05/03/23 Update: Check out Candid's Earth Day 2023 feature on EGA's Racial Equity in Environmental Philanthropy report.It is with great excitement that we announce the release of EGA’s first-ever Racial Equity in Environmental Philanthropy report.As the sector evolves, the interconnected nature of environmental issues and racial equity is clear. As part of our Racial Equity POV, EGA has stepped up to provide a timely racial equity funding analysis covering the sector.This is EGA’s first-ever Racial Equity in Environmental Philanthropy report. Since 2018, EGA has been collaborating with Candid (formed through the merger of GuideStar and Foundation Center) to provide demographic data from Candid in EGA’s Tracking the Field database. This is the first report that analyzes the demographic and grant data from EGA members’ environmental portfolios.The report examines funding to Black, Indigenous, and all People of Color (BIPOC)−led organizations across the United States. It fills a knowledge gap on racial justice funding and should inform decision-making to leverage your power. This data is especially of interest to foundation trustees, supporting BIPOC-led organizations. Moreover, this report sets a baseline for the availability of demographic data to foster greater transparency within environmental philanthropy. It also includes analysis by issue area, geography and strategic focus on funding to BIPOC-led groups. EGA members are encouraged to download the report today to learn more.  

We invite you to investigate EGA's refreshed Strategic Framework.EGA’s Strategic Framework is our action plan to utilize the tools we have in hand—the programming, data, communications, and relationships—to shift towards the future. It is based on board and member feedback to actively uplift Black, Indigenous, and People Of Color’s leadership in the global environmental movement. The framework complements our Racial Equity POV which is a guide for how to do this work equitably.The Strategic Framework will enable bold investments and facilitate systems change. EGA identified the following outcomes to achieve our ultimate goal of a just world with sustainable communities, economies, and systems:EGA member institutions have a network of peers dedicated to transformative learning, accountability, and courageous action.Staff and trustees of EGA member institutions work equitably with BIPOC leaders to inform their investments.EGA member institutions are bold and capable change agents, facilitating a transformation of their own organizations and the field of philanthropy.EGA member institutions strategically position those impacted to advance environmental solutions and innovations that respect the dignity and liberation of all people. They move systems and structures towards justice, promote inclusive and regenerative economies, and advance healthy ecosystems.EGA member institutions move resources with strategies and processes shaped by the expertise and ideas of communities who bear the burden of extractive economies, structural racism, environmental degradation, and climate change.Explore the Strategic Framework.

Published in partnership with the Blue Sky Funders Forum, this is the 2nd volume of the environmental literacy funding summary report that seeks to provide a more complete picture of funding in the area. Reflecting findings from funders' 2017 environmental literacy giving, the information in this report enables funders to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities in the landscape of funding that connects people and nature. With three years of data, this report also offers over-time analysis on the trends of environmental literacy giving totaling more than $271 million.

Published in partnership with the Blue Sky Funders Forum, this is the 3nd volume of the environmental literacy funding summary report that seeks to provide a more complete picture of funding in the area. Reflecting findings from funders' 2019 environmental literacy giving, the information in this report enables funders to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities in the landscape of funding that connects people and nature. This report also offers over-time analysis on the trends of environmental literacy giving totaling over $484 million given over the course of five years. 

EGA is debuting our organizational Racial Equity Point of View to continue to hold ourselves accountable to advancing equity in our efforts to support a just, sustainable future for all. Passed by the EGA Board in March of 2021, this document is an affirmation of our collective commitment as a Board, staff, membership, and institution. In sharing this Point of View document, we understand we will experience clear milestones in our work to address the historic and systemic imbalance of power, and plan for this Point of View to continually evolve, shift, and expand as we engage more deeply. We encourage you to view the document and join us in this journey to continue to expand our work to hold equity and the environment at its intersection.

Tracking the Field: Volume 7 builds on EGA’s ongoing grant research from 2007 to 2018, deepening our understanding of trends and gaps in environmental philanthropy. Tracking the Field: Volume 7 analyzes 128,236 grants totaling more than $14.9 billion between 2007 and 2018. The report breaks down detailed findings by WHERE, HOW and WHAT EGA members fund over the years, with a focus on grant year 2018. The report also includes special analysis on EGA members’ response to COVID-19 and the racial justice movement in 2020.

Published in partnership with the Blue Sky Funders Forum this report seeks to provide a more complete picture of funding for environmental literacy. Reflecting findings from funders' 2015 environmental literacy giving, the information in this report enables funders to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities in the landscape of funding that connects people and nature.

This report, the sixth edition of Tracking the Field, builds on the Environmental Grantmakers Association’s (EGA) ongoing grant research from 2007 to 2015, deepening our understanding of trends and gaps in environmental philanthropy. The Tracking the Field report analyzes grant data from the supply side of funding, providing an avenue for EGA members to see where their grantmaking fits into the larger environmental movement and how they can optimize their grant dollars to be more strategic and effective.

As this year marks the 30th anniversary of EGA, we are marking the occasion in a number of ways at this year’s Fall Retreat - including our growing slate of under-30 flash talk speakers. Given this incorporation of youth, and the importance and implications of our current moment for the work and issues we all care about, EGA’s 30th anniversary is devoted to looking forward.Inspired by our 2012 25th Anniversary Journal, we have compiled forward-looking perspectives on our work, the EGA, and the field of environmental philanthropy. This 30th Anniversary Journal is different in that it doesn’t just include funder perspectives, but also includes reflections from all 21 of our University of Michigan SEAS/EGA Environmental Fellows, who were placed at foundations and NGOS across the country this past summer.