COVID Guide ▸ Thematic funding spotlight – Environment

Thematic Funding Spotlight: Environment

Almost all environmental charities are reporting the negative consequences of the pandemic, challenging the misconception that the lockdown has had a positive effect on the environment. Notable impacts have been the inability of charities to carry out conservation work and the reduced ability to carry out scientific, policy and advocacy work.

Challenges are also being experienced in the international context where the reduction in tourism and economic hardship is causing a spike in poaching and wildlife consumption.

At the same time, environmental charities are facing a loss of income (in line with other non-profits) with many reluctant to ask for support because of concerns that it will seem inappropriate at a time of increased humanitarian need. This is particularly acute for charities who rely on income from nature reserves, visitor centres and events.

These were the findings from a meeting of 40+ environmental fundraisers recently convened by the Environmental Funders Network. To support the UK’s environmental sector going forward, EFN will:

Regularly convene funders to share intelligence and encourage collaboration
Encourage new funds to support the sector
Support fundraisers in environmental charities to share information, collaborate and access funds
Enhance communications for the wider sector

The principal goals for this effort are to:

Help a robust environmental sector to emerge after the pandemic: determining which parts of the sector/ organisations are most at risk, and helping to secure funding.
Support the sector to ‘build back better’: ensuring that the economic reset following the pandemic is as sustainable and fair as it can be.

For more information please contact Jane Cabutti: Jane@greenfunders.or

In the early days of the COVID pandemic in April, a survey by Ipsos MORI identified that in the UK, 66% of people believe that in the long-term, climate change is as serious a crisis as Coronavirus. As the crisis has progressed it has become clear that this sentiment has remained, with numerous groups calling for the world to ‘Build Back Better’ and avoid the simple economic rebound to the same system.

“The pandemic represents an unprecedented global ‘moment of change’, in which the regular patterns of hundreds of millions of people’s lives have been forcefully interrupted, not just as individuals but as part of local and global communities. Capturing this moment provides an opportunity to create a domino effect of climate-positive behaviours in communities across the UK.” – Patrik Ewe – Possible

Many hope that the next generation of philanthropists may be a driving force behind some of these changes. Over the next 15 years, the world expects to see the greatest ever transfer of wealth. In a recent study by PWC and UBS, it is estimated that over $2 trillion is expected to be transferred from one generation to the next. Already, the value set of younger philanthropists is very different from the elder generation. This can be seen in a range of indicators, such as how much ESG indicators are prioritised in their investment portfolios. However, action is required immediately, and many believe if this doesn’t happen in the next 10 years we will be too late.

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising has recently launched a guide on environmental change for fundraisers. The guide, Environmental Change: a toolkit for fundraisers, provides tools and tips to help fundraisers raise the issue of environmental change inside their own charities as well as advice on the changes they can make in their own work. It aims to increase awareness about the role charities can play in tackling the climate emergency and encourage individual actions in fundraisers’ professional lives to help mobilise change inside charities. They have also made a strong statement that resonates with many charities:

“The climate emergency is far bigger than fundraising, but the choices we make about how we fundraise, the donations we accept or refuse, or through the engagement we have with millions of people who support and donate to charities, we have the potential to reshape our future for the people and causes we represent and serve.” – Institute of Fundraising

The entrepreneur Kunal Sood has formed a new alliance, We The Planet, comprised of former Heads of State, Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly, Entrepreneurs, Innovators, Award-winning Musicians and Artists to attempt to address these major global challenges over the next decade.

“We need a new charter for post-Bretton Woods institutions, one where we can re-engineer our global supply chains to be in line with our planetary boundaries and respect the rights of nature. We need to re-imagine wealth creation and retention, and bring together different factions and generations to build a better future for all.” – Kunal Sood

If he succeeds, expect to see a radically new set of institutions to define the post-Covid world than the post-WW2 institutions that served us well until now, but are straining against the new technologies and socio-economic-environmental forces that are shaping our world.

Research & Insights

Thematic Funding Spotlight: Environment

Update - 13th August 2020