022 The Philanthropic Fallout from the Collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried November 16, 2022/ Michael Kavate As the crash of cryptocurrency exchange FTX continues to reverberate, who is being impacted most by the fiasco? And what are the larger implications for billionaire philanthropy?Read More
November 14, 2022 What Have Philanthropies Pledged So Far During the UN Climate Summit? November 14, 2022/ Michael Kavate This year’s United Nations climate summit, known as COP27, has played host to a number of philanthropic announcements, some more substantive than others. Here’s a breakdown.Read More
November 08, 2022 Foundations and Governments Pledged $1.7 Billion to Indigenous Land Protection. How Are They Doing? November 08, 2022/ Michael Kavate A pledge to help Indigenous people protect the world’s tropical forests is moving millions, but so far, most of the money isn’t going to Indigenous-led groups. Participants call it “quite alarming” and hope to see that change.Read More
November 03, 2022 In the Climate Fight, Who’s Funding the Eco-Right? More Big Names Than You Might Expect November 03, 2022/ Michael Kavate There’s a relatively small list of conservative groups calling for climate action, and they have not drawn a lot of funding. But they do count some big, perhaps surprising names among their backers. Here’s a list.Read More
November 02, 2022 Billionaire Paul Singer Is an Activist Investor, GOP Megadonor and Philanthropist. What Does He Fund? November 02, 2022/ Michael Kavate Ultra-wealthy investor and GOP power broker Paul Elliott Singer has a sizable foundation that backs Jewish causes, conservative think tanks and more. Here’s what we know.Read More
October 31, 2022 Climate Funding Surged Last Year Thanks to Pledges from Billionaires and Major Foundations October 31, 2022/ Michael Kavate A new report from ClimateWorks Foundation shows a 25% increase in philanthropic support for climate change mitigation between 2020 and 2021. It’s a welcome development, but the momentum must continue.Read More
October 21, 2022 Climate Philanthropy Has a New Power Couple in Steve and Connie Ballmer October 21, 2022/ Michael Kavate A $217 million commitment from the Ballmer Group marks the mega-donors’ first foray into climate giving. With the couple’s son Sam Ballmer taking the lead, big grants are already starting to flow.Read More
October 19, 2022 Here’s What We Know About James and Kathryn Murdoch’s Giving for Climate, Democracy and More October 19, 2022/ Michael Kavate The son and daughter-in-law of billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch have expanded their grantmaking and put an emphasis on democracy and climate change in recent years. Here’s where the money’s going.Read More
October 13, 2022 This Hedge Fund Billionaire’s Foundation Is a Black Box. Here's What We Know About His Giving October 13, 2022/ Michael Kavate Stephen and Susan Mandel send 99.9% of their foundation giving to a donor-advised fund. But a trail of online acknowledgements paint a portrait of what they support — including many education and environment grantees.Read More