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· 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 FY2024still arriving
96
Grants FY2024still arriving
20
States reached
$30M
Largest
01What it funds
01100% 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
02FY2024 · 96 grants

Where the money goes

Grants by size, and the largest recipients.

How this is measured
The 96 grants below total $161,545,113, the rows itemized in this filing. The $242,899,738 headline is the total grant expense on the return; the other $81,354,625 is giving the schedule does not break out (grants under the $5,000 itemization floor, grants to individuals, grants on other schedules). Every figure below describes the itemized rows only.

By grant size · FY2024

  • $50k–250k18 grants · $2.7M
  • $250k+78 grants · $159M
$500,000
Median grant
20
States reached
$110M
Total assets
Largest grants
RecipientAmount
ENERGY FOUNDATION CHINA (EFC)$29,750,000
SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION$23,050,000
US ENERGY FOUNDATION$15,167,150
NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL (NRDC)$7,875,000
ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE (RMI)$7,640,000
TIDES FOUNDATION$4,146,268
ROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND INC$3,475,000
BUILDING DECARBONIZATION COALITION (BDC)$3,350,000
ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND$3,175,000
ENERGY AND CLIMATE TRANSITIONS AI LLC$3,127,932
THE PARTNERSHIP PROJECT$3,000,000
VOTE SOLAR$3,000,000
EARTHJUSTICE$2,680,000
EVERGREEN COLLABORATIVE$2,400,000
CLIMATE STRATEGIES LAB (INDUSTRIOUS LABS)$2,356,750
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 (FY20–24) land where the poverty rate runs at 12%, against an area that typically sits at 11%. 46% of its dollars go to grantees based in above-average-need neighborhoods. Its grants spread fairly evenly across need levels.

area typical 11%Building Decarbonization Coalition: $3.5M → 10%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL (NRDC): $7.9M → 17%International Sustainable Energy Foundation: $3.2M → 10%CLIMATE STRATEGIES LAB (INDUSTRIOUS LABS): $2.4M → 16%BUILDING DECARBONIZATION COALITION (BDC): $3.4M → 10%Natural Resources Defense Council: $7.4M → 17%CLIMATE STRATEGIES LAB: $2.2M → 16%SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION FBO SIERRA CLUB CALIFORNIA: $13.3M → 12%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $5.8M → 17%Climate Strategies Lab: $2.2M → 16%Sierra Club Foundation: $25.6M → 10%SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION FBO SIERRA CLUB CALIFORNIA: $5.8M → 12%NATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $2.9M → 17%Rocky Mountain Institute: $13.8M → 12%SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $23.1M → 10%ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE (RMI): $7.6M → 12%VOTE SOLAR: $3.0M → 10%ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE: $4.1M → 12%Vote Solar: $3.0M → 10%ROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND INC: $3.5M → 17%TIDES FOUNDATION: $4.1M → 10%Rockefeller Family Fund Inc: $2.7M → 17%League of Conservation Voters Education Fund: $3.7M → 14%TIDES FOUNDATION FBO DATA FOR PROGRESS EDUCATION FUND: $2.3M → 10%CLASP: $3.0M → 14%CLASP: $2.7M → 14%International Council on Clean Transportation: $2.4M → 14%LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $2.4M → 14%ENERGY FOUNDATION CHINA (EFC): $29.8M → 10%LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $2.1M → 14%The Energy Foundation: $27.0M → 10%THE ENERGY FOUNDATION: $23.3M → 10%THE ENERGY FOUNDATION: $18.5M → 10%UNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION: $10.4M → 10%UNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION: $6.5M → 10%UNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION: $5.6M → 10%EARTHJUSTICE: $2.7M → 10%West Harlem Environmental Action Inc: $2.5M → 17%WE ACT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE: $2.1M → 17%ENERGY AND CLIMATE TRANSITIONS AI LLC: $3.1M → 10%United States Energy Foundation: $19.6M → 10%US ENERGY FOUNDATION: $15.2M → 10%ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND: $3.2M → 17%Environmental Defense Fund: $2.5M → 17%Windward Fund: $3.3M → 14%EVERGREEN COLLABORATIVE: $2.4M → 14%Evergreen Collaborative: $2.0M → 14%UNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC FBO US CLIMATE ALLIANCE: $5.3M → 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

VT
WA
MT
MN
IL
MI
NY
MA
OR
IA
IN
OH
PA
CA
CO
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
AR
TN
NC
SC
DC
LA
TX
FL

Grants abroad, by region: $81M on the FY2024 return

Schedule F, as filed: 4 regions. The IRS asks for region and purpose, not the recipient, so no country or grantee can be named here.

Europe (including Iceland and Greenland)$62M · 76% · 18 grants

Stated purpose: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

East Asia and the Pacific$15M · 19% · 9 grants

Stated purpose: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

South America$2.4M · 3% · 2 grants

Stated purpose: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

South Asia$1.6M · 2% · 1 grant

Stated purpose: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

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. Grants abroad on Schedule F are filed by region, purpose and amount with no recipient name, so they are shown by region and cannot be placed on the country map or matched to a grantee.
03Its grantees
repeat funding

Who it funds again

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

95%of every dollar goes to organizations it has funded before.
$482M · 96 repeat orgs$24M to everyone else

Grantees it renews have grown median revenue +24% since the first grant, against +11% for those funded once.

96 repeat relationships: 73 still active in FY2024, 23 since wound down; 16 grantees were first funded in FY2024 (too recent to call).

How the two cohorts compare

Re-uppedFunded once

Organizations

96
47

Total granted

$482M
$18M

Median revenue growth · since first grant

+24%
+11%

Still filing today

93%
85%

New vs renewed · share of each year

In FY2024, 96% of grant dollars renewed an existing relationship; $6.7M went to new ones.

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

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

’20’21’22’23’24
EnvironmentPublic BenefitEducationInternationalCommunity ImprovementCivil 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

  • TE
    THE ENERGY FOUNDATION
    4× · 2021–2024 · $99M · revenue +31% · 32% of their budget
  • UNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION
    5× · 2020–2024 · $57M · revenue +40%
  • Rocky Mountain Institute
    5× · 2020–2024 · $28M · revenue +183%

Funded once

  • TE
    TSINGHUA EDUCATION FOUNDATION NA INC
    one grant, 2023 · $1.5M · revenue -86%
  • ET
    E3G THIRD GENERATION ENVIRONMENTALISM
    one grant, 2022 · $1.0M · revenue +18% · 93% of their budget
  • WO
    WESTERN ORGANIZATION OF RESOURCE COUNCILS EDUCATION PROJECT
    one grant, 2023 · $1.0M · 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
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
3
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
4
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
5
The Climate Center

The Climate Center is a climate and energy policy nonprofit working to rapidly reduce climate pollution at scale, starting in California.

Education
6
CarbonPlan

Improving the transparency and scientific integrity of climate solutions through open data and tools.

Environment
7
Watttime Corporation

To raise awareness about the potential to reduce environmental harm by shifting electricity use to particular times; to encourage the development and spread of common protocols for this practice.

Science & Tech
8
Climate Catalyst Inc

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

Environment
9
Third Way

To research and develop centrist policy ideas.

Civil Rights
10
Center for Climate and Energy Solutions Inc

The nonpartisan center for climate and energy solutions works to secure a safe and stable climate by accelerating the global transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions and a thriving, just, and resilient economy. for over 25 years,…

Environment
11
Clean Economy Project Inc

Cleanecon works to advance economic growth, shared proserity, and a safe climate through groundbreaking policy change. policy and regulatory frameworks must change to accelerate buiding, innovating, and investing in clean technologies.

Environment
12
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
How this is measured
The grantee most central to the portfolio’s shape is Environment America Inc; the most unlike its peers is Together Louisiana. 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

154 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. 154 of the 169 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.

22
Load-bearing (≥25% of a budget)
25
Early backer (in before they grew)
154/154
Grantees still filing
90/154
Grew since first funded

Where the money sits, by cause and then by grantee

SIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $67,762,000 · EnvironmentSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATIONNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $24,223,000 · EnvironmentNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INCThe Partnership Project Inc: $12,000,000 · EnvironmentLEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $9,941,000 · EnvironmentBUILDING DECARBONIZATION COALITION: $8,710,000 · Environment+72 more: $127,116,068 · Environment+72 moreTHE ENERGY FOUNDATION: $98,577,000 · OtherTHE ENERGY FOUNDATIONRocky Mountain Institute: $28,287,500 · OtherRocky Mountain InstituteCLIMATE STRATEGIES LAB LLC: $7,087,868 · Other+54 more: $41,905,012 · Other+54 moreUNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION: $57,275,230 · PhilanthropyUNITED STATES ENE…TIDES FOUNDATION: $9,611,268 · PhilanthropyTIDES FOUNDATIONROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND INC: $9,352,325 · PhilanthropyROCKEFELLER FAMIL…COMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER JOHNSTOWN: $2,815,000 · Philanthropy+3 more: $2,178,120 · PhilanthropyUNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC: $7,150,000 · InternationalPHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: $1,650,000 · InternationalTSINGHUA EDUCATION FOUNDATION NA INC: $1,500,000 · InternationalWORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE: $1,250,000 · InternationalPHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: $742,192 · InternationalTHE ASIA FOUNDATION: $590,000 · International+3 more: $850,000 · InternationalBERKELEY LAB FOUNDATION: $3,230,000 · EducationPUBLIC HEALTH LAW CENTER INC: $1,230,986 · EducationAlliance for a Green Economy Inc: $1,039,867 · EducationWEST VIRGINIA CITIZEN ACTION EDUCATION FUND: $950,000 · EducationPURPOSE FOUNDATION: $850,000 · EducationTHE ROOSEVELT INSTITUTE: $600,000 · EducationTRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA: $550,000 · Education+6 more: $970,000 · EducationCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $3,750,000 · Civil RightsLEADERSHIP COUNSEL FOR JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY: $900,000 · Civil Rights+2 more: $300,000 · Civil RightsAMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $3,098,982 · HealthGREEN & HEALTHY HOMES INITIATIVE INC: $1,700,000 · Health
Environment$249,752,068Other$175,857,380Philanthropy$81,231,943International$13,732,192Education$9,420,853Civil Rights$4,950,000Health$4,798,982

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 budgetTHE ENERGY FOUNDATION: $98,577,000 over 4y, 32% of budgetSIERRA CLUB FOUNDATION: $67,762,000 over 5y, 29% of budgetUNITED STATES ENERGY FOUNDATION: $57,275,230 over 5y, 7.8% of budgetRocky Mountain Institute: $28,287,500 over 5y, 9.9% of budgetNATURAL RESOURCES DEFENSE COUNCIL INC: $24,223,000 over 5y, 3.9% of budgetThe Partnership Project Inc: $12,000,000 over 5y, 12% of budgetLEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS EDUCATION FUND: $9,941,000 over 4y, 7.2% of budgetTIDES FOUNDATION: $9,611,268 over 4y, 1.1% of budgetROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND INC: $9,352,325 over 4y, 16% of budgetBUILDING DECARBONIZATION COALITION: $8,710,000 over 4y, 22% of budgetInternational Sustainable Energy Foundation: $8,323,000 over 3y, 14% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND INCORPORATED: $7,995,700 over 5y, 1.1% of budgetEARTHJUSTICE: $7,590,000 over 4y, 2.0% of budgetCLASP: $7,325,000 over 4y, 19% of budgetUNITED NATIONS FOUNDATION INC: $7,150,000 over 3y, 1.8% of budgetWest Harlem Environmental Action Inc: $7,025,000 over 5y, 23% of budgetVote Solar: $6,400,000 over 3y, 32% of budgetWINDWARD FUND: $6,187,786 over 4y, 1.6% of budgetEVERGREEN COLLABORATIVE: $5,800,000 over 4y, 30% of budgetTHE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON CLEAN TRANSPORTATION INC: $4,747,300 over 5y, 6.9% of budgetSECURING AMERICA'S FUTURE ENERGY FOUNDATION: $4,677,000 over 3y, 20% of budgetENVIRONMENTAL INTEGRITY PROJECT: $4,572,790 over 4y, 29% of budgetRESOURCES LEGACY FUND: $4,400,000 over 2y, 2.9% of budgetBlueGreen Alliance Foundation: $4,191,000 over 5y, 14% of budgetCLIMATE JOBS NATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER INC: $3,900,000 over 4y, 21% of budgetCENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: $3,750,000 over 4y, 3.9% of budgetCLIMATEWORKS FOUNDATION: $3,300,000 over 3y, 0.5% of budgetAdvanced Energy Institute: $3,250,000 over 4y, 13% of budgetBERKELEY LAB FOUNDATION: $3,230,000 over 4y, 29% of budgetAMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION: $3,098,982 over 4y, 0.9% of budgetCOMMUNITY FOUNDATION OF GREATER JOHNSTOWN: $2,815,000 over 2y, 4.4% of budgetSOUTHERN ENVIRONMENTAL LAW CENTER: $2,623,182 over 2y, 2.6% of budgetASSOCIATION FOR ENERGY AFFORDABILITY INC: $2,344,148 over 4y, 2.8% of budgetCERES INC: $2,285,000 over 4y, 2.3% of budgetAPPALACHIAN VOICES: $2,000,000 over 2y, 16% of budgetNEW VENTURE FUND: $1,850,000 over 3y, 0.1% of budgetREGULATORY ASSISTANCE PROJECT: $1,796,601 over 2y, 10.0% of budgetGREEN & HEALTHY HOMES INITIATIVE INC: $1,700,000 over 3y, 5.8% of budgetPHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: $1,650,000 over 5y, 13% of budgetMIGHTY EARTH INC: $1,550,000 over 2y, 16% of budgetROCKEFELLER PHILANTHROPY ADVISORS INC: $1,528,120 over 2y, 0.2% of budgetTSINGHUA EDUCATION FOUNDATION NA INC: $1,500,000 over 1y, 10% of budgetGridLab Inc: $1,471,156 over 3y, 18% of budgetGlobal Energy Monitor: $1,436,000 over 3y, 8.3% of budgetEnvironmental Health Coalition: $1,400,000 over 2y, 14% of budgetCE BUYERS INSTITUTE: $1,400,000 over 2y, 12% of budgetNORTHEAST STATES FOR COORDINATED AIR USE MANAGEMENT INC: $1,340,000 over 4y, 9.4% of budgetWORLD RESOURCES INSTITUTE: $1,250,000 over 2y, 0.4% 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.

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.

How much its grantees rely on government

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

2024
’20’21’22’23’24’25
no gov · 50%6%25%56%100%funder's share of their income ↑0%25%50%75%100%share of the org’s income from government →median 24%
  • Green & Healthy Homes Initiative Inc: 100% of income from government
  • Institute for Sustainable Communities: 100% of income from government
  • Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management Inc: 100% of income from government
  • National Center for Healthy Housing Inc: 24% of income from government
  • Beyond Toxics: 13% of income from government
  • President and Fellows of Harvard College: 7% of income from government
  • Clean Energy States Alliance Inc: 2% of income from government
  • Ceres Inc: 0% of income from government
no gov moneyreceives it· size = income
5get no government money at all
20report government grants on their 990 we could not trace to a source (not plotted)
3rely 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 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.

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 169 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

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