Climate, Conservation & Environment

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Climate, Conservation & Environment

Introducing the Catalyst Fellows

March 2016 | Philanthropy Northwest

Jeff Clarke, CEO | Poet William Blake wrote, "The true method of knowledge is experiment." Here at Philanthropy Northwest, we honor Blake and the countless others who have offered similar encouragement by taking initiative to conduct learning experiments. Our latest? The Catalyst Fellows, a place-based experiment in thought partnership and network learning. We’ve designed this program to begin and steward ongoing conversations about the important role that different types of capital, each integral to philanthropic strategy, play in creating and sustaining vibrant, equitable and inclusive communities. While there are many important forms of capital, we’ve chosen to begin this work by focusing on influence (advocacy), financial (impact investing) and natural (sustainability) capital.

Disaster Philanthropy Playbook

January 20, 2016
10:00am PST
Webinar

Disasters, whether natural or man-made, can strike at any time in our communities. Foundations are increasingly an epicenter of both first response and recovery. Please join us for a webinar on the launch of the Disaster Philanthropy Playbook, the comprehensive resource of best practices and innovative approaches to guide the philanthropic community in responding to future disasters.

New Resource Launched for Disaster Philanthropy

January 2016 |

When disaster strikes, communities look to organized philanthropy and government grantmakers for help. Whether it's a natural disaster like a devastating wildfire season or a human-...

MLK Day: A Time to Serve Our Communities

January 2016 |

It’s a mid-January morning and there's frost on the ground. People from all over the city are huddling around the coffee and bagel tables, trying to get warm and fuel up for the day. You overhear murmurs of introductions, names and motivations for getting up so early on their day off: “I’m here with my kids and we wanted to do something as a family." "I’m volunteering with my office." "I believe in the message of Dr. King and I want to honor that today.” This is the scene I have experienced on the third Monday of January — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day — for almost a decade. Whether you're fighting racism and poverty or preserving nature and wildlife, the MLK Day of Service offers an opportunity to connect with each other and work together to support a healthy and vibrant community. With more than a hundred projects planned throughout the Northwest, thousands of volunteers will be honoring this remarkable man and his message.

REI's Corporate Philanthropy Climbs to New Heights

November 2015 | Philanthropy Northwest
Nicole Neroulias Gupte, Communications Manager | Seattle-based retailer REI made national news this fall by announcing it would remain closed on Black Friday — one of the biggest shopping days of the year — while paying the co-op's 12,000 employees and encouraging its 5.5 million members to spend quality time outdoors instead. The #OptOutside campaign drew more than a million followers on social media, especially in Northwest, and inspired several other retailers to follow suit. The campaign also confirmed what Philanthropy Northwest has observed this year: REI is taking a more visible and innovative approach in its community engagement and corporate giving.

A Season of Change at Meyer Memorial Trust

September 2015 |
Doug Stamm, Meyer Memorial Trust | September always brings change: weather shifts from hot to cool, busy autumn mornings replace leisurely summer afternoons, days grow incrementally shorter. Here at Meyer Memorial Trust, in a year filled with changes, the month offers a moment to reflect on where we have been and on where we are heading. Last year, Meyer awarded more grants than ever before — 515 grants and loans just over $46 million; we are again on track to make the largest payout in the foundation’s history. But we haven’t only been making grants this year. We began outreach in several of our four priority focus areas — housing, education, the environment, and supporting a vibrant nonprofit sector.

A River Between Us: Bridging Generations of Conflict on the Klamath

September 2015 |
Jason A. Atkinson, Filmmaker and Former Oregon State Senator | Nearly 300 miles long, flowing from southern Oregon to northern California, the Klamath River has been a source of conflict between conservationists, tribes, farmers, fishermen, and state and federal agencies for generations. My new film, with support from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust and other Pacific Northwest funders, examines this complicated history and documents the largest river restoration project in U.S. history. This unique case of collaboration, in a place most Americans can't find on a map, is a prime example for the rest of the country to follow.