ClimateWorks Foundation
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2
"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: San Francisco, CA
Founded: 2008
Mission: ClimateWorks is an international philanthropic network dedicated to achieving low-carbon prosperity.
Tags:
bay area, climate change, grantmaking, policy, greenhouse gas reduction, clean energy, clean vehicle standards, industry, power, land use, buildings, transportation
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Hal Harvey.
Hal Harvey served as founder and president of the Energy Foundation, a joint initiative of six large U.S. foundations, from 1990 through 2001. From 2001 to 2008, he was environment program director at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. Mr. Harvey served on energy panels appointed by Presidents Bush (41) and Clinton, published two books and dozens of articles on…
See full bio.
Financial Data
Overhead Ratio:
n/a
Total Revenue:
$490,518,640
From the Nonprofit
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Contact Info
Address:
235 Montgomery Street, Suite 1300
San Francisco, CA 94104, USA
Twitter:
Story:
How did the ClimateWorks Foundation start? Who was behind it? The ClimateWorks Foundation emerged from a study commissioned by six foundations: the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Energy Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, and the Oak Foundation. The 2007 study “Design to Win: Philanthropy’s Role in the Fight Against Global Warming" (pdf), sought to answer a critical question: What would it take to achieve a real “win” in the battle against climate change? The authors of Design to Win interviewed more than 150 of the world’s leading experts on energy, climate change, and forests to identify the top priorities for avoiding dangerous climate change. Using cost curves and other research, the Design to Win analysts ranked investments by their potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and their ability to prevent the “lock-in” of long-lived, carbon-intensive infrastructure. The ClimateWorks Foundation was built on the principles identified in the Design to Win study and launched in 2008 with the support of three foundations: the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the McKnight Foundation. (Learn more about the founding story of the ClimateWorks Foundation at: http://www.climateworks.org/about/our_history/)
Expert Reviews of ClimateWorks Foundation
Evidence of Impact Summary:
ClimateWorks has raised a lot of money in a short period of time through its leveraged strategy, bringing new dollars to support organizations working in climate change. ClimateWorks has created a network of grant makers and experts that has made major policy wins worldwide- increasing industrial efficiency in China, or stopping conventional coal plants in the US, is in some part funded or acted upon by the network that is catalyzed by ClimateWorks.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
Experts praise the ClimateWorks Foundation primarily for its outstanding leader and high level of staff expertise. They have done great work in climate change advocacy at home and abroad, are well funded, and have been able to engage and inspire countless donors to give to clean energy.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
The biggest criticism experts have about the ClimateWorks Foundation is that they're not transparent enough with their results, impact, and model. Additionally, they should be realistic about what nations can actually do to reduce their emissions.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Impact |
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The ClimateWorks Foundation helped launch new foundations in Europe, India, and brought new dollars to the field of climate change. | ||
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ClimateWorks Foundation uses analytical information that has shaped the international negotiation in climate change. | ||
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I know of no other foundation that is addressing the problem of climate change globally with sufficient resources to make a difference. | ||
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The ClimateWorks Foundation has raised an enormous amount of money in a short time through its highly leveraged strategy. | ||
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The ClimateWorks Foundation funds worthy climate change organizations. | ||
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ClimateWorks has organized a global response to climate by targeting the sectors and countries with the best carbon reduction potential, AND political landscape to make the interventions viable. They are coordinating a network of grant makers and implementation experts to share best practices around the world. They are responsible for most of the major policy wins: industrial efficiency in China (top 1000 program), implementing the solar mission in India, stopping conventional coal plants in the US, increasing European Fuel economy standards (underway). All of these have been in some part funded or acted upon by the network that is catalyzed by ClimateWorks. They are one of the only organizations with a world wide plan to attack this world wide issue. | ||
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ClimateWorks Foundation has strong expertise and is addressing the global issue of climate change on a system-wide basis. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
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Researchers and Faculty (R)
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Strategic Focus |
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They have a strategic focus. | ||
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They have a very good principle behind their construct - they fund technical centers to help community groups on the ground. Sometimes they shut out the expert advocate though, without whom real progress is significantly hampered. Great that they're helping channel so much money to climate work and especially abroad - India, China, etc. | ||
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They are a high-profile actor in climate change advocacy. They have smart staff and a compelling vision. | ||
Outstanding Leadership and Staff Expertise |
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Their leadership and staff are top notch. | ||
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They have great leadership and an international scope. | ||
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They have a knowledgeable and great leader in Hal Harvey, who has inspired countless donors to engage in clean energy philanthropy. They have a strong funding base and spend the money well, but to solve move solutions to climate change around the globe, they need to at least double their funding. | ||
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They have great staff expertise. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
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Foundation Professionals (F)
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Researchers and Faculty (R)
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
More Transparency and Make Public their Impact |
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They need to be more transparent. | ||
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At least from the outside, it appears they're more talk and vision than concrete results. Their mission is enabling local climate change progress. It would be great to see more real, on-the-ground impact from such a well-funded organization. Or perhaps better communication of the impacts they're having under the radar. | ||
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They could do a better job in sharing their model with other philanthropists and more importantly, other grantees in the field with whom they must work. | ||
Reality Check |
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At times, ClimateWorks could be more attuned to the institutional realities that may limit nations' ability to reduce emissions. | ||
Leadership
Hal Harvey
CEO
CEO
From the Nonprofit
The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at
feedback@myphilanthropedia.org
with your request.