# Finding greener funders

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2022/04/13/finding-greener-funders/
- Published: 2022-04-13T10:00:00+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**In the drive to become more environmentally friendly, charities are often advised
to look at the green credentials of the organisations they work with – checking 
for example that print partners have ISO Certification for Environmental Management,
and banks aren’t investing in fossil fuels, but what about when it comes to finding
funding?**

Organisations including the [Environmental Funders Network](http://www.greenfunders.org/)
and the [Association of Charitable Foundations](http://www.acf.org.uk/) (ACF) provide
useful information about green grants and other sources of funding. The former is
a network of trusts, foundations, and individual donors supporting environmental
causes through grants, with the mission of increasing both financial support for
environmental causes and the effectiveness of environmental philanthropy.

There’s also the [Funder Commitment on Climate Change](https://fundercommitmentclimatechange.org/),
which launched in 2019 and is hosted by the ACF, and the [International Philanthropy for Climate Commitment,](https://philanthropyforclimate.org/)
hosted by [WINGS](https://wingsweb.org/). This calls on all foundations, regardless
of their mission, status or geographic location to come together and signal their
commitment to climate action. Over 500 foundations have signed up so far across 
the UK, France, Italy, Spain and Canada, and it links with national movements in
these countries.

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Here’s a closer look at the UK’s Funder Commitment on Climate Change.

#### The Funder Commitment on Climate Change

Signing the Commitment requires foundations to focus on making their own practices
more environmentally friendly, and to be transparent about what they do in this 
regard.

Foundations that sign up make a number of commitments:

 * To make opportunities for trustees, staff and stakeholders to learn more about
   the key causes and solutions of climate change.
 * To commit resources to accelerate work that addresses the causes and impacts 
   of climate change.
 * To seek opportunities to contribute to a fair and lasting transition to a post
   carbon society, and to support adaptation to climate change impacts.
 * To steward investments for a post-carbon future.
 * To take action to decarbonise their own operations.
 * To report annually on progress against the five goals listed above and continue
   to develop, learn from others, and share own learnings.

Josephine McCartney, Chief Executive, [Kent Community Foundation](https://kentcf.org.uk/)
says:

> “Checking the green credentials of funders is an important element of a charity’s
> due diligence and has both ethical and reputational implications. If a foundation
> has signed the Funder Commitment on Climate Change it is a clear indication that
> they are taking climate change and their impact on it seriously.”
>  
> “The transparency of the Commitment is crucial in ensuring foundations who sign
> the Commitment are acting upon the urgency of the climate crisis. It also serves
> as a great resource for other trusts and foundations in imagining what different
> philanthropic action on climate looks like. The annual survey will enable foundations
> to better understand, gather and communicate the range of activities that signatories
> are undertaking, the difference that we are making together, and where additional
> support might be needed.”

In fact, over 90 foundations have signed the Commitment to date, including Esmée
Fairbairn Foundation, Comic Relief, Power to Change, Kreitman Foundation, Kent Community
Foundation, and Wolfson Foundation.

Richard Luck-Hille, [Kreitman Foundation](https://www.kreitmanfoundation.org.uk/)
Trustee comments:

> “We endorse any process that encourages funders to climatise their thinking and
> behaviour, not only those with a thematic focus in this area. We particularly 
> appreciate the commitment to look holistically at the Foundation’s operations 
> beyond grant making, especially in how and where we invest.”

For the [Wolfson Foundation](https://www.wolfson.org.uk/), Paul Ramsbottom, its 
Chief Executive, says:

> “Being a signatory means we are committed to engaging with environmental sustainability
> across all of our activities, from our grant making through to taking steps to
> minimise the impact of our day-to-day operations.
>  
> “We recognise that the climate emergency impacts us all. While there is much more
> work to be done, signing the FCoCC was a recognition of the increasing importance
> of climate change to those we support, and a commitment to keep learning, communicating,
> investing and deploying our resources.”

So, what does it mean in practice? The Wolfson Foundation and Kent Community Foundation
provide two examples.

##  The Wolfson Foundation

For Wolfson Foundation, CEO Paul Ramsbottom says:

_“As part of our portfolio of funding for people and places, we continue to support
projects that are environmental in nature. Since signing the Commitment in June 
2020, we have awarded grants over £6 million to researchers and capital infrastructure
projects that address the causes and mitigate the impacts of climate change._

_“Our new [Sustainability Fund](https://www.wolfson.org.uk/funding/funding-for-places/sustainability-fund/sustainability-fund-faqs/)
is an example of this. It was developed in response to conversations with our grant
holders about the need to enhance the sustainability of buildings, improve energy
efficiency and reduce ongoing costs, not least in the context of rapidly rising 
energy costs. The Fund will provide grants of up to £50,000 to support a range of
organisations to improve the environmental and financial sustainability of their
buildings, for example through installing solar panels, energy-efficient glazing
or LED lighting._

_“How we manage our endowment is also directly related to this subject, and – alongside
our wider ESG policies – trustees have made the decision to divest from fossil fuel
extractors._

_“We report annually, alongside other funders, on the steps we are taking and our
progress against the goals outlined in the Commitment.”_

##  Kent Community Foundation

For Kent Community Foundation, this includes decarbonising its operations, offering
educational opportunities for staff, trustees and stakeholders, moving to a more
sustainable and responsible investment portfolio, and empowering local communities
to take action on local environmental issues through its funding.

Chief Executive Josephine McCartney says:

_“Kent Community Foundation has embarked on a [new environmental strategy](https://kentcf.org.uk/commitment-to-the-environment),
recognising that many social issues are intertwined with environmental impact. Understanding
the potential future impacts of warmer, wetter winters and hotter, drier summers
is crucial for the future prosperity, environmental quality, and health and wellbeing
of our local communities. As one of the largest grant-makers in Kent and Medway 
we have an important part to play in combating these challenges. We believe that
local community action can be at the heart of delivering solutions that not only
minimise the impact on the environment, but also offer additional benefits that 
people and local communities can reap._

_“As place-based grant-makers and in partnership with donors and the local voluntary
and community sector we can facilitate dynamic change in our own ‘back yard’.  We
believe it is right and proper that our broader charitable values respond to the
national objective of net zero carbon by 2050 set by HM Government (and monitored
by the UK Committee on Climate Change), and the United Nations Sustainable Development
Goals which now constitute best practice as defined by our umbrella body, UK Community
Foundations.”_