Waverley Street Foundation
/OVERVIEW: The Waverley Street Foundation plans to distribute $3 billion in grants to organizations working at the intersections of climate change, conservation, and racial and indigenous justice by the year 2035.
IP TAKE: The widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs is known as a rather private person, and her group, the Emerson Collective, keeps a low profile. Much of Powell Jobs's philanthropy is done under the radar. "If you total up in your mind all of the philanthropic investments that Laurene has made that the public knows about, that is probably a fraction of 1 percent of what she actually does," her friend and fellow philanthropist Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen has said. However, she makes climate change grants through her Waverley Street Foundation.
Still in its earliest stages of grantmaking, this funder has so far not accepted applications for funding. It appears to be accessible, however, as it provides access to its staff members via LinkedIn, creating opportunity for introductions and networking. Otherwise, this funder is very low profile, with a relatively limited website.
The foundation’s grantmaking is decidedly intersectional, focusing on both climate change and justice for people living at the “front lines” of a changing world. If your work does not reflect a significant element of movement building or justice work as it relates to the climate through an intersectional lens, success will be limited here. Grants are large, often in the millions, and tend to support organizations with which the foundation has established multi-year relationships, making funding competitive and more difficult to get noticed; however, this funder invests in new grantees each year, so don’t hesitate to reach out. That said, this funder is spending down by 2035, so plan accordingly. The foundation will have to get an average of $230 million-plus out the door annually for the next 13 years, which makes this funder one of the ambitious to address climate change.
PROFILE: Based in Palo Alto, California, the Waverley Street Foundation was founded by Laurene Powell Jobs in 2021 and represents a commitment of over $3 billion “to support organizations working on solutions at the intersection of climate change and community priorities” by the year 2035. This funder takes an intersectional approach to its grantmaking, with most of its grants supporting organizations and initiatives in overlapping areas, including climate change, environmental conservation, community development, sustainable agriculture, public health, racial justice, and indigenous rights. Its grantmaking is global in scope, although most grants go to organizations based in the U.S. This funder conducts most of its grantmaking through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.
Grants for Environment, Climate Change, and Clean Energy
The main focus of Waverley’s grantmaking is climate change mitigation. While the foundation does not name specific strategies for its climate change work, instead supporting “climate solutions arising from local leaders and organizations at work in the places they call home,” the foundation remains focused on a grassroots approach to climate change. Tax filings also suggest an emphasis on climate justice work. Indeed, about a third of early funding has backed climate justice outfits. Waverley’s biggest beneficiary is Climate Imperative, a policy group and regrantor founded in 2020 by Hal Harvey, who founded and led both Energy Foundation and ClimateWorks Foundation, the field’s oldest and most widely supported intermediaries.
One recent grantee, India’s Selco Foundation, works with communities to create “the enabling conditions for decentralized locally owned renewable energy solutions oriented towards community priorities.” Another climate change grant supported the Environmental Collaboratory at Drexel University. This university-based program facilitates projects with community partners to “drive systemic climate transition and environmental justice with a focus on the needs of disadvantaged communities.” Another recent university-based grantee is the Tishman Environment and Design Center at the New School in New York City, which approaches the climate crisis through research, design policy and social justice. Other climate and environment grantees include the Environmental Defenders Collaborative, the Global Greengrants Fund, the Rural Climate Partnership, and Resources for the Future.
Grants for Community Development, Racial Equity, and Indigenous Rights
The Waverley Street Foundation positions its work “in the day-to-day lives of people and communities that build on foundations of equity and justice, and that respond to the growing challenges of those living on the frontlines of climate change.” For example, one recent grant supported the First Nation’s Development Institute, which works with indigenous groups in the U.S. on projects for the conservation of ancestral lands, as well as sustainable farming and food production initiatives. Another U.S. grantee, Outdoor Afro, works to connect African-American communities with “outdoor education, recreation and conservation.” The foundation has also given to Soul Fire Farm in Petersburg, New York, “an Afro-Indigenous centered community farm” that works to end “food apartheid” by connecting people to sustainable methods, health foods, and environmental justice.
Grants for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems
A significant portion of Waverley’s grantmaking supports initiatives for sustainable agriculture and food systems, but grantmaking trends in this area appear focused on larger, established organizations that are dedicated to nutrition and agricultural research. Grantees include the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the National Young Farmer’s Initiative.
Important Grant Details:
The Waverley Foundation’s grants typically range from $1 million to $10 million, representing multi-year commitments to its grantee partners.. The foundation has committed to spending down a total of $3 billion toward its grantmaking goals by 2035. For additional information about its grantmaking, see the foundation’s What We Do page, which features profiles of grantee organizations.
The Waverley Foundation primarily supports large national and international organizations based in the United States. Outside of the U.S., its grantmaking mainly centers around India and Latin America.
At this stage in its development, the foundation is not accepting unsolicited proposals or requests for funding.
The foundation will not award grants to individuals, capital campaigns, or political campaigns.
Grantseekers may reach out via the foundation’s contact page. The foundation’s team page features links to staff members’ LinkedIn pages, which provides as additional means of networking with this funder.
PEOPLE:
Search for staff contact info and bios in PeopleFinder (paid subscribers only).
LINKS:
