For Funders
What we do
We help environmental funders make sure their giving is as effective as possible. Through our events and programmes, you will learn from experts on key issues and solutions and understand best practices to deploy your funding. Our membership network allows funders to connect with one another and collaborate. Our research and publications reveal the landscape of environmental funding and its gaps.
Below we introduce our events, programmes, research and membership that you aid your giving.
Events
Get involved
EFN Members’ Retreat 2025
Join us for our popular annual retreat for funders to learn, collaborate and connect.
Freshwater funders group: legal strategies
Join us for the next sesssion of the Freshwater funders group.
Climate funders group: climate & tax justice
Join us for the next session of the Climate funders group on tax.
Getting the most out of data: measuring the environmental impact of your grant-making
In the next event of our Data series, we’ll be exploring how we assess the impact of environmental grants.
Lunch at Groundswell Regenerative Agriculture Festival
Join us, Esmee Fairbairn and Rothschild Foundations for a funders lunch at regenerative agriculture festival, Groundswell.
EFN Scotland Field Trip from Glasgow to Oban
Come and explore Argyll’s incredible natural heritage at our third annual Scotland Field Trip open to all members
Learn
The challenges we face as an environmental movement are not static; neither are the approaches needed to address them. To be effective we need to be informed. We deploy the collective intelligence of our members and others to produce events, learning series and publications that push us towards more effective funding.
Environmental Impact Investing Group
The Environmental Impact Investing Group (EIIG) supports trusts, foundations and individuals to learn more about environmental impact investing and develop their work in this area.
Climate Funders Group
In partnership with members, we organise quarterly meetings for funders wanting to develop or refine their giving strategies on climate. Join to connect with other climate funders and hear about a wide variety approaches to addressing the climate crisis.
UK Overseas Territories
Discover more about the UKOTs’ diverse and important environments and what funders can do to safeguard their future.
Scotland
Given its wealth of habitats and species, work to protect and restore Scotland’s environment is vital, but has long been underfunded by private philanthropy. EFN works to support funders and fundraisers who are focused on supporting nature for everyone’s benefit in Scotland. Our bespoke Scotland programme is a microcosm of our wider work tailored to the specific context in Scotland.
Collaborate
To ensure environmental giving is as effective as possible, collaboration is key. This might mean pooling funds or aligning funding towards shared objectives, or more simply sharing your grants data with others through our Member Directory (below) to develop a stronger understanding of the ecosystem you’re funding within. Through our events, publications and monthly newsletter we help to share intelligence and highlight collaboration opportunities, to ensure that resources are not being wasted reinventing wheels and duplicating efforts.
Earth Raise
Previously named the Green Match Fund, Earth Raise is a seven-day online match funding campaign dedicated to helping charities playing a vital role in tackling pressing environmental issues, run in partnership with the Big Give.
Earth Funding Lab
The Earth Funding Lab is a place for philanthropic funders to connect, develop new forms of strategy, and work towards greater impact together, co-initiated and facilitated with the Bio-Leadership Project.
Rapid Response Fund
Working in the environmental sector is never predictable. The Rapid Response Fund helps organisations respond swiftly to unexpected crises and opportunities that have a potentially significant environmental outcome.
Membership
Join EFN
Become an EFN member and join a diverse network of foundations, trusts, individual donors and advisors working to build a thriving and sustainable future. EFN membership is free and members benefit from funder-only events, spaces and opportunities – including our monthly newsletter.
Resources
Further reading for funders
Where the Green Grants Went 9: Scotland Edition
In this Scotland edition of our Where the Green Grants Went 9 research, we’ve distilled what our grants dataset tells us about funding for environmental work in Scotland. We also included two case studies of funders based in Scotland that environmental fundraisers often tell us showcase progressive and effective approaches to grantmaking.
Strategy 2025
Our updated strategy for the period 2023-2026, where we lay out our principles for the next year, as well as our work priorities and context for 2025.
Annual report 2024
EFN’s Annual report for 2024.
The UK Overseas Territories Fund: An unparalleled opportunity for environmental philanthropy
Learn about the UK Overseas Territories Fund run by John Ellerman Foundation. The review explores the fund so far and why funders should get involved.
Exploring the role of wealth advisors in green giving
Our latest research explores the role of wealth advisors within environmental philanthropy and provides analysis and recommendations on how we can better support and leverage the work of wealth advisors to increase green giving.
Green Fundraisers Forum’s event database
A place for GFF members to share their upcoming events with EFN’s networks.
Increasing the effectiveness of environmental funder-fundraiser relationships
There is a serious shortfall in finance for the environment sector, which receives less than 9% of funding awarded by UK trusts and foundations. While one solution is to grow the available funding, another important strategy is to increase its effectiveness, ensuring maximum impact for every pound spent.
Where the Green Grants Went 9
In the ninth edition of our Where the Green Grants Went report series, we analyse over 6,555 grants awarded by UK trust, foundations and lottery sources to environmental causes from 2021/22. WTGGW9 includes a new section dedicated to exploring what effective philanthropy looks like and how it may be implemented by environmental funders.
Annual report 2023
EFN’s Annual report for 2023
Strategy 2024
Our updated strategy for the period 2023-2026, where we lay out our principles for the next 2 years, as well as our work priorities and context for 2024.
Member Directory
Looking for more information on what and how other trusts, foundations and individual donors are funding? Our EFN Member Directory can help – it’s a selection of EFN members who have publicly chosen to share their giving information to help aid funders and fundraisers work more effectively. Funders willing to share their information can request full access to the directory, which contains more entries and information that their peers have agreed to share internally with other members.