OVERVIEW: The V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation supports environmental organizations whose work addresses the root causes of climate change.
IP TAKE: This grantmaker prioritizes small and mid-size organizations. However, it has an extensive list of exclusions that may prevent organizations from receiving funding. New grantseekers should review the foundation’s website carefully. This is not an accessible foundation, but it is responsive and approachable, should you have general questions.
The foundation intends to Spend Down its endowment over the next several years, culminating in 2035.
PROFILE: In 1991 Danish entrepreneur Villum Kann Rasmussen established the V. Kann Rasmussen Foundation (VKRF) to “pursue activities to benefit society,” which focus on environmental research in its grantmaking. VKRF works closely with the KR Foundation, a family nonprofit founded in 2015. According to the foundation’s website, it views human activities at the root of the majority of the world’s environmental problems and aims to “support the transition to a more environmentally resilient, stable, and sustainable planet.” The foundation’s Grantmaking Priorities include climate change, ecosystems resilience, protection, and restoration; economic models of ecological stability; next generation and innovative leadership; carbon negative strategies; and climate engineering governance issues.
This funder should not be confused with the KR Foundation, established in 2014 by the Villum Foundation and Villum Rasmussen’s family.
Grants for Climate Change
VKRF primarily supports organizations in the United States working on climate and environmental issues on national and international levels. The foundation does support organizations located outside of the U.S.; however, they must be conducting work on a multinational level. VKRF’s climate change efforts focus on carbon negative strategies and climate engineering governance issues. Since few systematic international legal governance frameworks are in place to guide further climate geo-engineering research and facilitate decision-making about any potential deployment, VKRF has decided to “supplement its twenty-year effort on climate mitigation with grant support to a limited number of climate engineering governance projects.” That said, VKRF does not fund research into climate engineering.
VKRF has awarded past grants to organizations such as the U.S. Climate Plan, which received funding for its youth development leadership program; and 2° Investing Initiative, which received support for its climate issues related to the finance sector. It works primarily across the United States, but only on national and international level issues. According to Rasmussen, “any non-U.S. funding must be multinational in scope and not focus on any specific country, region, or continent.” To learn more about the types of climate change organizations VKRF supports, explore its Funding History list.
Important Grant Details:
Grants amounts typically range from $20,000 to $200,000. VKRF does not accept unsolicited letters of inquiry; however, it does encourage grantseekers to reach out and introduce themselves. It is a good idea to check the foundation’s website regularly to stay abreast of any changes, particularly any updates to the Application Process.
PEOPLE:
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