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Resources for grant-makers and those working directly on environmental issues. 

Inspiring People: Supporting the emerging Scottish seaweed industry

In this episode, Grace Yu (philanthropist and Trustee of the Aurora Trust) speaks to:

  • Alison Baker: Co-founder and Managing Director, EcoCascade CIC
  • Jemima Cooper: Operations Manager, EcoCascade CIC
  • Dr Kyla Orr: Co-founder, KelpCrofters Ltd

The vast majority of seaweed in the world is currently grown in Asia however there’s a great opportunity in the northern hemisphere, and particularly on the west coast of Scotland which has pristine waters, with strong tidal flow and some protected spaces in which to grow seaweed.

As Grace says, ‘We need new ways of thinking about what we eat, how we grow things and how we make things, in ways that don’t further harm our planet. Seaweed is a wonder crop! Apart from being a nutritious food source that you can cultivate off-land, it has many other exciting applications, for example as a bioplastic or as a biostimulant.’

As a marine biologist, Kyla got increasingly depressed over the last decade at fish stocks collapsing, at fishermen working their way down the food web, ending up just having shellfish to catch in inshore waters in Scotland. Kyla got into seaweed farming as an alternative way of generating value and income from our seas that is sustainable and regenerative.

Tune in to hear why Grace and Kyla are passionate supporters of EcoCascade CIC, Scotland’s first seaweed processing plant in Kyle of Lochalsh which does the heavy lifting of primary processing for local seaweed farmers so they don’t have to.

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Learning by Doing publication

Learning by doing

In February 2023, the Environmental Funders Network (EFN) and Climate 2025 launched the Climate Activist Speaker Fund pilot to support young global climate activists.

This publication shares insights into important elements in the approach taken during the selection process. The hope is that these insights will serve to inspire other funders to experiment with and share learnings from diverse approaches.

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Supporting Effective Environmental Action in Scotland

EFN is delighted to have played a role in bringing about a welcome increase in environmental philanthropy in Scotland since we published our ‘Where the Green Grants Went Scotland’ report in December 2017.

However, even as philanthropic giving has increased, so too have the alarms being sounded about the state of nature and climate in Scotland as elsewhere. There is much to be done.

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Acting on the Climate Crisis – Why, How and the Role of Philanthropy: A resource pack for funders

Climate change is an existential threat to humanity and the planet we call home. As many have reflected, it has no vaccine. Its economic, social and health impacts will dwarf those of the COVID-19 pandemic – unless we step up our response, and fast.

We believe a key reason for inaction on climate change by potential funders is the difficulty both in understanding the issue and in finding effective solutions. This resource pack was developed to help funders overcome these challenges. 

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Funding Trends 2023: Climate Change Mitigation Philanthropy

ClimateWorks Foundation’s fourth annual report on funding trends in climate change mitigation philanthropy analyses eight years of funding data from 2015 to 2022. Philanthropic giving by foundations and individuals for climate change mitigation in 2022 totalled between $7.8 billion and $12.8 billion, and remained relatively unchanged compared with 2021 amounts.

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What the Green Groups Said 2021

This report is the third edition in our What the Green Groups Said research series, which aims to ‘take the pulse’ of the UK environment sector. The report summarises findings from a survey of UK environment group leaders completed in autumn 2021, which received responses from 116 organisations, large and small. The findings provide insight into these organisations’ priorities, strategies and successes, and act as a source of collective intelligence on what their leaders perceive to be the sector’s key challenges, opportunities and funding gaps.

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Funders and the finance sector – survey results

We conducted a survey of our members in May 2021 with the goal of understanding how funders approach finance-related work now, what motivates them to do more (or less) of it, what approaches they consider to be most effective, which CSOs they fund, what they perceive as barriers to working in this area, and the role of networks like EFN. Here we summarise the key findings.

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Healthy Planet, Healthy People

The health of the environment underpins most issues of concern to philanthropists, but its connections to human health are so numerous and entwined as to be hard to ignore. The environment provides life support: it is the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we grow and the natural systems — climatic, ecological — that protect our very ways of being. This guide aims to help funders better identify the multiple connections between our health and the environment, and mobilise significantly more funds at this crucial intersection.

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Inspiring People: Forgotten Freshwater

Inspiring People: Forgotten Freshwater – an international perspective was recorded by the Environmental Funders Network as part of a series to highlight the vital role of philanthropy in solving environmental and climate issues, in this case freshwater conservation around the globe.

Fresh water sustains all life on earth and freshwater systems should be vibrant and full of life, yet there’s been an extraordinary loss of freshwater species across the globe. Why is this and why has freshwater conservation not caught the attention of more funders and philanthropists?

Catherine Bryan, Trustee of Synchronicity Earth and the Environmental Funders Network and Chair of Shoal’s Governing Council speaks to Brian Zimmerman, Director of Conservation and Science at Bristol Zoological Society and Co-Chair of IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group; Mike Baltzer, Executive at Shoal; Monti Aguirre, Latin America Program Manager at International Rivers and (recorded separately) Tess Gatan-Balbas, Director at the Mabuwaya Foundation.

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Environmental Funding by European Foundations – Volume 6

The 6th edition of this research into environmental funding by European foundations is the most comprehensive report to date on environmental philanthropy in Europe. The report is based on 2021 grants data from 126 of the largest environmental foundations in Europe. The mapping analyses the 8,518 environmental grants made in 2021 by these foundations, worth a combined €1.6 billion. This is more than double the value of the grants analysed in the previous edition of this research. The report covers topics ranging from thematic focus of environmental grantmaking, to geographical distribution, to approaches to change and environmental discourses taken by funders, among others.

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Foundation Funding for Climate Change Mitigation: Europe Spotlight

This report provides a detailed analysis of European foundation funding for climate change mitigation in 2016, 2018, and 2020, with a particular focus on the largest foundation funders. The report examines funding flows into and within Europe as well as funding from European donors for work around the rest of the world. A key finding is that European foundations were still allocating less than 2% of their total giving to work preventing climate change in 2020.

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Inspiring People: Toxics and Pollution

This episode focuses on the critical role of philanthropy in supporting efforts to eliminate toxics and chemical pollution from our environment in order to protect people’s health.

Devika Waney, Trustee of Savitri Waney Charitable Trust, speaks to Dr. Apolline Roger, Law & Policy Adviser/Chemicals Program Lead at ClientEarth; Elizabeth Salter Green, Co-founder and Director at CHEM Trust; Josie Cohen, Head of Policy & Campaigns at Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) and Dr. Kerry Dinsmore, Technical expert and Projects Manager at Fidra.

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Where the Green Grants Went 8

In the eighth edition of our Where the Green Grants Went report series, we examine over 13,000 grants awarded by UK foundations and lottery sources to environmental causes from 2016/17 – 2018/19. We summarise the total amounts of funding from each type of funding source and how these have changed over time, and examine how funding is distributed across organisations, thematic issues and geographies.

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The UK Overseas Territories: An unparalleled opportunity for global conservation impact

The Environmental Funders Network has prepared a prospectus laying out the unparalleled opportunity for UK funders to achieve global conservation impacts in the Overseas Territories. It showcases their unique assets, explains the UK’s shared responsibility, highlights fundable local solutions and provides testimonials from experienced funders and NGOs.

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Environmental Philanthropy: Stories to Inspire

‘Environmental Philanthropy: Stories to Inspire’ is a collection of donors’ stories of success. Some gave a few thousand pounds to support local action. Others gave seven figure gifts and created whole new organisations and ways of working. In each case, the effect on the environment was transformative.

Immerse yourselves in these stories: enjoy them as they take you on a trip around the world and we hope you’ll come back fired up. What issues are close to your heart, and how will you make a difference?

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Healthy Planet, Healthy People – funding the environment to improve human health

A series of webinars, podcasts and blogs for funders exploring the many interconnections between human health and the environment

The Healthy Planet, Healthy People series explores the many interconnections between human health and the environment, and demonstrates why supporting environmental work can lead to significant positive health and social outcomes, and be a longer term, holistic means for funders interested in these issues to achieve their objectives. With contributions from scientists, funders, NGO leaders and health experts, the series will cover topics such as infectious diseases; air, water and land pollution; mental health; diet and food; and health inequalities.

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Inspiring People: Building the next generation of environmental leaders

Award winning author Robert Macfarlane, and Founder and CEO of Action for Conservation (AFC), Hendrikus van Hensbergen in conversation with two young environmental leaders.

Robert chairs a lively discussion about Hendrikus’s first book for young people,  How You Can Save the Planet, as well as AFC’s work and their groundbreaking youth-led nature restoration initiative in Wales, the Penpont Project. With insights from young leaders featured in the book and involved in AFC’s work, they discuss the importance and value of taking practical action, no matter how big or small, as an antidote to despair, hopelessness and the climate anxiety that pervades our lives and the youth environmental movement in particular.

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Inspiring People: the UK Overseas Territories

Jonathan Hall, EFN UK Overseas Territories Strategy Advisor, and Sufina Ahmad, Director of the John Ellerman Foundation, speak to Dr Esther Bertram (CEO of Falklands Conservation), Annick Jackman (Executive Director of the National Trust for the Cayman Islands) and Hugh Raven (philanthropist) about the UK Overseas Territories.

This fascinating conversation explores the remarkable terrestrial and marine environments of these 16 jurisdictions, the challenges and opportunities faced by local conservationists, and the critical role for philanthropy in achieving environmental impacts at a global scale.

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Training for environmental organisations: improving and communicating impact

EFN and New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) collaborated to deliver this training for environmental charities on what it means to be an impact-focused organisation. This can be particularly challenging with regard to environmental issues, where the path to impact can be murky and winding, and NPC’s wider work with environmental NGOs suggests that organisations are interested in learning about what the theory of change approach can offer. 

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UK Overseas Territory NGO Environment Project Concepts

There are currently few direct links between UK funders and Territory NGOs. We have therefore co-ordinated a pipeline of locally-led project concepts in need of support by conservation NGOs in the UK’s Overseas Territories. All have budgets worth between GBP£5k-£100k. Concepts cover a wide range of issues, from capacity-building to marine conservation, invasive species to terrestrial site management. Please contact contact us for further information.

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Philanthropy Briefing: COVID-19 and a green recovery

This briefing paper explores the concept of Building Back Better from COVID-19: what it means, why we need it, and the environmental connection.

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Philanthropy Briefing: COVID-19 and conservation

This briefing paper explores the links between infectious diseases and the destruction of nature, and why nature conservation is critical to mitigating the risks of future crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Philanthropy Briefing: COVID-19, human health and the environment

This briefing paper explains why environmental issues are closely intertwined not only with the COVID-19 pandemic, but a multitude of human health concerns, and that it is essential to protect our environment in order to protect our health.

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Funding the Future

Active Philanthropy’s guide “Funding the Future – how the climate crisis intersects with your giving” is a useful resource for foundations from whichever sector to start thinking about how they can contribute to tackling the climate crisis while delivering on their core mission to effectively ensure that we not only emerge from emergency but we enhance greater resilience, well-being and planetary sustainability.

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Inspiring People: Marine Conservation in Scotland video and podcast

Hugh Raven in conversation with Alison Lomax , Dan Renton, Kerri Whiteside and Phil Taylor

Inspiring People: Marine Conservation in Scotland was recorded by the Environmental Funders Network as part of a series to highlight the vital role of philanthropy in solving environmental and climate issues. In this episode, philanthropist Hugh Raven, Alison Lomax (Hebridean Whale & Dolphin Trust), Dan Renton (Seawilding), Kerri Whiteside (Fauna & Flora International) and Phil Taylor (Open Seas) reveal what most excites them about marine conservation in Scottish waters, their experiences of what local communities and projects have achieved (often with relatively small sums of money) and lessons they’re learning that could work elsewhere.

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Inspiring People: Youth & Climate ~ video and podcast

Kristina Johansson in conversation with Hilma Angula, Joy Munthali and Shamiso Mupara

Inspiring People: Youth & Climate was recorded by the Environmental Funders Network as part of a series to highlight the vital role of philanthropy in solving environmental and climate issues. In this episode, funder Kristina Johansson (Solberga Foundation) speaks to Hilma Angula (Next Generation Climate Advisory Board, Global Greengrants Fund, Namibia), Joy Munthali, (Green Girls Platform, Malawi) and Shamiso Mupara (Environmental Buddies Zimbabwe). Together they discuss how young people, and in particular girls and young women, are tackling the climate crisis in Southern Africa, and what inspires a funder to support their work.

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Inspiring People:Plastics video and podcast

Julia Davies in conversation with Louise Edge, Jo Morley, Julian Kirby and Tanya Bascombe

Inspiring People: Plastics (Single Use is Rubbish) was recorded by the Environmental Funders Network as part of a series to highlight the vital role of philanthropy in solving environmental and climate issues. In this episode, Julia Davies, environmental funder and the founder of We Have The Power, speaks to Louise Edge (Greenpeace), Jo Morley (City to Sea), Julian Kirby (Friends of the Earth) and Tanya Bascombe (European Outdoor Conservation Association). (Image credit and copyright: Fernando Podolski)

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Inspiring People: Rewilding video and podcast

Inspiring People: Rewilding was recorded by the Environmental Funders Network as part of a series to highlight the vital role of philanthropy in solving environmental and climate issues. In this episode, Ben Goldsmith, a committed and passionate environmental philanthropist who funds rewilding projects, speaks to Isabella Tree (Knepp Estate, author of ‘Wilding – the return of nature to a British farm’), Alastair Driver (conservationist, Director of Rewilding Britain), and Derek Gow (ecologist, reintroduction specialist, farmer). Available to watch as a video or to listen to as a podcast.

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Philanthropy Briefing: Women & the Environment

Philanthropy Briefing: Women & the Environment

The purpose of this report is to delve into the links between gender inequality and the environment, to bring to light the multitude of connections and thereby garner wider support for both causes. For philanthropists engaging in the environmental sector, we hope this briefing will bring a nuanced, human perspective to the multitude of environmental issues we face today. For those supporting work to close the gender inequality gap, this briefing will demonstrate that funding for environmental projects is an effective way of bringing about this change.

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Climate Change and Social Change: how funders can act on both

Featuring practical ideas for how to use your grant giving, investments and convening power to address climate change today, even if it’s not your organisation’s core purpose, this report is a must-read for any funder that wants to do more to address the climate emergency and wants to know where to start.

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Fundraising training 1: Digital fundraising during times of crisis: mistakes to avoid and opportunities to win

With Craig Linton, Bright Spot, and Rebecca Curtis-Moss, Friends of the Earth Scotland

What is currently working well in digital fundraising, and what are some of the common pitfalls to avoid? Hear from an environmental charity which is raising money successfully through digital channels during the coronavirus crisis .

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Fundraising training 2: Find and build pandemic-busting corporate partnerships

With Ben Swart, Bright Spot, and Roxanne De Beaux, CamCycle

The full impact of coronavirus on the economy and your prospective corporate partners is still unknown. So how do you find out who to target, how to engage them, and how to secure them?

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Fundraising training 3: Telling stories to inspire action

With Rob Woods, Bright Spot, and Jennifer Few, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Bright Spot Director Rob Woods shares techniques to help you bring to life the key issues that your supporters care about, so that you talk and write less about what your charity does, and more in ways that help supporters want to take action.

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Fundraising training 4: How to fundraise when it’s not your usual day job

With Charlotte White, Bright Spot, and Louise Morris, Summit Fundraising

A training webinar for anyone entering the world of fundraising and wanting to quickly learn the fundamentals. Are you a non-fundraiser who is now supporting your organisation’s fundraising? Or perhaps you’re very new to fundraising and want to learn the key principles.

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Soil to Sky: Climate Solutions That Work

A collection of evidence that makes the case for funding grassroots solutions to climate change, produced by the CLIMA Fund, a funder collaboration between Global Greengrants Fund, Grassroots International, Thousand Currents and Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights.

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Understanding the Funding and Environmental Landscape in South West England

This study sets out to examine how philanthropic giving can be increased or enhanced to better protect and conserve the natural environment in the South West England, and includes a literature review, statistical analysis of grant data, and interviews with funders and grantees.

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Where the Green Grants Went 7

In this seventh edition of Where the Green Grants Went, we examine over 13,000 grants awarded by foundations and lottery sources over the four-year period from 2012/13 – 2015/16, and provide insights from a survey of funders about the barriers to providing core, flexible and long-term funding. Find out where the funding is going, what the gaps are, which organisations are the most successful fundraisers and more.

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ReFrame: Shaping Frames and Shifting Culture workshop videos

With Ella Saltmarshe and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, EFN co-hosted a workshop for people from across the environment sector (funders and NGOs) on reframing issues in October 2018. Speakers presented stories of reframing different issues — from poverty to trans issues, climate change to vegetarianism. The talks — each no longer than 17 minutes or so — were filmed and posted online; watch them here.

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Where the Green Grants Went Scotland

This first edition of Where the Green Grants Went Scotland examines grants for environmental work in Scotland from UK-based trusts and foundations, Landfill Communities Fund distributors and lottery sources over the four years from 2012-2016.

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What Influences Wealthy Donors To Give To Different Causes

This research review summarises the state of knowledge around what facilitates wealthy individuals to donate to different causes, with a particular focus on environmental causes. It summarises the key learnings from this knowledge, provides a reading list, and makes recommendations….

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Forces for Nature

‘Forces for Nature’ is a collection of 14 interviews with 15 remarkable individuals, each supporting environmental issues with different approaches. Learn their stories here.

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What the Green Groups Said: Insights from the UK Environment Sector

‘What the Green Grants Said’ presents findings from a survey of 92 chief executives of UK-based environmental organisations.

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A Splendid Torch: Interviews with Environmental Funders

‘A Splendid Torch’ is a collection of ten interviews with influential environmental donors about why they give to environmental causes and how they ensure their giving is as effective as possible.

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Passionate Collaboration? Taking the Pulse of the UK Environmental Sector

‘Passionate Collaboration?’ presents findings from a survey of 140 CEOs of UK environmental organisations.

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Where the Green Grants Went 6 (cover)

Where the Green Grants Went 6: Patterns of UK Funding for Environmental and Conservation Work

The sixth edition of ‘Where the Green Grants Went’ provides the most comprehensive overview yet of grants to environmental initiatives from UK foundations, the National Lottery, and public sector funding programmes.

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Food Issues Census

A survey of UK civil society work on sustainable food and farming. (9.5MB)

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Where the Green Grants Went 5

Analysis of UK environmental philanthropy. Published January 2012.

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Where The Green Grants Went 4

Analysis of UK environmental philanthropy. Published November 2009.

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Where The Green Grants Went 3

Analysis of UK environmental philanthropy. Published May 2007.

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Where the Green Grants Went 2

Analysis of UK environmental philanthropy. Published June 2005.

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Supporting campaiging: a funder’s guide

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Supportive to the core: why unrestricted funding matters

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The Death of Environmentalism: global warming politics in a post-environmental world

Provocative essay on the challenges faced by the US progressive movement.

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Tools to support public policy grantmaking

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Where the Green Grants Went

Analysis of UK environmental philanthropy. Published February 2004.

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