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Advocates for Climate Innovation at a glanceMostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

· Private foundation

Advocates for Climate Innovation

Its FY2025 filing reports that it funds preselected organizations and did not take unsolicited requests; check the foundation's own site before ruling it out.

$1.3M
Granted FY2025still arriving
17
Grants FY2025still arriving
5
States reached
$254k
Largest
01What it fundsRead
02The needRead
03Its granteesRead
04Its fieldRead
05Through PlinthRead
01What it funds
01100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2019 to 2025.

Environment$32MPublic Benefit$1.7MAnimals$815kScience & Tech$500kCivil Rights$485kEducation$448kPhilanthropy$235kSocial Science$13kOther$0
02FY2025 · 17 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2025

  • Under $10k7 grants · $31k
  • $10k–50k3 grants · $58k
  • $50k–250k6 grants · $950k
  • $250k+1 grant · $254k
$22,500
Median grant
5
States reached
$4.9M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LINDEN CLIMATE FUND INC$253,691
WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE$230,000
WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE$220,000
NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION$200,000
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL$150,000
BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER$100,000
CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS$50,000
RESOURCES FOR THE FUTURE$25,000
BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY$22,500
SUSTAINABLE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT COALITION INSTITUTE$10,000
CAMPAIGN AGAINST HUNGER$7,500
HEALTH EQUITY INITIATIVE$5,000
PEOPLES THEATRE PROJECT INC$5,000
MALIASILI INITIATIVES INC$5,000
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF ROME$3,333
02The need
03

Does the money reach high-need areas?

Each grant placed by the hardship in its grantee’s ZIP, against the area’s typical level.

show:

Its human-services grants (FY25–25, $8k) land where the poverty rate runs at 20%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 100% of those dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 11%CAMPAIGN AGAINST HUNGER: $8k → 20%0%20%40%50%more need →
grant to an above-average-need area below average· circle size = grant amount
How this is measured
Matched: human-services grants are those whose grantee’s IRS cause code is Human Services. Placed by people below the poverty line in the grantee’s ZIP, averaged from the tracts in that ZIP.

Which US states its grants reach

VT
MN
MI
NY
MA
NJ
CA
VA
NC
DC
How this is measured
US grants placed by each grantee’s ZIP, which can differ from where services are delivered. Need from public data (U.S. Census/ACS, CDC PLACES, Eviction Lab, USDA), shown as context about the area, never attributed to the funder’s giving.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

Organizations funded in more than one year, against those funded once.

97%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$35M · 23 repeat orgs$1.1M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +59% since the first grant, against +22% for those funded once.

23 repeat relationships: 8 still active in FY2025, 15 since wound down; 7 grantees were first funded in FY2025 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

23
18

Total granted

$35M
$1.1M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+59%
+22%

Still filing today

87%
72%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2025, 95% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $58k went to new ones.

50%100%’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
RenewedFirst-time

Where new relationships form · theme of each grantee’s first grant

’19’20’21’22’23’24’25
EnvironmentEducationPhilanthropyScience & TechPublic BenefitCivil RightsOther
How this is measured
First-time means a grantee’s first year in the filing window; renewed means funded in an earlier year too. The renewed share climbs naturally as a portfolio matures, so the signal is a year that bucks it (a wave of new grantees). The earliest year is left-censored: relationships that predate the data read as new. Theme is the grantee’s IRS cause.

Backed again, and grew

  • WORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE
    7× · 2019–2025 · $1.8M · revenue +34%
  • BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER INC
    7× · 2019–2025 · $1.4M · revenue +67%
  • Resources for the Future Inc
    7× · 2019–2025 · $1.2M · revenue +70%

Funded once

  • RG
    RHODIUM GROUP LLC
    one grant, 2021 · $400k
  • EL
    Environmental Law Institute
    one grant, 2019 · $125k · revenue +22%
  • AMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE
    one grant, 2019 · $100k · revenue +11%
How this is measured

Repeat means funded in two or more distinct years. Growth and survival are read from each grantee’s own subsequent IRS filings.

04Its field

Closest unfunded matches

The nonprofits that most resemble its grantees but are not funded by it, scored along the direction from the rest of the field toward the portfolio. A resemblance in what they say they do, not a recommendation.

1
Advocates for Climate Innovation
Philanthropy
2
Climate Institute

The climate institute is organized for the purpose of educating the general public and policy makers as to the gravity of potential climate change, exploring the policy implications of the latest scientific findings on climate modelling…

Environment
3
Third Way

To research and develop centrist policy ideas.

Civil Rights
4
Conservation International Foundation

Ci works to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity.

Environment
5
The Climate Group Inc

Climate group advances climate action by mobilizing business and government leadership to drive systemic decarbonization across energy, transport, and industry, while engaging the public through large-scale convenings and global platforms.…

Environment
6
Fresh Energy

Shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable carbon-neutral economies.

Environment
7
Rocky Mountain Institute

Transform the global energy system to secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all.

—
8
The Union of Concerned Scientists Inc

The union of concerned scientists puts rigorous, independent science into action, developing solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe, and just future.

International
9
Climate Catalyst Inc

Climate catalyst sparks collective action to tackle the biggest climate challenges we face today: cutting emissions in heavy industries.

Environment
10
National Caucus of Environmental Legislators

The national caucus of environmental legislators empowers a nonpartisan network of legislative champions to protect, conserve, and improve the natural and human environment.

Education
11
Climate Parliament Inc

Researching policy ideas on climate and clean energy in India, engaging legislators and business leaders to discuss those ideas.

International
12
Project Drawdown

Project drawdown's mission is to drive meaningful climate action by advancing science-based solutions and strategies. project drawdown's work is focused on three pillars: science - advancing science-based climate solutions and strategies;…

Education
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated; the most unlike its peers is Linden Climate Fund Inc. Resemblance is measured on each organization’s own IRS 990 mission text; it reflects how work is described, not its quality or impact.
04the grantee network

42 grantees tracked through their own filings, 2017–2025.

Each grant beside the grantee’s revenue from every source, year by year.

How this is measured

Counted here: distinct organizations funded across 2017 to 2025, not grant rows in a single year, so this will not match the grant count on the cover. 42 of the 52 grantees resolved in that span have returns of their own we could reconcile.

Each grantee is resolved to its own IRS returns. Association, dated; never a causal claim.

1
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
8
Early backer (in before they grew)
42/42
Grantees still filing
31/42
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LINDEN CLIMATE FUND INC: $16,270,641 · PhilanthropyLINDEN CLIMATE FUND INC+3 more: $236,000 · PhilanthropyALLIANCE FOR MARKET SOLUTIONS INC: $5,900,000 · Science & TechALLIANCE FOR MARKE…+1 more: $100,000 · Science & TechResources for the Future Inc: $1,185,000 · EnvironmentResources for the …CENTER FOR CARBON REMOVAL: $1,095,167 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR CARBON …WORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $825,000 · EnvironmentWORLD WILDLIFE FUN…American Forests: $584,000 · EnvironmentAmerican ForestsNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $512,500 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES …CLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $474,750 · EnvironmentCLEAN AIR TASK FOR…ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $333,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL DEFE…LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $300,000 · EnvironmentCLIMATE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL INC: $200,000 · Environment+10 more: $405,000 · Environment+10 moreENERGY FUTURES INITIATIVE INC: $1,096,477 · OtherENERGY FUTU…RHODIUM GROUP LLC: $400,000 · OtherRHODIUM GRO…THE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $386,907 · OtherTHE NATURE …NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $675,000 · OtherNATIONAL WI…Wildlife Conservation Society: $140,000 · OtherCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $475,000 · OtherCENTER FOR …THE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $250,000 · OtherTHE TRUSTEE…+16 more: $406,333 · Other+16 moreWORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE: $1,790,000 · InternationalBIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER INC: $1,400,000 · Public BenefitTHE NISKANEN CENTER INC: $298,333 · Public BenefitGREAT PLAINS INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INC: $900,000 · Community Improvement
Philanthropy$16,506,641Science & Tech$6,000,000Environment$5,914,417Other$3,829,717International$1,790,000Public Benefit$1,698,333Community Improvement$900,000

Each grantee by its size and the funder’s share of it; top left is load-bearing

25%50%75%100%$100k$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLINDEN CLIMATE FUND INC: $16,270,641 over 2y, 3.2% of budgetALLIANCE FOR MARKET SOLUTIONS INC: $5,900,000 over 4y, 58% of budgetWORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE: $1,790,000 over 7y, 0.2% of budgetBIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER INC: $1,400,000 over 7y, 1.3% of budgetResources for the Future Inc: $1,185,000 over 7y, 3.5% of budgetCENTER FOR CARBON REMOVAL: $1,095,167 over 6y, 6.7% of budgetGREAT PLAINS INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INC: $900,000 over 6y, 2.8% of budgetWORLD WILDLIFE FUND INC: $825,000 over 6y, 0.1% of budgetNATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION: $675,000 over 5y, 0.1% of budgetAmerican Forests: $584,000 over 2y, 2.4% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $512,500 over 4y, 0.1% of budgetCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $475,000 over 2y, 0.9% of budgetCLEAN AIR TASK FORCE INC: $474,750 over 4y, 0.3% of budgetTHE NATURE CONSERVANCY: $386,907 over 3y, 0.0% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $333,000 over 2y, 0.1% of budgetLEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $300,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetTHE NISKANEN CENTER INC: $298,333 over 3y, 2.5% of budgetTHE TRUSTEES OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK: $250,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetCLIMATE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL INC: $200,000 over 2y, 4.0% of budgetWildlife Conservation Society: $140,000 over 4y, 0.0% of budgetROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND INC: $135,000 over 6y, 0.2% of budgetEnvironmental Law Institute: $125,000 over 1y, 2.1% of budgetAMERICAN ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE: $100,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetDONOR ADVISED CHARITABLE GIVING INC: $100,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetOPEN SPACE INSTITUTE INC: $60,000 over 6y, 0.6% of budgetCarbonPlan: $50,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetAMERICAN FLOOD COALITION INC: $50,000 over 1y, 1.5% of budgetDUKE UNIVERSITY: $50,000 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetMALIASILI INITIATIVES INC: $35,000 over 7y, 0.1% of budgetCOALITION FOR RAINFOREST NATIONS SECRETARIAT: $25,000 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetBROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY: $22,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetTHE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: $12,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetSEEC Institute Inc: $10,000 over 1y, 1.1% of budgetTHIRD WAY INSTITUTE: $10,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetPEOPLE'S THEATRE PROJECT INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetTHE CAMPAIGN AGAINST HUNGER INC: $7,500 over 1y, 0.0% of budgetHealth Equity Initiative Inc: $5,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetNEW YORK LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $5,000 over 1y, 0.4% of budgetClimate Mobilization Project Inc: $2,500 over 1y, 0.2% of budgetOUR ENERGY POLICY FOUNDATION: $1,000 over 1y, 0.2% of budget
Grantee by grantee: a decade per organization, before and after funding

A decade per grantee: revenue shaded, grants as bars, all rows on one timeline.

Co-funders

Grantmakers whose grantees overlap with this funder’s far more than size alone predicts. Closer means stronger alignment; arcs show where they also fund each other. Here they form a tightly interlocked group: most of these funders back each other's grantees too.

Climateworks Foundati…The William & Flora H…Breakthrough Energy F…John D and Catherine …New Venture FundRockefeller Philanthr…The Energy FoundationUnited States Energy …Silicon Valley Commun…The Ford FoundationThe Goldman Sachs Cha…Climate Imperative Fo…
Climateworks FoundationCA21.9× affinity8 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Climateworks Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · Breakthrough Energy Foundation · John D and Catherine T Macarthur Foundation · New Venture Fund · Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors Inc · The Energy Foundation · United States Energy Foundation · Silicon Valley Community Foundation · The Ford Foundation · The Goldman Sachs Charitable Gift Fund · Climate Imperative Foundation

How this is measured
Affinity is a Gamma-Poisson posterior co-funding rate, re-centered on the typical rate, so thin evidence shrinks toward no signal. Overlap is association, not proof of shared intent.

How much its grantees rely on government

Each dot is one organization Advocates for Climate Innovation funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Advocates for Climate Innovation. Bigger dots raise more.

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 20%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    7report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    typical government reliance, FY20–25
    How this is measured
    Government income is each org’s traced federal awards (USASpending grants and contracts) plus state payments (open checkbooks) as a share of its total revenue (IRS Form 990); the self-reported government-grant line (990 line 1e) is carried for cross-check: a grantee that reports government grants we could not trace to a source is left off the chart rather than shown as receiving none. An association, not a claim that a grant caused the public funding. Coverage is precision-first, a floor rather than a census; state records exist for 9 states, so a grantee outside them shows no state figure (dimmed) rather than a false zero. Federal award amounts are obligations, which can span years, so a single-year share is indicative. 990 filings lag 12 to 24 months.
    05Through Plinth

    Warm introductions · Powered by PlinthPlus

    How do I get to Advocates for Climate Innovation?

    Find your warmest path to Advocates for Climate Innovation through trustees and officers whose names appear on both boards. Search for your organization and Plinth traces the shortest route it can evidence.

    Each link is a name appearing on two organizations’ public IRS 990 filings, matched on that name and, where the filings support it, on location. A same-state match has geographic support, which is a second matching feature rather than confirmation that the two are one person; a cross-state one is the likeliest to be two people who share a name. Every hop shows its tier, low-confidence and distant paths are held back rather than guessed, and it is worth confirming the person before you use the introduction.

    On method. Every financial figure here is read from IRS e-file XML, the funder’s own 990/990-PF, and from the multi-year returns of the 52 grantees we resolved, each linked to its source. Grantee outcomes are each organization’s own program-service reporting (Form 990, Part III), read as association with funding, never as caused by it. Low-confidence name matches are suppressed rather than guessed. How we build these →

    How this is measured
    Each figure carries one of six labels. Filed is what the funder reported on its return. Official is another government record about an organization, such as a federal award or a charity register, joined by name where no shared identifier exists. Resolved is an identity we worked out where the filing named a recipient without an EIN, kept only above a measured confidence threshold. Computed is arithmetic over those, like themes, portfolio clusters and co-funder strength. Context is a statistic about a place rather than about an organization, which is what the need overlay is: it describes the area a grantee’s address sits in, not where its work lands. Inferred is drawn by a model from text, like the partnerships read out of public news and organization websites. Each is labeled where it appears.

    Generated from the IRS Form 990-PF e-file return for fiscal year 2025, released 2025. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Advocates for Climate Innovation’s filings →

    More from the funding graph

    The unnamed billions
    grants reported with no recipient in the public record
    The regranting layer
    51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer
    The DAF merry-go-round
    $9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds
    The endowment market
    who holds foundation money, and what just moved
    The camps
    funders cluster by geography, not ideology
    By state
    where grant money is based, and what stays home