Interview - Uday Khemka

The special feature in this issue of Alliance looks at why foundations on the whole are failing to respond to emerging issues such as climate change in any way that is commensurate to the scale of the challenge. The Nand and Jeet Khemka Foundation is one that, faced by the realities of climate change, did decide on a real change of direction. Click here to read ...

Interview - Peter Heller

In 1997, Peter Heller and his family established the Canopus Foundation, whose support for clean energy encompasses grantmaking, social investment and networking. For Heller, it was ‘a logical way to go’. His own private equity company, set up in 1996, invests exclusively in solar, wind power and  energy efficiency companies. Prior to that, he was deputy mayor for environmental protection in Freiburg. Added to this was ‘the strong entrepreneurial background of my family [the family business is printing] and the strong commitment of myself and my family members to environmental protection.’ Click here to read ...

Sense of urgency prompts Brainerd sunset

Driven by a sense of urgency about ecological issues facing our planet, and by founder and president Paul Brainerd’s desire to see the results of his foundation’s efforts in his lifetime, the Brainerd Foundation is developing a strategy to spend out its assets over the next 10 to 12 years. Click here to read ...

Mission in meltdown?

Progressive social change foundations exist to improve the lives of disadvantaged people. Many have shown great imagination, professionalism and tenacity in so doing. But now that disadvantaged people worldwide are facing threats of unprecedented scale and severity because of climate change and increasing competition for overstretched natural resources, are these same foundations losing the plot? Click here to read ...

Whispering from the rooftops

In September 2007, Alliance ran a special issue on climate change in which Stephen Heintz, President of Rockefeller Brothers Fund, described the work that RBF has been doing for some years in the USA. The Carnegie UK Trust recently asked me to find out what trusts are doing in the UK, especially in relation to the social justice consequences of climate change, and what more they might do in the future. My report, called Responding to the Rooftops (in the same speech in which Al Gore used his ‘Inconvenient Truth’ phrase, he also referred to scientists ‘virtually screaming from the rooftops now’), suggests a very mixed picture. Click here to read ...

New global environmental fund launched

A fund to address environmental, ecological and climate change-related crises around the world was launched in Washington last month. The International Fund for Environment and Ecology (IFEE) will gather financial resources and expertise, and work with NGOs, donors, grantees, and the affected communities, to execute remedial, development and disaster response and prevention projects.

For more information
www.ifeecology.com Click here to read ...

Don’t let downturn stall climate change aid to poor nations, urges China

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Google.org unveils long-term clean energy plan

Google.org, the philanthropic arm of the internet search company, has announced a $4.4 trillion plan to reduce US dependence on fossil fuels by 2030. The so-called Clean Energy 2030 proposal calls for a 38 per cent cut in the amount of oil used for vehicle fuels; raising the automobile fuel efficiency standard from 31 mpg to 45 mpg; increasing the use of plug-in hybrids and electric cars; much faster replacement of combustion engine cars in business fleets; and improving electrical energy efficiency. The plan also proposes the replacement of all power generation plants that use coal and oil and half of those that use natural gas with plants using wind, solar and geothermal power. The plan builds on several existing Google.org initiatives to advance clean energy. Click here to read ...

The importance of advocacy

Well-intentioned philanthropists are eager to see the fruits of their contributions: a new school erected, malaria nets distributed, acres of forest protected. Philanthropists who have found success in the for-profit world can be heartened by the current trend of ‘philanthrocapitalism’ or venture philanthropy. Using ‘best practices’ and bringing successful small programmes to scale, finding metrics and measurements to prove the success of various interventions – these are not necessarily unworthy concepts. Click here to read ...

ACF Conference 2008

Event ACF Conference 2008: Thorny Questions, Fruitful Answers: Foundations meeting contemporary challenges
Date 26-27 June
Venue Nottingham, UK
Organizer Association of Charitable Foundations Click here to read ...