Brian and Shauna Lonergan
/SOURCE OF WEALTH: Elliot Bay Energy
FUNDING AREAS: Effective Altruism, TBD
OVERVIEW: Brian and Shauna Lonergan move their philanthropy through the recently-minted Laidir Foundation, whose evolving mission includes research, development, and partnerships with people dedicated to moving the planet in a new direction. Lonergan appears to be particularly interested in the effective altruism movement and global poverty.
According to available tax filings, the Laidir Foundation awarded $1.325 million in grants in 2017.
BACKGROUND: Brian Lonergan is an energies trader associated with Elliott Bay Energy in Seattle, Washington. He keeps an exceptionally low profile.
ISSUES:
EFFECTIVE ALTRUISM: The young Laidir Foundation’s website is limited to a single page, which states that the evolving mission of the foundation “ includes research, development, and partnerships with people dedicated to moving the planet in a new direction.” One of the foundation’s few grantees is the Centre for Effective Altruism, which aims to grow and maintain the effective altruism movement. The effective altruism community is a “global community of people who care deeply about the world, make benefiting others a significant part of their lives, and use evidence and reason to figure out how best to do so.”
Other grantees have included Sightline Institute, which “provides original policy research on Pacific Northwest affordable housing, sustainability, environment, clean energy & social justice; and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), which “creates and evaluates solutions to social and development problems, and works to scale up successful ideas through implementation and dissemination to policymakers, practitioners, investors, and donors.”
LOOKING FORWARD: The foundation is still in its early stages and is still building a staff. But for innovative organizations working within the effective altruism movement, this is a funder to keep on your radar in the coming years.
CONTACT:
The Laidir Foundation
c/o Brian Lonergan
2212 Queen Anne Avenue North #719
Seattle, WA 98109
