Publications

EGA's new Summary of Funding to Aquaculture & Fisheries, 2016-2021 report dives deep into over $500 million in Aquaculture & Fisheries grants made between 2016 and 2021, revealing gaps in the geographic and issue focus areas. 

Aquaculture and fisheries deeply intersect the issues of ocean health, biodiversity, food systems, climate adaptation, sustainable communities and the livelihoods of Indigenous peoples.

The report examines funding that supports different aquaculture methods such as open-ocean aquaculture and on-land recirculating aquaculture; seafood market strategies including local seafood supply chains, seafood certification, and transparency & traceability; and tribal fisheries and Indigenous aquaculture projects. The report also compares the funding given to various aspects of sustainable fisheries management, including fishing community engagement and fisheries management policy & research. 

Tracking the Field (TTF) is a research program at EGA to deepen understanding of trends, challenges and the critical needs in environmental philanthropy. TTF supports dynamic coalitions by increasing data-driven partner identification and optimizing grant dollars for more strategic impact.

EGA members and partners can now access the Tracking the Field Resource Guide to learn about the various TTF tools available for members and partners, our latest data findings and additional resources on environmental funding trends data.

This eighth volume of EGA’s Tracking the Field report dives deeply into the environmental grantmaking landscape as reported in 2021. The report provides unparalleled insights on funding priority shifts between 2017 and 2021 and pandemic-related changes surfacing since 2019. The most notable change, this year, is the increase in environmental grantmaking from 2020 to 2021. Regardless of whether you account only for grantmaking by legacy funders or include for new entrants in the space, 2020 to 2021 showed the largest year-over-year increase in environmental giving in Tracking the Field history. This is a potent signal of what is to come and the reality that climate-scale challenges will require marked increase of resources in the form of capital, relationships and information, all at once.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

The staff and Board of the Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA) are delighted to present our strategic framework. This blueprint builds on EGA’s impressive history which began more than 25 years ago with a handful of environmental funders seeking greater collaboration and synergy, and today has expanded into the big tent under which hundreds of environmental foundations connect. As the world changes, we are mobilizing our efforts to address the stark challenges and fresh opportunities before us.

The Board revised and refreshed the original plan in 2014 as we reached the halfway point toward our ten year outcomes. The previous framework encompassed over 18 months of research and discussion with EGA members. While members’ opinions and priorities vary widely, there are common themes. Please note the new outcome goal of catalyzing action which sprung from a robust conversation on the venue and/or voice role for EGA. The urgency of now is evident in the number of environmental stresses around the globe, and EGA continues to evolve to support our members in forging a path to a sustainable future. 

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.

As background for the November Funder Briefing on Freshwater, fifteen case studies were developed to explore recent collaborative initiatives related to freshwater issues. 

EGA publishes Tracking the Field Volume 5. This report builds on the Environmental Grantmakers Association’s (EGA) grant research from 2007 to 2013, deepening our understanding of trends and gaps in environmental philanthropy.

Analyzing grant data from the supply side of funding within the environment movement, the Tracking the Field report provides 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.

Tracking the Field: Volume 5 analyzes 66,340 grants, totaling more than $6.8 billion between 2007 and 2013. With six grant years of data, we are able to see the impact of outside influences on environmental philanthropy in addition to shifts within the field.

Environmental Success Through Democracy Reform: A Grantmakers' Win-Win Toolkit is released in partnership with the Funders' Committee for Civic Participation, the Environmental Grantmakers Association (EGA) and Health and Environmental Funders Network (HEFN). This resource provides environmental funders with research, ideas and practical tools on how to expand and strengthen their grant making by integrating a money in politics lens into the work.

We are excited to provide this resource tool as another way to support environmental grantmakers who are leading the way by connecting the dots between policy change and the role of money in politics. Once you've taken a read, please let us know what you think. We look forward to working together and incorporating any suggestions you may have. 

We are pleased to present Tracking the Field: Volume 4, which analyzes the grants made by members of the Environmental Grantmakers Association and provides a picture of grantmaking beyond that of our members to encompass the entire field of environmental philanthropy.

Environmental Grantmakers Association’s (EGA) strategic framework includes the objective of “establish[ing] a comprehensive, measurable, up-to date analysis and understanding of the current field of environmental philanthropy.” Tracking the Field: Volume 4 does just that. With four years of data, this report is the product of EGA’s continued investment in monitoring activity within our field. While pursuing improvements in the report each year, the basic methodology and taxonomy has remained consistent, allowing EGA to evaluate trends from 2007 to 2011 and analyze more than 42,000 grants.

Please login to your EGA account to view full report. A public summary report will be made available later this year. 

When EGA issued a call for submissions to this special anniversary Journal, we expected a handful of remembrances. Instead we received a plethora of thoughtful, entertaining, and provocative pieces from current and former members, those new to philanthropy and “old timers.” In these rich essays, you will learn some EGA history, consider how times have changed, and be challenged to take risks in a range of ways as to thinking about your grantmaking to ensure future generations have a sustainable planet to enjoy. While they’ve been divided into two sections—Reflections and Calls to Action—clearly most of them do both. Reflecting on where we’ve been, successes and failures, allows us to plan best for the most critical future. The EGA Board remains committed to the values that drove our founding members—nurturing and expanding environmental funding, a relaxed atmosphere to develop relationships and push each other to work more effectively together, and honoring all aspects of our natural world both urban and rural. We are grateful for your commitment to this work, and for this unique opportunity to look both back and ahead to push on in our efforts to help humanity course-correct for the planet.

This summary of the Environmental Grantmakers Association’s Tracking the Field, vol. 3: Exploring Environmental
Grantmaking, provides the primary findings that will be analyzed in the full report which will be released on February 28th at the State of the States Briefing.

The findings of this document and the full report are broken in to five main areas: total environmental giving for all U.S.-based environmental grantmakers and EGA members specifically, giving by issue from all U.S.-based environmental grantmakers and EGA members specifically, geographic distribution of all environmental grants globally and global and domestic distribution for EGA members’ grants, strategies funded by EGA members, and regranting within EGA (grants between EGA members).

This report, made possible with a small grant from the Ford Foundation, analyzes global grantmaking trends in 2009 by EGA members using data from EGA’s 2009 Tracking the Field database of member grants in support of the environment. It also considers them around the themes of Rio+20, which are, a green economy and the institutional context for sustainable development. Additionally, it provides a snapshot of grants by issues and strategies in South America for its regional relevance. It qualifies these broad trends with data from interviews with a subset of EGA members—small, medium and large, who are engaged in global grantmaking—which surface their expectations and engagement with Rio+20 and related multilateral processes. EGA convened three meetings on Rio+20 in 2011. Relevant information from those are also incorporated. It concludes with some thoughts about Rio+20 and other such summits in the current context of local and global social movements.