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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: In Environment, Biggest Groups Get Biggest Bucks

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Monday, February 27, 2012   

PORTLAND, Ore. - The biggest national environmental groups get the most charitable dollars, while important conservation projects taken on by smaller groups often are overlooked. This finding is one of several in a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).

It says people at the local level are most likely to be those most affected by environment and climate challenges in their area, but only 15 percent of foundation grant money for environmental work goes to grassroots organizations addressing those issues. Aaron Dorfman, NCRP executive director, urges the charitable funders to change that.

"They've got the freedom to take risks and experiment. Foundations are supposed to be society's 'passing gear,' to really invest in things that might not attract support otherwise. We just don't see that happening."

The report says half of all environmental grants are awarded to large national organizations with budgets of $5 million or more. Sharing the wealth with smaller groups can result in bigger "wins" overall for the environment, says Dorfman.

Dorfman says what he calls the 'funding ecosystem' is out of balance, when big-money philanthropists focus mostly on what's happening in Congress with environmental and climate-change issues. He hopes the report opens donors' eyes.

"We hope that it sparks imagination, and that it encourages people to shift more dollars to grassroots environmental efforts that are really connected to communities on the ground - and that that leads to a shift in the policy environment, on environmental issues."

The report suggests that at least 20 percent of a foundation's grant dollars go to community-based groups helping underserved populations and 25 percent to grassroots organizing and advocacy. It points out that many potential grantees exist: Nearly 29,000 public charities work on environmental and climate-related causes in the United States.

The report, "Cultivating the Grassroots: A Winning Approach for Environment and Climate Funders," is at www.ncrp.org.



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