Effort to fund racially diverse climate groups gets momentum

An effort to disclose and increase how much philanthropic funding goes to minority-led environmental organizations receive is gaining momentum

Efforts to increase how much philanthropic funding goes to minority-led environmental organizations are gaining momentum, with one group's push for transparency from the nation’s top climate donors drawing big-name support. For months, Donors of Color Network, a philanthropic group dedicated to funding racial equity efforts, has asked the top 40 climate funders to disclose what percentage of their funding during the past two years went to organizations led by Black, Indigenous, Latino and other racial minorities, and pledge at least 30% of their climate donations to such groups. On Thursday, two of them — the California-based William & Flora Hewlett Foundation and the Boston-based Barr Foundation — released data that shows 10% of their climate funding went to minority-led environmental justice groups. That number was 31% at the New York-based JPB Foundation, another top donor. With those announcements, five of the top 40 donors have released their data from the last two years, along with another nine smaller funders. Donors of Color says four of the top 40 donors — and a dozen other foundations — have signed its pledge, agreeing to meet the 30% minimum the group has set and release their funding data.