How much does Climate Imperative Foundation give?

Climate Imperative Foundation reported 96 itemized grants totaling $161,545,113, out of $242,899,738 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 33 and 101 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2023.

What does Climate Imperative Foundation fund?

By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2024, its largest causes are Environment (98%), Public Benefit (1%), Education (0%).

Who are Climate Imperative Foundation's largest grantees?

By total granted over FY2020 to FY2024: The Energy Foundation ($99M), Sierra Club Foundation ($68M), United States Energy Foundation ($57M).

Does Climate Imperative Foundation fund new organizations?

In FY2023, 41% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.

Which funders back the same organizations as Climate Imperative Foundation?

Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include United States Energy Foundation, The Energy Foundation, Climateworks Foundation.

Where is Climate Imperative Foundation based?

Climate Imperative Foundation is based in CA.

Foundation Dossiers Mostly funded, not a grantmaker: see who funds it →

California · Public charity

Climate Imperative Foundation

CLIMATE IMPERATIVE FOUNDATION's mission is to employ science and economics to cut global carbon emissions to secure a better future for all.

$243M
Granted FY2024(still arriving): 96
Itemized grants FY2024: 101
Organizations funded FY2023: 41%
First-time grantees FY2023

Read the full brief

Itemized, FY2024: $162M; The rest is grants the schedule does not break out
Median grant, FY2024: $500,000
Largest grant, FY2024: $29,750,000
Organizations funded a year: 33 to 101; FY2020 to FY2023
States reached, FY2024: 20
Total assets, FY2024: $110M

How open it is to new grantees

In FY2023, 41% of the organizations Climate Imperative Foundation funded were first-time grantees, receiving 11% of its grant dollars.

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2023, 89% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $18M went to new ones.

RenewedFirst-time

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

EnvironmentEducationPublic BenefitCommunity ImprovementInternationalScience & TechOther

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.

The numbers by year

Fiscal year	Organizations funded	To those organizations	First-time grantees
FY2024still arriving	89	$150M	18%
FY2023	101	$166M	41%
FY2022	73	$98M	42%
FY2021	60	$68M	63%
FY2020	33	$24M	n/a

100% classified

What it funded, over time

Every grant placed by its stated purpose and the recipient’s mission, by year, FY2020 to 2024.

Environment$532MPublic Benefit$3.1MEducation$1.3MCivil Rights$800kHealth$749kEmployment$745kPhilanthropy$550kSocial Science$300kOther$0

Where its grants go

Grant dollars by states, across the years we hold.

Which US states its grants reach

Top grantees

Largest recipients by total granted, FY2020 to FY2024, and the share of each one’s budget the grants supplied at peak.

Grantee	Total granted	Years	Share of their budget
The Energy Foundation	$98,577,000	4	32%
Sierra Club Foundation	$67,762,000	5	29%
United States Energy Foundation	$57,275,230	5	8%
Rocky Mountain Institute	$28,287,500	5	10%
Natural Resources Defense Council Inc	$24,223,000	5	4%
The Partnership Project Inc	$12,000,000	5	12%
League of Conservation Voters Education Fund	$9,941,000	4	7%
Building Decarbonization Coalition	$8,710,000	4	22%
International Sustainable Energy Foundation	$8,323,000	3	14%
Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated	$7,995,700	5	1%

Show all 158 grantees

All grantees of Climate Imperative Foundation by total granted
Grantee	Total granted	Years	Share of their budget
The Energy Foundation	$98,577,000	4	32%
Sierra Club Foundation	$67,762,000	5	29%
United States Energy Foundation	$57,275,230	5	8%
Rocky Mountain Institute	$28,287,500	5	10%
Natural Resources Defense Council Inc	$24,223,000	5	4%
The Partnership Project Inc	$12,000,000	5	12%
League of Conservation Voters Education Fund	$9,941,000	4	7%
Building Decarbonization Coalition	$8,710,000	4	22%
International Sustainable Energy Foundation	$8,323,000	3	14%
Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated	$7,995,700	5	1%
Earthjustice	$7,590,000	4	2%
Clasp	$7,325,000	4	19%
United Nations Foundation Inc	$7,150,000	3	2%
Climate Strategies Lab LLC	$7,087,868	4	n/a
West Harlem Environmental Action Inc	$7,025,000	5	23%
Vote Solar	$6,400,000	3	32%
Evergreen Collaborative	$5,800,000	4	30%
The International Council on Clean Transportation Inc	$4,747,300	5	7%
Securing America's Future Energy Foundation	$4,677,000	3	20%
Environmental Integrity Project	$4,572,790	4	29%
Resources Legacy Fund	$4,400,000	2	3%
BlueGreen Alliance Foundation	$4,191,000	5	14%
Energy and Climate Transitions Ai LLC	$3,927,932	3	n/a
Climate Jobs National Resource Center Inc	$3,900,000	4	21%
Center for American Progress	$3,750,000	4	4%
Climateworks Foundation	$3,300,000	3	1%
Advanced Energy Institute	$3,250,000	4	13%
Berkeley Lab Foundation	$3,230,000	4	29%
American Lung Association	$3,098,982	4	1%
Sunstone Strategies LLC	$2,810,000	3	n/a
Southern Environmental Law Center	$2,623,182	2	3%
Association for Energy Affordability Inc	$2,344,148	4	3%
Ceres Inc	$2,285,000	4	2%
Appalachian Voices	$2,000,000	2	16%
Regulatory Assistance Project	$1,796,601	2	10%
University of California Davis	$1,760,000	4	n/a
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative Inc	$1,700,000	3	6%
Physicians for Social Responsibility	$1,650,000	5	13%
Mighty Earth Inc	$1,550,000	2	16%
Tsinghua Education Foundation Na Inc	$1,500,000	1	10%
GridLab Inc	$1,471,156	3	18%
Global Energy Monitor	$1,436,000	3	8%
Environmental Health Coalition	$1,400,000	2	14%
Ce Buyers Institute	$1,400,000	2	12%
Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management Inc	$1,340,000	4	9%
World Resources Institute	$1,250,000	2	0%
Public Health Law Center Inc	$1,230,986	3	10%
Catskill Mountainkeeper Inc	$1,202,024	5	27%
California Environmental Justice Alliance	$1,200,000	2	4%
Climate Leadership Council Inc	$1,125,000	4	10%
Electrification Coalition Foundation	$1,100,000	2	15%
Communities for a Better Environment	$1,050,000	4	6%
Clientearth USA Inc	$1,050,000	1	17%
Alliance for a Green Economy Inc	$1,039,867	4	30%
Calstart Inc	$1,025,000	2	0%
The Sunrise Project Inc	$1,020,000	1	2%
E3g Third Generation Environmentalism	$1,000,000	1	93%
Western Organization of Resource Councils Education Project	$1,000,000	1	14%
The Greenlining Institute	$1,000,000	3	4%
Multiplier	$1,000,000	1	2%
Interfaith Conference of Metropolit	$1,000,000	2	77%
Western Resource Advocates	$991,000	2	4%
Emerald Cities Collaborative Inc	$980,000	3	6%
Pacific Environment and Resources Center	$977,000	1	19%
Ocean Conservancy	$960,000	1	2%
West Virginia Citizen Action Education Fund	$950,000	1	58%
Climate Solutions	$940,000	4	9%
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability	$900,000	4	4%
Council for the New Energy Economics	$900,000	2	97%
Environmental Law and Policy Center of the Midwest	$850,000	2	4%
Purpose Foundation	$850,000	3	7%
Donovan Energy LLC	$822,000	2	n/a
Iowa Environmental Council	$800,000	2	27%
The Us-China Green Energy Council	$800,000	1	98%
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy	$750,176	2	3%
American Council On Renewable Energy	$750,000	2	7%
Environmental Protection Network	$750,000	3	13%
Physicians for Social Responsibility	$742,192	3	22%
Consumer Reports Inc	$725,000	2	0%
Frack Action Fund Inc	$702,000	5	70%
The Aspen Institute Inc	$700,000	2	0%
Hip Hop Caucus Education Fund	$659,000	3	18%
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy	$650,000	2	11%
New York Public Interest Research Group Fund Inc	$630,000	4	6%
Environment America Inc	$621,300	2	2%
Conservation Law Foundation Inc	$607,217	1	1%
Healthy Gulf	$606,975	2	10%
The Roosevelt Institute	$600,000	1	5%
The Asia Foundation	$590,000	2	0%
National Audubon Society Inc	$578,000	1	0%
Physicians Scientists and Engineers for Sustainable and Healthy Energy Inc	$555,000	1	9%
Public Citizen Foundation Inc	$550,000	2	2%
Regents of the University of California	$550,000	2	n/a
Canary Media Inc	$550,000	2	12%
Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund	$500,000	1	1%
Climate Power Education Fund	$500,000	1	4%
Clean Power Institute	$500,000	1	67%
Fresh Energy	$500,000	2	3%
Potential Energy Coalition Inc	$500,000	1	2%
United States Public Interest Research Group Education Fund Inc	$465,000	2	35%
Metro Iaf Inc	$452,000	1	23%
Rewiring America	$450,000	1	1%
World Wildlife Fund Inc	$450,000	1	0%
Coltura	$450,000	2	42%
The Future of Heat Intiative Inc	$431,000	1	99%
Urban Green Council	$429,000	1	16%
New York Communities Organizing Fund Inc	$425,000	3	6%
Elevate Energy	$416,727	1	1%
Southern Renewable Energy Association	$400,000	2	20%
Bipartisan Policy Center Inc	$400,000	2	1%
Afl-Cio Working for America Institute	$400,000	1	29%
Citizens Action Coalition Education Fund Inc	$400,000	2	24%
Innovation Center for Energy and Sustainability	$400,000	2	56%
Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis Inc	$375,000	2	3%
Friends of the Earth	$375,000	2	1%
Center for Earth Energy and Democracy	$375,000	1	23%
Rainforest Action Network	$350,000	1	3%
Cub Consumer Education and Research Fund	$301,080	1	8%
Rhodium Group LLC	$300,000	1	n/a
Institute for Sustainable Communities	$300,000	1	4%
University of California Santa Barbara	$300,000	1	n/a
Economic Policy Institute	$275,000	1	2%
Spur - San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association	$275,000	3	2%
Californians Against Waste Foundation	$268,880	1	n/a
Clean Energy States Alliance Inc	$260,000	2	14%
The Niskanen Center Inc	$250,000	1	4%
Imagine Power LLC	$250,000	1	n/a
Center for Strategic and International Studies	$250,000	1	1%
National Center for Healthy Housing Inc	$235,000	2	6%
Earthworks	$225,000	1	2%
Clean Water Fund	$210,000	1	3%
Institute for Local Self Reliance	$200,000	1	5%
Coalition for Green Capital D/B/A American Green Bank Consortium	$200,000	1	10%
Sustainable Markets Foundation	$200,000	1	0%
Texas Southern University Foundatio	$200,000	1	2%
New York University	$150,000	1	0%
Vet Voice Foundation Inc	$150,000	1	2%
Global Philanthropy Partnership	$150,000	1	2%
Conservation Voters of Sc Educ Fund	$150,000	1	15%
Progress Texas Institute	$150,000	1	38%
Together Louisiana	$125,000	1	10%
Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy	$125,000	1	5%
Washington University	$125,000	2	0%
American Security Project	$110,000	1	7%
Georgetown University	$105,000	1	0%
Regents of the University of California at Irvine	$102,000	2	n/a
Center for Popular Democracy Inc	$100,000	1	0%
Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP	$100,000	1	n/a
West Marion Inc	$100,000	1	11%
La Compost	$100,000	1	4%
Beyond Toxics	$100,000	1	9%
Houston Advanced Research Center	$96,000	2	1%
Kentucky Resources Council Inc	$89,356	1	7%
Rk Communications	$69,750	1	n/a
Zero Waste Washington	$50,000	1	5%
Waltzer Wiygul & Garside LLC	$35,000	1	n/a
Agricultural Utilization Research Institute	$28,000	1	1%
Dr International Ltd	$17,000	1	n/a

Plus 1 recipient with no EIN on record ($200k), not named here.

Climate Imperative Foundation supplied at least a quarter of the budget for 22 of its grantees at some point. The chart plots its 143 largest grantees; load-bearing ones sit top left.

Tap a dot to name the grantee.

How this is measured

Share of budget is the funder’s grant in a year over the grantee’s total revenue that year, at its highest across the years we hold; revenue is from all sources. Only grantees confirmed against their own filings, whose grants do not exceed their revenue, are plotted: the largest 143.

Nonprofits that may fit its grantmaking

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.

United States Energy FoundationCA120.9× affinity67 shared granteesties to 11 of 11Hover any node to trace its alignments.Compare side by side →

Open a dossier: United States Energy Foundation · The Energy Foundation · Climateworks Foundation · The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation · The Heising-Simons Foundation · Natural Resources Defense Council Inc · New Venture Fund · The McKnight Foundation · Windward Fund · Freedom Together Foundation · Sequoia Climate Foundation · Environmental Defense Fund Incorporated

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.

Compare Climate Imperative Foundation with peer funders

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How do I get to Climate Imperative Foundation?

Find your warmest path to Climate Imperative Foundation 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.

About Climate Imperative Foundation

How much does Climate Imperative Foundation give?: Climate Imperative Foundation reported 96 itemized grants totaling $161,545,113, out of $242,899,738 in total grant expense reported on the return in its FY2024 IRS filing. It funded between 33 and 101 organizations a year over FY2020 to FY2023.
What does Climate Imperative Foundation fund?: By grant dollars over FY2020 to FY2024, its largest causes are Environment (98%), Public Benefit (1%), Education (0%).
Who are Climate Imperative Foundation's largest grantees?: By total granted over FY2020 to FY2024: The Energy Foundation ($99M), Sierra Club Foundation ($68M), United States Energy Foundation ($57M).
Does Climate Imperative Foundation fund new organizations?: In FY2023, 41% of the organizations it funded were first-time grantees.
Which funders back the same organizations as Climate Imperative Foundation?: Its strongest co-funders, measured against what their size predicts, include United States Energy Foundation, The Energy Foundation, Climateworks Foundation.
Where is Climate Imperative Foundation based?: Climate Imperative Foundation is based in CA.