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Breakthrough Energy Action Inc at a glanceAlso receives grants: funding profile →

· Public charity

Breakthrough Energy Action Inc

The world's economic and energy policies are built around technologies that emit greenhouse gases.

$29M
Granted FY2024still arriving
33
Grants FY2024still arriving
12
States reached
$11M
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, FY2021 to 2024.

Environment$69MPublic Benefit$8.3MCivil Rights$2.0MCommunity Improvement$200kScience & Tech$150kSocial Science$75k
02FY2024 · 33 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k12 grants · $1.9M
  • $250k+21 grants · $28M
$250,000
Median grant
12
States reached
$24M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS INC$10,500,000
CLIMATE POWER$4,000,000
FUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION$3,000,000
CLIMATE JOBS NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER INC$2,000,000
CLEARPATH ACTION FOR CONSERVATIVE CLEAN ENERGY INC$1,919,480
CATF ACTION INC$1,305,000
RAINEY CENTER FREEDOM PROJECT$600,000
BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER ACTION INC$517,884
COUNTERSPARK INC$400,000
CENTER FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC$370,000
NRDC ACTION FUND INC$310,500
CONSERVATIVES FOR A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE$307,000
CLEAN ENERGY BUYERS ASSOCIATION$300,000
CLEAN ENERGY GRID ACTION$300,000
BLUEGREEN ALLIANCE INC$272,315
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:

Dollar for dollar, its grants (FY21–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 14%, against an area that typically sits at 10%. 91% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Most of its grants land in higher-need ZIPs.

area typical 10%CATF ACTION INC: $1.3M → 16%BLUEGREEN ALLIANCE INC: $956k → 11%ENERGY ACTION FUND: $200k → 10%NRDC ACTION FUND INC: $600k → 17%FUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION: $3.3M → 14%CONSERVATIVES FOR A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE: $470k → 16%CLEARPATH ACTION FOR CONSERVATIVE CLEAN ENERGY INC: $1.9M → 10%AMERICAN CONCRETE PAVEMENT ASSOCIATION: $200k → 14%CENTER FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS: $200k → 7%CATF ACTION INC: $900k → 16%BLUEGREEN ALLIANCE INC: $272k → 11%ENERGY ACTION FUND: $200k → 10%NRDC ACTION FUND INC: $311k → 17%FUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION: $3.0M → 14%CONSERVATIVES FOR A CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE: $307k → 16%CLEARPATH ACTION FOR CONSERVATIVE CLEAN ENERGY INC: $1.8M → 10%BLUEGREEN ALLIANCE INC: $228k → 11%POTENTIAL ENERGY ACTION NETWORK INC: $750k → 17%CLEAN ENERGY FOR AMERICA INC: $650k → 14%CLIMATE JOBS NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER INC: $2.0M → 17%RAINEY CENTER FREEDOM PROJECT: $600k → 14%CLIMATE POWER: $600k → 14%RAINEY CENTER FREEDOM PROJECT: $450k → 14%FUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION: $250k → 14%LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS INC: $10.5M → 14%LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS INC: $3.3M → 14%CLEAN ENERGY BUYERS ASSOCIATION: $1.2M → 14%Advanced Energy Works: $750k → 14%BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER ACTION INC: $518k → 14%CENTER FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC: $370k → 14%CLEAN ENERGY BUYERS ASSOCIATION: $300k → 14%LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS INC: $250k → 14%BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER ACTION INC: $210k → 14%CLEAN ENERGY BUSINESS NETWORK: $200k → 14%CLEAN ENERGY BUSINESS NETWORK: $200k → 14%BBT INC: $200k → 14%BBT INC: $200k → 14%CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC: $508k → 14%CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS: $472k → 14%PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS: $250k → 14%CARBON REMOVAL ALLIANCE: $300k → 14%THIRD WAY: $257k → 14%IN UNION USA ACTION: $250k → 14%CLIMATE POWER: $4.0M → 14%CLEAN ENERGY GRID ACTION: $300k → 14%COUNTERSPARK INC: $400k → 14%CLEAN ENERGY GRID ACTION: $250k → 14%CLIMATE POWER: $250k → 14%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

WA
MN
IL
WI
MI
NY
MA
OH
CA
VA
NC
DC
TX
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.

81%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$65M · 22 repeat orgs$16M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +16% since the first grant, against +4% for those funded once.

22 repeat relationships: 20 still active in FY2024, 2 since wound down; 9 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

22
13

Total granted

$65M
$12M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+16%
+4%

Still filing today

95%
100%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $3.3M went to new ones.

50%100%’21’22’23’24
RenewedFirst-time

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

’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentCommunity ImprovementCivil RightsScience & TechHuman ServicesPublic BenefitOther
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

  • LO
    LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $20M · revenue +131%
  • CA
    CLEARPATH ACTION FOR CONSERVATIVE CLEAN ENERGY INC
    3× · 2022–2024 · $6.7M · revenue +367% · 87% of their budget
  • FF
    FUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION
    2× · 2023–2024 · $6.5M · revenue +910%

Funded once

  • FF
    FUND FOR A BETTER FUTURE INC
    one grant, 2022 · $5.9M · revenue -86%
  • AC
    American Council On Renewable Energy
    one grant, 2022 · $2.5M · revenue +20% · 32% of their budget
  • SC
    SIERRA CLUB
    one grant, 2022 · $950k · revenue -50%
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
Texas Clean Energy Coalition
—
3
Policy Action for a Clean Tomorrow Inc

Clean Tomorrow advances policies that reduce climate emissions by turning policy ambition into action. We work to catalyze rapid change that will accelerate the innovation and growth of clean energy.

Environment
4
Clean Energy Group Inc

Clean energy research and advocacy. Clean Energy Group promotes effective clean energy policies, develops low carbon technology innovation strategies and promotes new financial tools to strengthen the economy and stabilize climate change.

Environment
5
Fresh Energy

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

Environment
6
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
7
Climate Parliament Inc

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

International
8
Clean Future Action Fund Inc

To educate, lobby and advocate for policies that advance clean energy development and deployment.

Environment
9
Climate Innovation Action Inc

To educate policymakers about climate policies generally and to directly advocate for specific legislation on climate change.

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
Cleaner Economy Coalition Inc

Driving american jobs and competitiveness by leveraging our cleaner economy and enabling u.s. manufacturers to lead in advanced energy technologies.

—
12
Conservative Energy Network

To champion secure, reliable, affordable, clean American energy.

Environment
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions Inc; the most unlike its peers is Texas Transmission Project. 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

43 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. 43 of the 44 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.

15
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
6
Early backer (in before they grew)
43/43
Grantees still filing
23/43
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS INC: $20,450,000 · Civil RightsLEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS IN…THIRD WAY: $2,556,954 · Civil RightsTHIRD WAYCLIMATE POWER: $4,850,000 · EnvironmentCLIMATE POWERCATF ACTION INC: $4,065,231 · EnvironmentCATF ACTION INCBlueGreen Alliance Inc: $2,625,701 · EnvironmentBlueGreen Alliance IncCLIMATE JOBS NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER INC: $2,000,000 · EnvironmentCLIMATE JOBS NATIONAL RESOURCE…CITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC: $1,758,660 · EnvironmentCITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERG…Clean Energy For America Inc: $1,416,000 · EnvironmentClean Energy For America IncCENTER FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC: $1,283,080 · EnvironmentCENTER FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY …Counterspark Inc: $1,150,000 · EnvironmentCounterspark IncPotential Energy Action Network Inc: $750,000 · EnvironmentENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE ACTION FUND: $725,000 · Environment+4 more: $650,000 · EnvironmentCLEARPATH ACTION FOR CONSERVATIVE CLEAN ENERGY INC: $6,730,549 · OtherCLEARPATH ACTION FOR CO…RAINEY CENTER FREEDOM PROJECT: $1,795,000 · OtherRAINEY CENTER FREEDOM P…NRDC ACTION FUND INC: $1,660,275 · OtherNRDC ACTION FUND INCBBT INC: $1,250,000 · OtherBBT INCSIERRA CLUB: $950,000 · OtherSIERRA CLUBConservatives for a Clean Energy Future: $777,000 · OtherCLEAN ENERGY GRID ACTION: $550,000 · Other+13 more: $2,649,500 · Other+13 moreFUND FOR A BETTER FUTURE INC: $5,900,000 · Community ImprovementFUND FOR A BE…CLEAN ENERGY BUYERS ASSOCIATION: $2,600,275 · Community ImprovementCLEAN ENERGY …BIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER ACTION INC: $767,884 · Community ImprovementBIPARTISAN PO…+2 more: $356,700 · Community ImprovementFUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION: $6,500,000 · Public BenefitFUTURE FO…American Council On Renewable Energy: $2,500,000 · Science & TechEVERGREEN ACTION: $950,000 · Human Services
Civil Rights$23,006,954Environment$21,273,672Other$16,362,324Community Improvement$9,624,859Public Benefit$6,500,000Science & Tech$2,500,000Human Services$950,000

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

25%50%75%100%$1.0M$10M$100Mgrantee revenue →↑ funder's share of their budgetLEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS INC: $20,450,000 over 3y, 9.3% of budgetCLEARPATH ACTION FOR CONSERVATIVE CLEAN ENERGY INC: $6,730,549 over 3y, 87% of budgetFUTURE FORWARD USA ACTION: $6,500,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetFUND FOR A BETTER FUTURE INC: $5,900,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetCLIMATE POWER: $4,850,000 over 2y, 5.3% of budgetCATF ACTION INC: $4,065,231 over 3y, 83% of budgetBlueGreen Alliance Inc: $2,625,701 over 3y, 34% of budgetCLEAN ENERGY BUYERS ASSOCIATION: $2,600,275 over 3y, 13% of budgetTHIRD WAY: $2,556,954 over 3y, 7.5% of budgetAmerican Council On Renewable Energy: $2,500,000 over 1y, 32% of budgetCLIMATE JOBS NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER INC: $2,000,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetRAINEY CENTER FREEDOM PROJECT: $1,795,000 over 3y, 100% of budgetCITIZENS FOR RESPONSIBLE ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC: $1,758,660 over 3y, 17% of budgetNRDC ACTION FUND INC: $1,660,275 over 3y, 4.8% of budgetClean Energy For America Inc: $1,416,000 over 3y, 70% of budgetCENTER FOR CLIMATE AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS INC: $1,283,080 over 3y, 9.7% of budgetBBT INC: $1,250,000 over 3y, 11% of budgetCounterspark Inc: $1,150,000 over 2y, 28% of budgetSIERRA CLUB: $950,000 over 1y, 0.6% of budgetEVERGREEN ACTION: $950,000 over 3y, 23% of budgetConservatives for a Clean Energy Future: $777,000 over 2y, 22% of budgetBIPARTISAN POLICY CENTER ACTION INC: $767,884 over 2y, 11% of budgetPotential Energy Action Network Inc: $750,000 over 1y, 85% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE ACTION FUND: $725,000 over 1y, 2.5% of budgetCLEAN ENERGY GRID ACTION: $550,000 over 2y, 100% of budgetENERGY ACTION FUND: $400,000 over 2y, 0.8% of budgetCARBON REMOVAL ALLIANCE: $300,000 over 1y, 22% of budgetClean Power Campaign: $280,000 over 1y, 73% of budgetThe Pew Charitable Trusts: $250,000 over 1y, 0.1% of budgetIn Union USA Action: $250,000 over 1y, 20% of budgetTIDES ADVOCACY: $219,500 over 1y, 0.3% of budgetRENEWABLE HYDROGEN ALLIANCE: $206,700 over 1y, 44% of budgetAMERICAN CONCRETE PAVEMENT ASSOCIATION: $200,000 over 1y, 5.8% of budgetELECTRICITY CONSUMERS RESOURCE COUNCIL: $175,000 over 1y, 37% of budgetRESEARCHAMERICA: $150,000 over 1y, 2.0% of budgetTHE ADVANCED POWER ALLIANCE: $150,000 over 1y, 4.0% of budgetTEXAS TRANSMISSION PROJECT: $150,000 over 1y, 100% of budgetCONSERVATIVE COALITION FOR CLIMATE SOLUTIONS ACTION INC: $100,000 over 2y, 100% of budgetGen-Z For Change Inc: $100,000 over 1y, 13% of budgetSECURING AMERICA'S FUTURE ENERGY FOUNDATION: $100,000 over 1y, 0.9% of budgetTEXAS GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ALLIANCE: $75,000 over 1y, 40% of budgetOHIO ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL ACTION FUND: $75,000 over 1y, 12% of budgetJOSEPH RAINEY CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY: $75,000 over 1y, 4.2% 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.

Sixteen Thirty FundThe Heising-Simons Ac…Breakthrough Energy F…Energy Action FundFund for a Better Fut…Advocacy Action Fund …League of Conservatio…United States Energy …NEO Philanthropy Acti…Clean Future Action F…Oakw FundClimateworks Foundati…
Sixteen Thirty FundDC38.4× affinity17 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: Sixteen Thirty Fund · The Heising-Simons Action Fund · Breakthrough Energy Foundation · Energy Action Fund · Fund for a Better Future Inc · Advocacy Action Fund Inc · League of Conservation Voters Inc · United States Energy Foundation · NEO Philanthropy Action Fund Inc · Clean Future Action Fund Inc · Oakw Fund · Climateworks 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 Breakthrough Energy Action Inc funds: left to right is the share of its income from government, bottom to top the share from Breakthrough Energy Action Inc. 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%3%5%8%10%share of the org’s income from government →
    no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
    2get no government money at all
    1report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
    0rely on government for over half their income
    ⤢ axis zoomed · 0–10%
    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 Breakthrough Energy Action Inc?

    Find your warmest path to Breakthrough Energy Action Inc 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 44 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 e-file return for fiscal year 2024, released 2024. Filings run roughly 12 to 24 months behind; figures are dated accordingly.

    Source object · view filing

    Play a game based on Breakthrough Energy Action’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