Climate & Energy Funders Group

The Climate and Energy Funders Group (CEFG) is a network of foundations that fund in the field of climate and energy. CEFG participants converge around their commitment to combating the global climate crisis. The only national forum of funders focused exclusively on climate issues, we support, facilitate, expand, and build funding capacity. Through information sharing, dialogue, and debate, our group sustains and expands the field of climate and energy philanthropy to address the profound issues of climate change and build a just, clean energy economy of the future.

As a founding member of CEFG, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund recognizes the urgency for philanthropy to enhance its impact on climate and clean energy through collaboration and knowledge sharing. CEFG continues to be a pragmatic sanctuary for funders that provides a platform to surface new ideas, debate funding strategies, and even get into the weeds when necessary.

— Deborah Burke, Program Officer, Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Read the brochure

Our Workgroups

CEFG workgroups provide an opportunity for a smaller group of funders to dive more deeply into strategies, geographies, or time-sensitive events. We facilitate regular communication that enables funders to coordinate and collaborate.

Democracy and Climate
Midwest Climate Funders Network
Midwest Agriculture and Climate
UNFCCC COP Coordination
Northeast Climate and Energy Funders (gather funders every two years)

Learning in the Field - Southern California Desert

DATE: February 3 - 5

Success in the States— How Renewable Energy, Conservation, and Tribal Leadership are working together in the California Desert

Join climate and conservation funders to learn from successful collaborative examples on the ground, while exploring potential paths forward in this challenging political environment.

Hosted by Biodiversity Funders Group and Climate and Energy Funders Group, this funder field trip to the Southern California desert will explore this intersection of renewable energy, conservation, and Tribal co-management by visiting key sites, hiking through important desert landscapes, and hearing from local leaders. We will start with dinner on Monday, February 3 and conclude early afternoon on Wednesday, February 5.

The Southern California Desert is the focus for several important issues related to climate change and conservation- many of which are braided together across two distinct desert landscapes. There are two active National Monument proposals Chuckwalla and Kw’tsán with significant support from local Tribes and community groups, and would add additional public land designations to nearby Joshua Tree National Park. The Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) is an innovative landscape-level plan that streamlines renewable energy development, conserves valuable desert ecosystems and provides outdoor recreation opportunities, while supporting the State’s effort to achieve 50 percent renewable energy generation by 2030.

Palm Springs, CA

Lisa Jaguzny, ljaguzny@biodiversityfunders.org

Cliff Chen, Tempest Advisors (co-chair)
Deborah Burke, Rockefeller Brothers Fund (co-chair)
Ben Passer, McKnight Foundation
Diogo Freire, One Earth Fund
Jennifer Sokolove, Water Foundation (board liaison)
Judy Hatcher, Biodiversity Funders Group
Kalila Barnett, Barr Foundation
Linh Tran, Rural Democracy Initiative
Lydia Avila, Climate and Clean Equity Fund
Shereen D’Souza, Skyline Foundation
Stephen Love, Cleveland Foundation
Susan Frank, U.S. Energy Foundation

Questions?

If you have any questions about becoming a member or our annual meeting, please contact Paige Brown at pbrown@biodiversityfunders.org

If you have any questions about becoming a member, our regional workgroups, or webinars, please contact Megan Waterman at mwaterman@biodiversityfunders.org

If you have any questions about our survey, joining and/or posting on our listserv, or technical and administrative issues, please contact Cristina Castiglioni at ccastiglioni@biodiversityfunders.org