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Biden administration moves to protect Alaska wilderness; opening statements and first witness in NY trial; SCOTUS hears Starbucks case, with implications for unions on the line; rural North Carolina town gets pathway to home ownership.

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The Supreme Court weighs cities ability to manage a growing homelessness crisis, anti-Israeli protests spread to college campuses nationwide, and more states consider legislation to ban firearms at voting sites and ballot drop boxes.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

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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