Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the High Meadows Foundation (HMF) is a private grantmaking foundation led by Carl Ferenbach. He co-founded Berkshire Partners, LLC, a private equity investment firm, and he also co-founded the High Meadows Fund. His foundation provides funding at the intersection of business and society, as well as the intersection of climate and energy.
Here are some top facts to know about the High Meadows Foundation.
A twofold approach
HMF has a twofold approach to philanthropy, which it employs to make an impact and connect with leaders in fields of interest. The first aspect of this is to build capacity at existing organizations, while the second involves investing in groundbreaking ideas. Overall, HMF seeks to move away from the current practices of exploiting and consuming the world’s resources and toward more sustainable paths.
Three primary agendas
To achieve its goals, HMF pursues three primary agendas. First, it addresses life-threatening environmental degradation caused by poor land management and climate change. Second, it educates the public and attempts to spread the word about these effects. Third, it encourages businesses, institutions and governments to responsibly manage resources to create a sustainable economy.
Past HMF grantees
HMF’s business and society grants seek to help organizations tackle pressing issues within the realms of business leadership and a solutions-driven private sector. Climate and energy grants from HMF accelerate solutions to the climate emergency, support smart public policy and encourage innovation.
Examples of business and society grantees are the Center for Enterprise, Markets and Ethics (CEME) and the Harvard Business School. Meanwhile, environmental grants have gone to the Center for Policy Research and the Environment as well as Climate Central. Occasionally, HMF makes grants outside of these issue areas and has awarded grants to assist an independent, co-educational boarding school, to help provide access to early childcare and education, and to promote civic engagement among university students.
Collaborative inquiries welcome
As one might expect, HMF’s grantmaking extends beyond just the city of Boston and often goes to national and international organizations. But regardless of where an organization is based, HMF does not accept unsolicited funding requests. However, it is open to receiving inquiries from groups that wish to collaborate and answers questions about work in progress. The foundation team can be reached by email, phone and mail.
Interested nonprofits can learn more about HMF in the following Inside Philanthropy profiles: