Working with colleagues we have undertaken extensive research relating to philanthropic grant-making, and have used the findings to inform the discussion about how funders can increase their impact.
Over the years we have analysed more than 60,000 environmental grants, with a total value of more than £3.4 billion.
This research has given us a thorough understanding of the supply side of the philanthropic grants market. (Some examples are listed below).
We have also studied the demand side of the market, running multiple surveys and research projects to assess capacity gaps in social movements. (See examples below). We have carried out comparative research in the UK, across Europe, in the United States, and in Israel.
We speak to civil society changemakers about the precise nature of the opportunities and barriers they face, and assess the role of good (and bad) grantmaking practice in supporting social movements.
We reflect these insights back to grantmakers, and in this way have deepened the dialogue between funders and the movements they support.
Much of our demand side research remains unpublished, since the findings would be helpful to organisations seeking to defend the status quo.
Recent research
Social justice grantmaking – still a rarity in the UK
The Environmental Funders Network and The Hour Is Late teamed up to produce the ninth edition of Where the Green Grants, which shows that grants from UK-based foundations to environmental initiatives have nearly tripled in value over the last few years, a very welcome development. The distribution of grants from foundations remains, however, very scattershot, with a large number of small grants going to different grantee organisations. The report features a new section on Effective Environmental Grantmaking where we set out 10 elements of effectiveness, and reflect on what can be learned from U.S. foundations that are actively trying to block progress on environmental issues.
Funding Justice
Social justice grantmaking – still a rarity in the UK
The Hour Is Late joined forces with the Civic Power Fund for this second edition of our ground-breaking analysis of UK social justice grant-making. The team looked at 18,816 grants from 60 funders, worth over £950m. Among other key takeaways, the report found that funding to challenge injustice is scarce, amounting to 5.7% of UK foundation giving, with most of these funds going to service delivery and ‘inside track’ policy- or legal-oriented work. By contrast, just 0.3% of UK foundation giving was recorded for ‘outside game’ approaches like community organising, even though these are a vital part of building power among the people and places most affected by social justice issues.
Environmental Funding by European Foundations, Vol 6
The sixth edition of Environmental Funding by European Foundations provides the most comprehensive overview yet of grants on environmental issues from European philanthropic foundations, and is based on 8,518 grants from 126 foundations, together worth €1.6 billion. The report shows that funders continue to steer clear of the more radical discourses of environmentalism, with just 3.6% of the grants by value supporting work in these three discourses. The distribution of grants across Europe also remains very uneven.
Youth Climate Justice Study: Youth Activists in their own words
Commissioned by a group of youth climate leaders and supported by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, this study describes the many ways in which young people are reshaping climate policy, campaigns and narratives. Drawing on ClimateWorks Foundation data, it reveals the very limited amounts of funding available to youth-led climate action now, and calls for funders to enact more youth-friendly grantmaking practices, as well as increasing the level of financial support available to these important social movements.
Foundation funding for climate change mitigation: Europe spotlight
ClimateWorks Foundation report
This detailed assessment of climate change funding by European foundations reports on more than 6,200 grants, including those made by some of the world’s largest philanthropic funders. Grants are categorised by the country they benefit and by 75 different strategies for mitigating climate change.
