OUR MISSION
We are a nonprofit that aims to make an outsized impact on resolving the climate crisis through our global philanthropy. This mission may not be unique; it’s how we do it that sets us apart. We support leaders to develop, launch, and scale their boldest new initiatives for large-scale policy, economic, and social transformation to address the climate crisis with multimillion-dollar, multiyear, flexible, non-directive funding along with other resources.
OUR PROGRAM
Our Climate Breakthrough Award program is designed to overcome the constraints of traditional grantmaking that often stifle breakthrough thinking. It uniquely blends the large-scale innovation focus of institutions known for pursuing inventions, like DARPA and ARPA-E, with the nimble and entrepreneurial spirit of startup incubators and venture capital.
Meet the 2025 cohort: Alessandra Orofino, Gavin McCormick, Liming Qiao, Ramón Méndez Galain, and the team of Giuliana Furci, Merlin Sheldrake, and Toby Kiers. We provide each of the five Awardees with $4 million—the largest climate award for individuals—in multiyear, flexible, non-directive funding. Former US Vice President Al Gore offers his congratulations: “To solve the climate crisis, we need leaders who are thinking big to help reshape policy, economic, and social systems in order to create a sustainable world.”
OUR LEGACY
Bold climate action deserves bold philanthropy that takes chances, trusts capable leaders, and backs ambitious ideas that push the boundaries of what’s possible. We have evidence our Climate Breakthrough Award program fosters a rare environment for leaders to pursue bold strategies—especially emerging or underexplored ones—as innovative and incisive as the problem demands.
But our legacy isn’t just about who and what we support—it’s about how we support. Our philanthropy model has been cited multiple times as an example of an exciting platform to support. Through what we call Philanthropy Forward, we are sharing these insights to inspire the broader philanthropic sector and challenge funders to embrace the kind of ambition this moment demands.
