444S Foundation

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OVERVIEW: The 444S Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to environmental preservation, including wildlands and wildlife protection efforts. This also includes northern wildlands and forests.

IP TAKE: The 444S Foundation, which is the foundation of the Wayburn family — associated with the Sierra Club, may fly under the radar, but gives mid-sized grants to conservation groups all over the U.S. It lacks transparency and accessibility, making it hard to get on its radar since it doesn’t accept unsolicited applications. It also offers no phone number, which means contact will be difficult unless you send a letter by snail mail. This is a good general conservation funder to know, particularly for established groups. 444S prioritizes environmental groups focused geographically on the Northwestern United States, Alaska, and Canada.

PROFILE: Established in 1998, the 444S Foundation is steered by Cynthia Wayburn and other family members. Cynthia is a daughter of Edgar and Peggy Wayburn. The foundation does not maintain a website, which limits information available on its grantmaking priorities and activities. According to tax records, the 444S Foundation primarily funds grantmaking related to environmental preservation, including wildlands and wildlife protection efforts. This also includes northern wildlands and forests.

In life, Edgar was a major conservationist. He joined the Sierra Club in 1939 and served on its board from 1957 to 1994. In addition to his conservation work, Wayburn taught for more than 40 years, first at Stanford Medical School and then at the University of California at San Francisco. "I have loved medicine and conservation," he told the journal of the San Francisco Medical Society. "In one sense, my involvement with both might be summed up in a single word: survival. Medicine is concerned with the short-term survival of the human species, conservation with the long-term survival of the human and other species, as well. We are all related."

Grants for Environmental Conservation

Tax filings suggest that this funder’s grants for the environment are broad and often benefit more established environmental foundations. That said, grants focus in investing in efforts that address wilderness protection, parks, wildlife conservation, and organizations that seek to prevent land development.

Important Grant Details:

Grants range from $10,000 to $210,000. In a recent fiscal year, the foundation gave away around $1.8 million.

Past grantees include Winter Wildlands Society, Wilderness Society, Endangered Species Coalition, Earthjustice, Alaska Wilderness League, Oceana, Tides Canada, and Alaska Marine Conservation. Other grantees include 350Seattle, Ecojustice, and WildEarth Guardians, among many others.

Important Grant Information

The foundation keeps a low profile and does not accept unsolicited proposals.

PEOPLE:

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CONTACT:

Lester and Bernice Smith Foundation
PO Box 3010
Bellevue, WA 98009

11th Hour Project

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OVERVIEW: The 11th Hour Project is an environmental grantmaker that supports “resilient systems for food, energy, water, human health and climate” in the U.S. and globally. Its core programming areas include energy, food & agriculture, Indigenous communities, human rights, and emerging strategies.

IP TAKE: The 11th Hour Project is one of the Schmidt Family Foundation’s two major grantmaking entities, alongside its sister organization, the Schmidt Ocean Institute. As IP has reported, 11th Hour previously kept a relatively low profile, but in recent years has become one of the largest funders in the climate space, giving about $100 million a year, and “has set itself apart in climate philanthropy by backing underfunded local efforts to halt new fossil fuel infrastructure.” Taking a broad approach to solving interconnected environmental crises, 11th Hour funds everything from regenerative agriculture to improving the battery supply chain, and it works with other climate and environment funders through network-building and collaboratives.

11th Hour provides information about some grantees on its website, but doesn’t host a full grants database. This is not a particularly accessible funder. It doesn’t accept unsolicited grant proposals and does not provide information about programming staff on its website. All queries about grants or programs are directed to info@11thhourproject.org.

PROFILE: The Schmidts created the 11th Hour Project in 2006. While the 11th Hour Project is an independent outfit, it is considered a grantmaking and investment vehicle of the Schmidt Family Foundation. The 11th Hour Project has grown since its 2006 debut and is now a self-governing operation headquartered in Palo Alto, California. It awards grants through various funding buckets, including Energy, Food and Agriculture, N2, Indigenous Communities, Human Rights, and Emerging Strategies.

Grants for Climate Change and Energy

The 11th Hour Project conducts grantmaking for climate change through its Energy program, which has two priorities: “challenging the development of fossil fuels and accelerating the adoption of renewable energy.” In this vein, the Project views its climate and energy work through a climate equity lens.

While the 11th Hour Project has a program dedicated to clean energy, it conducts all of its work through interrelated climate and equity lenses across many of its giving programs, such as Food and Agriculture, as well as Human Rights.

  • 11th Hour ultimately views its climate work in terms of a “rapid transition away from fossil fuels, led by frontline communities,” so that it can not only maintain a climate stable future, but also ensure the “immediate health and safety benefits to millions of Americans – especially low-income communities and communities of color.”

  • Climate and clean energy grants are focused on: resisting oil and gas development, designing rapid and just transition plans for existing fossil fuel infrastructure, and re-envisioning how energy is generated, distributed and owned.

  • Its grantees tend to involve environmental organizations and non-environmentalist partners, such as farmers or labor activists, all working hand-in-hand to organize concrete improvements in public policy and everyday business practice.

  • Most of its climate grants support nonprofits building cross-sector coalitions and mobilizing them to press for long-term policy and market-based reforms. 

Past grantees include PSE Healthy Energy, and the American Lung Association’s California chapter, which received funding for mobilizing the health-care community behind climate-change policy. It has also funded the California Climate and Agricultural Network, the BlueGreen Alliance, and the Catskill Mountainkeeper, among many others.

Grants for Food and Sustainable Agriculture

The 11th Hour Project supports efforts to promote Food and Agriculture systems to build “resilient agricultural systems that improve soil, air, water, and animal and human health.” Some of this work overlaps with the 11th Hour Projects Human Rights work, which you can read more about separately after this section.

  • The 11th Hour believes this work is most possible through regenerative farming practices that can lead to more equitable “transition of our food and farming system while building the resilience of regional farming communities and food systems.”

  • This area of funding, like others, takes a network-based approach to grantmaking, which “connects organizations working from a variety of perspectives and strategies in order to take action on a shared vision that builds healthy soil and thriving communities.”

  • This area of funding has expanded its geographic focus from recent years to include the entirety of the U.S.

Past grantees include Missouri Rural Crisis Center, North Carolina Environmental Justice Network, Western Organization of Resource Councils, The Common Market, Farmer Veteran Coalition, Land Stewardship Project, and the Southeastern African-American Farmers’ Organic Network, among others.

Grants for Human Rights

The 11th Hour Project’s Human Rights program supports “movements for just and ecologically sound development that promotes human rights, vibrant local economies, and dignified livelihoods for all.” The 11th Hour Project, believing “that the climate crisis is deeply rooted in a global extractivist economy, structural inequality and systemic racism,” views its human rights work through the destructive impact of nature’s degredation on humans and the ability of that degradation to drive inequality.

While the project does not have stated geographic priorities, it channels the majority of its human rights grantmaking toward less-developed countries like Haiti and Africa. On occasion, 11th Hour funds human rights organizations that conduct widespread international rights efforts rather country-specific work.

Human rights grantees include Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, Groundswell International, Human Rights Watch, New Media Advocacy Project, and Virunga Foundation.

Grants for Indigenous Rights

While the 11th Hour Project’s work has always occurred at the intersection of climate and equity, it now has an Indigenous Communities program that more directly supports “Indigenous-led work that advances Indigenous communities’ and peoples’ self-determination and re-Indigenization.” This program seeks to support “land return and Indigenous stewardship efforts, particularly those that restore keystone species.”

Past grantees in this area include the California Tribal Fund, Hoopa Valley Tribe Fisheries Department, Indian Land Tenure Foundaiton, Save California Salmon, and Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting,” among others.

Other Grantmaking Opportunities

The Schmidt Family Foundation sometimes distributes grants that address “global sustainability challenges” through the 11th Hour Project’s Impact Investing program. This program awards Mission Related Investments (MRI) and Program Related Investments (PRI) in four key areas: climate change, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and marine technology.

N2, a newer program, funds “organizations, initiatives and movements that enable access and support for youth to thrive through nature + nurture.”

Important Grant Details:

Grants range from $15,000 to about $1.25 million. To get a broader sense of the types of human rights NGOs benefiting from 11th Hour’s support, prospective grantseekers should review its grantees list. The 11th Hour does not accept unsolicited proposals or letters of inquiry.

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3M Foundation

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OVERVIEW: 3M’s grantmaking supports STEM education, skilled trades, community development, sustainability, and climate change. 3M also broadly funds human services and arts programs across its communities.

IP TAKE: 3M boasts an extensive grantmaking portfolio focused on St. Paul, Minnesota, where 3M is headquartered, along with dispersed grantmaking in 70 other communities where 3M is active. It has been described as a “wonderful longtime partner,” but getting through the door will be a challenge for grantseekers who don’t have an “in” with the company. The longtime corporate foundation is not currently accepting unsolicited grant proposals in its three core funding areas; its website states, “at this time, 3M is an invitation-only funder.” Yet grant programs frequently change, and unsolicited opportunities were offered as recently as 2021. It’s worthwhile to check back for updates, particularly for grantseekers in Minnesota or other communities, like Austin, Texas, where 3M has a significant presence. In short, 3M is an active and somewhat transparent funder, but not accessible, and those sending unsolicited queries without first building relationships within the company will be unsuccessful. 3M does have an open matching gift program for current and former employees.

PROFILE: The philanthropic arm of the global corporation, the 3M Foundation was established in 1953. Indeed, 3M was one of the first corporations to establish a foundation. The foundation “improves lives and builds sustainable communities through social investments and thoughtful engagement of 3Mers worldwide.” 3M funds programs in STEM and Trade Education, Climate Change and Circular Economy, and Hometown Needs. While recent grantmaking overlaps with previous programs on education, the environment and community needs, this funder’s giving has become more focused in recent years.

Grants for STEM Education and Opportunity Development

Heavily focused on all aspects of STEM education, the foundation’s STEM and Trade program awards academic institutions and organizations that increase student achievement in STEM, attract and retain postsecondary students, and promote equity and education in all communities. This program, particularly focused on supporting underrepresented groups in STEM, seeks to “create 5 million STEM and skilled trades learning experiences designed to inspire curiosity, improve educational outcomes and provide transformational opportunities” to fill racial opportunity gaps by 2025.

Borrowing from the impact framework from the London Benchmarking Group, the 3M Foundation works to achieve its goal by “investing in organizations and/or initiatives that inspire interest in STEM and skilled trades, improve academic outcomes in these areas and provide transformational opportunities.”

3M measures the impact of these funding investments by working with Ecotone Analytics to capture their “social return on investment (SROI) using data from evidence-based research,” which revealed that “every $1 (3M) invests…generates nearly $3 worth of social impact,” exceeding 3M’s initial internal target of $2.50 return for every dollar invested.

Through the same program, 3M makes grants for education, which it calls Science Encouragement programs, at both the K-12 and Higher Education levels:

Grants for K-12 STEM and Higher Education

The 3M Foundation grants for K-12 STEM address schools and community organizations in the U.S. and abroad. Its giving primarily seeks to increase student achievement in STEM, promote equity in the field, and support postsecondary programs that attract and retain students as well as help to develop graduate students. In addition to STEM and science education programs, grants support teacher development, scholarship and fellowship programs.

  • 3M partners with FIRST to help “young people discover and develop a passion for STEM through team sponsorship and with the support of 3M volunteers, FIRST LEGO League and FIRST Robotics Competition teams.”

  • 3M also offers scholarships, including endowed scholarships at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, the University of Pennsylvania and others.

  • 3M also partnered with UNCF 3M Science. Applied to Life. Scholarship Program to provide need-based scholarship support to underrepresented high school seniors in St. Paul, Minnesota and the surrounding area who are interested in pursuing a STEM degree, or college freshmen already enrolled in a STEM degree program.

  • Visiting Wizards, designed for students in grades 1 through 6, encourages youth interest in science and technology through science demonstrations and hands-on experiments on a variety of topics to show the impact of science on everyday life.

  • TechTalks feature 3M volunteers from a variety of technical job positions, degree levels and backgrounds, describing the route they took to their current position and seek to take the “mystery out of STEM careers and turn curiosity into opportunity.”

  • 3M TWIST (Teachers Working in Science and Technology) gathers middle and high school math, science and technology teachers for six weeks in the summer to work on 3M research projects, allowing educators to expand their tool set for their school curricula.

  • STEP (Science Training Encouragement Program) shows “high school juniors and seniors the ropes in applied science. Today's students want the opportunity to help solve important problems. In STEP, we make science accessible so they have those opportunities down the line.”

Grants for Skilled Trade and STEM Careers

The foundation’s STEM and Trade program works mainly through Skilled Trades signature programs that reflect partnerships with grantees. 3M supports several national programs designed to help those interested in the skilled trades find careers:

  • SkillsUSA serves middle school, high school and college/postsecondary students through apprenticeship models that prepare students for careers in trade, technical and skilled service occupations. The partnership serves 350,000 middle school, high school and postsecondary students and educators annually with online training programs, webinars, and 19,000 training classrooms.

  • National Coalition of Certification Centers works to develop highly skilled, job-ready professionals through a “growing network of educational partners and global industry leaders. An industry partner of 3M, NC3 brings industry and trade leaders, professional organizations and educational institutions together to drive workforce development and improve technical education.”

  • Previously, 3M partnered with DoSomething to create the STEM Works For Me campaign to educate students from underrepresented backgrounds about STEM careers, but it has ended.

  • The 3M Manufacturing and Academic Partnerships program, or MAP, was created as 3M “began to see a concerning trend at some of its plants: As the older workforce began to retire at a higher rate, there weren’t enough young, skilled trade workers to fill those vacancies.”

  • Previously, 3M sponsored notable programs such as WorldSkills, which “showcases the value of skills and raises recognition of skilled professionals worldwide,” and the Frontline Sales Initiative, a broad partnership that “enhances sales education at colleges with the goal of elevating sales as a discipline and profession.”

Grants for Climate Change and Climate Justice

The foundation’s Climate Change and Circular Economy program expanded from 3M’s previous focus on more general environmental grantmaking, which centered on the sustainable management and maintenance of at-risk habitats and improving the lives of indigenous peoples; however, much of its previous environmental work has expanded through a climate change lens. This grantmaking work prioritizes natural climate solutions, renewable energies, and circular economies, which increases access to recycling infrastructure in underserved communities and supports waste collectors' livelihoods.

3M’s climate change grantmaking also focuses on Climate Justice, further evidence of its growing interest in racial equity and indigenous rights, through a partnership with Forum for the Future and its American Climate Futures program, a “national program that works to ensure the needs and voices of those most impacted by climate change in the U.S. are at the forefront of goal-setting, planning and solutions development.”

Previous environmental funding and partnerships:

Some of this program’s previous environmental initiatives included a focus on Canada’s boreal forests, as well as 3M Eco Grants, which helped “students connect science, technology, engineering and math to the world around them.” 3M has also partnered with the Closed Loop Fund, which invests in recycling infrastructure to create a circular economy.

Grants for Arts and Culture, Disaster Relief and Food Security

The 3M Foundation gives toward arts and culture through its Hometown Needs program in 70 communities across the U.S. While 3M still offers grants for the arts, it has expanded its giving for food security and disaster relief.

Humanitarian aid grants have separate guidelines and are often given in real time. When disaster strikes a 3M community, the foundation offers in-kind product donations and has partnered with leading NGOs Direct Relief and MAP International to donate relevant goods, including respirators, safety glasses, first aid tapes and bandages.

Arts grantmaking is dedicated to increasing community vitality through programs that “improve the quality of life in underserved families,” “increase access to youth development programs for underrepresented children,” and “provide access to vibrant and diverse art opportunities.” This includes both arts education opportunities and community artistic institutions such as theaters and museums. Past grantees include Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society and Minneapolis Institute of Art.

Grants for Theater

The 3M Foundation primarily supports major arts institutions in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Grantees include Ordway Center for Performing Arts and Minnesota Opera.

Grants for Music

The 3M Foundation primarily supports major arts institutions in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Grantees include the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Society and Minnesota Orchestra.

Grants for Dance

The 3M Foundation primarily supports major arts institutions in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Grantees have included Ordway Center for Performing Arts.

Grants for Arts Education

The 3M Foundation primarily supports arts education initiatives in the St. Paul/Minneapolis area. Past grantees include The Arts Partnership, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Children’s Theatre Company.

Important Grantmaking Details:

Grants may typically range from $5,000 to $500,000, sometimes in the millions.

  • The foundation primarily awards grants to organizations located in areas in which 3M has a business presence.

  • Grant seekers whose work concerns education or the environment should apply through 3M’s corporate giving program rather than the 3M Foundation.

  • The 3M Foundation does not accept unsolicited grant applications or requests for funding from organizations located in St. Paul, Minnesota, and Austin, Texas.

  • Applicants located in other states must direct their funding requests to their local 3M office. Application periods are from April to November, depending on the giving area.

Contact:

3 M Center

224 05 N 40

St Paul, Mn 551441000

651-737-3610

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776 Foundation

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OVERVIEW: Alexis Ohanian’s 776 Foundation has awarded fellowships for young people working toward climate change mitigation.

IP TAKE: The 776 Foundation ran an open application program for its first cohort of climate change fellowships, which provided unrestricted cash grants and technical support from the foundation’s parent company, 776 Management. The foundation has yet to announce future fellowships or grantmaking opportunities, but appears to be committed to supporting the bold ideas of young people from around the world who are willing to take time off from school develop projects with broad impact for climate change.

The 776 Foundation is not directly accessible, but its website provides links to its LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Founder Alexis Ohanian’s personal website features a contact page, and the foundation’s parent company, 776 Management, offers short bios of its team members. Social media networking may be the best way to gain the foundation’s attention until its next funding opportunity is announced. And while the foundation is not directly accessible, it is transparent; descriptions of its application process and funded fellowships are available on its website and Instagram feed.

PROFILE: The 776 Foundation, based in Jupiter, Florida, is the philanthropic vehicle of 776 Management, the venture capital firm founded by Alexis Ohanian. Ohanian is best known as the founder of Reddit, but he has also accumulated significant wealth through an investment firm, Initialized Capital, which specializes in providing seed and early-stage funding for internet an cryptocurrency startups. His second investment vehicle, 776 Management, is geared toward social enterprise and funds “founders that are changing the world” in the areas of media, technology, health, youth development and financial services, to name a few. The affiliated foundation, which is not currently registered as a tax-exempt organization, has so far funded a fellowship program for young people working to solve climate change-related problems.

Grants for Climate Change, Clean Energy and Scientific Research

To date, the 776 Foundation’s sole grantmaking program has been its 776 Fellowship. Focused specifically on climate change as a “technological, social, and political issue,” the fellowship’s first round of funding was awarded to 20 individuals under the age of 23. The two-year program included a cash grant of $100,000 “support from the Seven Seven Six network of founders, investors, and partners,” and the use of Cerebro, which is 776’s operating network. The fellowship required full-time participation of its participants, precluding their pursuit of higher education for two years. Grants stemming from the fellowship were unrestricted; fellows were entitled to use the funding for “whatever you need to bring your idea to life.” A significant number of the first cohort’s projects involve data platforms and management systems for climate change issues including decarbonization, energy delivery, climate metrics and wildfire management. The fellowship has also supported projects in green energy technology, recycling, climate-driven film production and education.  

Important Grant Details:

The 776 Foundation’s recent fellowship program awarded 20 $100,000 grants to its fellows, who also received organizational and technological support from the 776 Management team. Fellowship application was open to individuals aged 18 to 23, with no geographical restrictions. The program required fellows to work full-time on their projects, precluding participation in higher education for the two-year program. The $100,000 was paid in quarterly installments. For profiles of 776 fellows, see the foundation’s Instagram feed.

776 ran an open application program for its first round of funding, which closed in March of 2022. The foundation has yet to announce a second round of fellowships or grants; potential applicants should check the 776 Foundation’s website periodically for updates and follow the organization’s social media accounts, which are linked to the website.

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