Supporting highly-impactful, evidence-based solutions to the triple challenge of climate change, air pollution and energy poverty.

## The Founders Pledge Perspective

Climate change is one part of a triple challenge surrounding energy production. Not only does most current energy production lead to damaging carbon emissions, the effects of which are devastating ecosystems and changing our planet beyond recognition, it also pollutes the air and leaves many of the world’s poor without sufficient energy. This adds up to an environmental and humanitarian crisis.

Thus, we face a triple challenge: we not only need to drive down carbon emissions to near zero by mid-century, and drastically reduce air pollution, but we need to do so while supporting work to reduce global poverty that will often be accompanied, or even driven, by increased energy consumption.

We aim to take a holistic approach that recognizes the global nature of this challenge, as well as the fact that, despite its urgency, we are still in the early days of climate action. This means that the solutions that we focus on will not only reduce emissions now, but will do so in a way that avoids future emissions, while also creating opportunities for the world’s poor and eventually ending energy poverty entirely.

We aim to do this in three ways:

- **Audacious advocacy**: By focusing our grantmaking on organizations leveraging large amounts of money through policy advocacy. There are highly effective organizations with budgets in the millions of dollars which have influenced government innovation budgets, orders of magnitude larger than their costs. By looking for opportunities with leverage like this, we can have an outsize impact.
- **Accelerating low-carbon innovation**: By finding and funding advocacy opportunities that strengthen the energy innovation eco-system or promote particularly neglected technologies. As the success of solar has shown for electricity, the availability of cheap, low carbon alternatives to our current energy sources can make a very significant difference. Efficient, low-cost technology can spread around the world without inter-governmental cooperation or expensive policies to spread around the world, making it a more robust strategy in a world where climate action will often not be the first priority of policy makers and the public.
- **Focusing on blindspots and bottlenecks**: By focusing on areas neglected by other stakeholders, we can ensure that fund dollars make as much difference as possible. While some technologies, such as solar, enjoy widespread popularity and significant policy support, this is not similarly true for other approaches, resulting in a huge imbalance in resource allocation. By finding and funding advocates for overlooked solutions, such as carbon capture and storage technology, we can ensure we are making the most of every tool available to us in the fight against climate change.

Managed by two members of the Founders Pledge Research team, the Climate Change Fund identifies and supports sustainable, evidence-based solutions to the “triple challenge” of carbon emissions, air pollution, and energy poverty.

## Our Approach to Grantmaking

When evaluating potential grants, we consider several key points:

- **Counterfactual impact**. Our grants are designed to create a meaningful outcome that would not otherwise have happened. In particular, we aim to make grants that otherwise wouldn’t have been made, rather than those which just take the place of other philanthropists’ donations. This means that you can rely on the Funds to create meaningful, real change, rather than just maintaining the status quo.
- **Impact-driven philanthropy**. The goal of this fund is maximal positive impact, irrespective of this impact being “sexy” or visible. This means we will focus on opportunities that others focused on clear attribution of their work or shiny outcomes might neglect. For example, we are very comfortable funding organizations to increase their general capacity and strategy when we perceive this as their bottleneck to higher impact, rather than being tied to specific outcomes or deliverables.
- **The organization’s funding gap**. Not all organizations are set up to scale up their programming and many can’t productively absorb large amounts of unsolicited funding. We evaluate all potential grantees’ capacity for growth and consider how much money they could put to good use.
- **Organizational strength**. Particularly with unrestricted funding, it’s important to have trust in the leadership and capacity of the organizations we support. We look at their track record of success and their transparency about failures as well as successes, and we only support those organizations which are exceptionally well run.
- **Time-critical opportunities and funding certainty**. While Founders Pledge members give to our top climate charities regularly, sometimes there are time-critical opportunities which require fast decisions. Or there are needs for certainty of funding streams to allow new hires and start new campaigns and programs. We will use the Fund to make grants that enable such short-term opportunities and stability for high-impact funding opportunities thereby increasing the impact compared to individual giving to specific organizations.
- **Portfolio approach**. Because most climate damage comes from particular severe outcomes – with a world of 4 degrees of warming being much worse than twice as bad as a world with 2 degrees – and because every particular strategy – such as energy innovation – might underdeliver, we pursue a portfolio approach to maximize positive impact. This means we will diversify our bets in ways that, when one approach fails (such as energy innovation), the others we promote (such as carbon removal) can be expected to be particularly important and still available. This maximizes the expected impact of your donation in a world characterized by huge uncertainty about the success of different high-impact solutions.

## Frequently-Asked Questions

**Can charities apply for money from the Fund?**

The Funds do not generally accept applications from charities. If the Fund Managers choose to open up an application round, this will be publicized. Charities are requested not to send unsolicited applications for funding.

**How frequently will you make grants from the Fund?**

Fund Managers will review grant-making decisions on a quarterly basis. Decisions will be made based on the value of Funds and the available options for high-impact grant-making. We may sometimes delay grant-making if we believe that waiting for more promising opportunities will be more impactful. Conversely, we may disburse funds outside of our quarterly review dates if we become aware of a particularly promising and time-sensitive funding opportunity.

**How will my contribution be used?**

All funds are granted out. The Fund is not an investment vehicle. The Fund does not use any percentage of contributions to cover staff time or other overhead costs. Every dollar contributed to the Fund will be used to make grants directly to end-user organizations creating a real difference.

## More Questions?

To learn more about the Founders Pledge Climate Change Fund, please visit [founderspledge.com](https://founderspledge.com/funds/climate-change-fund) or email the Fund Managers at [funds@founderspledge.com](mailto:funds@founderspledge.com).

Climate Change Fund

Accessible giving infrastructure for a more generous world.

Follow our realtime impact at https://www.every.org/metrics - people have donated over $36M!

We provide nonprofits with free tools to fundraise more effectively, including our all-in-one donate button and peer-to-peer fundraising solution. Our website encourages individuals to take action and spread generosity by giving monthly and giving out loud to help nonprofits get steady funding and grow awareness. Our open API for fundraising powers a collective research effort to transform fundraising with nonprofit, academic, corporate, and grassroots partners.

We envision a world where every person and organization has the best technology to help them do more good, increasing the global giving rate from 2% to 3% of GDP.

Every.org

San Diego Architectural Foundation raises awareness about the value of excellence in our built environment.

Founded in 1978, the San Diego Architectural Foundation (SDAF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the education and promotion of outstanding architecture, landscape, interior, and urban design to improve the quality of life for all San Diegans. We do this by curating exceptional events throughout the year that are open to both the design industry and the public at large. We explore how the issues impact our growing region, like the design of our homes, workplaces, schools and communities, as well as our health and well-being. Our goal is to inspire all San Diegans to discover the value of thoughtful design in the natural and built environment and the effect it has on the quality of our lives.

SDAF

Leading the fight against global warming, making it easy and affordable for anyone to eliminate their carbon footprint. 

We encourage everyone to continually strive to reduce their carbon footprint through sensible energy reductions combined with cost-effective carbon offsets to eliminate their overall carbon footprint.

Carbonfund.org supports third-party validated and verified renewable energy, energy efficiency and reforestation projects globally that reduce carbon dioxide emissions and the threat of climate change.

Carbonfund.org Foundation

Airbnb.org’s mission is to unlock the power of sharing space, resources, and support in times of need. 

Airbnb.org opens homes in a times of crisis.  We facilitate emergency housing for people displaced by disaster or conflict, especially those from marginalized communities hardest hit by crisis.  Airbnb.org works with communities and nonprofit partners to offer emergency temporary housing.  We have housed over 250,000 guests during times of need.  

We do this by providing short-term, quality and free emergency housing to people displaced by natural disasters and conflict, inspiring and empowering people to act as hosts and support their community, and staying responsive to crises by innovating and leveraging our strengths.

We amplify recovery efforts for individuals by providing safety, financial relief, psychological wellbeing, and connections to the community.   Ultimately, by making connections between hosts and guests, we strengthen and build social cohesion in communities.

Airbnb.org is an independent and publicly-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that leverages Airbnb, Inc.’s technology, services, and other resources at no charge to carry out Airbnb.org’s charitable purpose.






Airbnb.org

We pioneer solutions to address global homelessness and imagine a world where no human lives in survival mode.  

New Story builds homes for people living in survival mode around the world, improving safety, health, income, and education. We partner with both U.S. based ministries and construction organizations who provide services in developing countries, New Story builds homes for people who cannot afford them. 

New Story develops breakthrough solutions to build homes and communities better, easier, and faster. We believe in innovating the nonprofit sector, including our own work, so we build communities using our new tools and tech and listen closely to the people we serve. As we develop helpful solutions, we share them with other nonprofits and governments working to end global homelessness. We’re all in this together.

New Story

Our researchers investigate human rights crises in some 90 countries around the world. Their work has led to significant change.

– We address the underlying causes of human rights abuse around the world 

– We help bring about change at the highest levels of society, by compelling government and international institutions to take action 

– We stand with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice.

– We make a lasting impact on human conditions, by helping bring violators to justice, pushing for stronger laws and fostering international cooperation to advance human rights 

– We have a 30-year track record of raising awareness and advancing successful strategies for ending human rights abuse, often partnering with local groups and human rights defenders to achieve our goals

Human Rights Watch

Founders Pledge is a global nonprofit empowering entrepreneurs to do the most good possible with their charitable giving. 

We equip members with everything needed to maximize their impact, from evidence-led research and advice on the world’s most pressing problems, to comprehensive infrastructure for global grant-making, alongside opportunities to learn and connect. We’re grateful to be funded by our members and other generous donors. 

Founders Pledge

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Life has been kind to me and it's my mission to share that kindness with the world. 

I believe in gratitude+action and that together we can build a better world. Have the best job as Cofounder at Every.org :)

founder @ camp.org, expa.com, uber.com & mix.com

Prez, Every.org. I believe that people are good, kind and generous.

Designer at every.org. Passionate about animals and nature. Taking action so our children can inherit a better world 💚

👋 I'm Jon. Married to my best friend and dad to two sets of twins - ages 7👭 and 10👫 Believe philanthropy holds the power to change the 🌍

Founders Pledge produces incredible research, helping others navigate the complicated giving landscape. I know that when I give to this Fund, I’m supporting the best nonprofits combatting climate change. 

We need to invest more in innovative and impactful solutions to tackle climate change. Love that Founder's Pledge is constantly evaluating new opportunities for my monthly gift to maximize impact!

This platform is AMAZING! There is nothing like it. I'm so grateful that they never take a cut out of any gift and that they are finding ways to make giving joyful. 

I love how SDAF is educating the public on the impacts the built environment has on our health, our communities, and our lives!

Monthly recurring donation to support carbon offset projects in the fields of energy efficiency, forestry, and renewable energy.

I was inspired by @delafuentea to take a look at my carbon footprint and realize I can do better. As a Californian, the effects of climate change are more real than ever. Hoping my monthly gift to Carbon Fund is one small way to do my part. 

Our fellow Americans in Maui need us. Grateful to know people will have a safe place to stay with the comforts of home during this hard time. 

This incredible nonprofit -- which was Y-Combinator incubated -- is doing groundbreaking work to solve global homelessness. They aren't just building one house a time, they're finding new ways to SCALE housing solutions and sharing it with the world. 

I love the innovation + passion this team has poured into one of the most painful injustices facing our world today. 

HRW exists to protect us all from human rights violations. No matter how dangerous or chronic a scenario, they investigate, expose, and CHANGE the injustice. Their work is relied upon by every major international tribunal to provide the evidence needed to bring an end to war crimes and other human rights violations. 