February 15, 2023 Freaked Out by Record Storms? Here’s Some Winter Reading for Climate Funders and Grantseekers February 15, 2023/ Michael Kavate Four new reports and some frightening winter weather offer a good excuse to curl up in an armchair with a cup of tea and learn about the latest trends in climate philanthropy.Read More
January 18, 2023 How Both ENDS Director Danielle Hirsch Is Using Philanthropy, Advocacy and More to Shift Power January 18, 2023/ Mandy Van Deven Both ENDS is a Netherlands-based organization that is challenging power dynamics in philanthropy in a number of ways. Director Danielle Hirsch talks about the group’s journey, its approach and why discomfort is a good thing.Read More
July 29, 2022 The Rockefeller Foundation Is Going All-In on Climate Change. Could Others Follow? July 29, 2022/ Michael Kavate Coming from one of the nation’s most storied philanthropies, founded on oil wealth, this announcement has symbolic heft. Will Rockefeller’s bolder stance encourage others to take up the mantle of climate funder?Read More
July 12, 2022 Corporations’ Assets Have Huge Carbon Footprints. What About Foundations? July 12, 2022/ Michael Kavate Assets of companies like Microsoft and Alphabet have larger carbon footprints than all their other emissions combined, says a new report. Foundations may want to pay attention.Read More
November 04, 2021 Philanthropy’s Attempts to Remain Above the Fray Are Slowing Progress on Climate Change November 04, 2021/ Tate Williams For as long as philanthropy has been funding climate action, foundations have preferred a non-ideological stance that refuses to confront powerful political and industry opposition. It’s been a drag on progress.Read More
October 21, 2021 Two More Major Funders Are Moving Assets Away from Fossil Fuels, in a Shift Years in the Making October 21, 2021/ Michael Kavate Two multibillion-dollar funders, the Ford and McKnight foundations, became the largest foundations yet to publicly align their investments with their missions to fight climate change. It’s been a long time coming.Read More
March 10, 2021 Some Wealthy Philanthropists Are Pressuring Their Banks to Stop Financing Fossil Fuels March 10, 2021/ Michael Kavate Through divestment and impact investing, funders have been using their assets to work toward a decarbonized future. Following the lead of activist campaigns, several philanthropic efforts are pushing banks to do the same.Read More
March 04, 2021 How the Rockefeller Foundation, Founded with Oil Riches, Chose to Divest from Fossil Fuels March 04, 2021/ Michael Kavate What did it take for a philanthropy founded by the most well-known oil tycoon in history to divest from fossil fuels and bar new investments? We look at the process behind a decision that was years in the making.Read More
January 13, 2020 As Top Foundations Resist Divesting from Fossil Fuels, What Might Change Their Minds? January 13, 2020/ Tate Williams Leading climate funders are still invested in oil and gas stocks despite a five-year push for divestment. In the second of a two-part article, we look at the moral and strategic arguments for divesting that funders have (or have not) found compelling.Read More
November 21, 2016 Where Might Divestment Efforts Go Next? Ask the Brooklyn Community Foundation November 21, 2016/ Alyssa Ochs The funder won't invest in three industries that just don’t jive with what it’s trying to do in Brooklyn: private prisons, gun manufacturers, and predatory lenders. Read More