Protecting the Amazon rainforest and our climate in solidarity with Indigenous peoples

Since 1996, Amazon Watch has defended the Amazon rainforest and our climate in solidarity with Indigenous peoples. Long-term, trusted partnerships with Indigenous peoples — the best stewards of the rainforest — are the foundation for Amazon Watch’s campaigns for climate justice, corporate accountability, and the permanent protection of the rainforest.

The Amazon is home to more than 511 distinct Indigenous peoples. As our planet’s largest tropical rainforest, it stabilizes our global climate and an immense amount of Earth’s biodiversity and flowing freshwater can be found there. This vital ecosystem and the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded it for centuries face grave threats from deforestation, resource extraction, land grabs, and destructive development projects. The Amazon is facing a tipping point and won't be able to sustain itself as a rainforest if we remain on our current path of destruction.

To move to a turning point, Amazon Watch is carrying out campaigns in partnership with Indigenous peoples to secure Indigenous rights to ancestral territories, halt oil drilling and mining in the biome, and mobilize solidarity funds directly to Amazonian peoples at their request. Their work combines on-the-ground legal, advocacy, and communications expertise and long-term trusted partnerships with Indigenous peoples and organizations.

🌳Amazon Watch’s Amazon Defenders Fund (ADF) provides direct solidarity funding to Amazonian peoples and organizations free of bureaucratic barriers. The ADF supports Indigenous-led initiatives including community organizing, women’s leadership, communal economies, protection of Earth Defenders at risk for resisting destructive development, and crisis response including to wildfires and oil spills. The ADF is built upon a multi-decade track record as a trusted partner among Indigenous nations. You can learn more at amazonwatch.org/get-involved/amazon-defenders-fund.

Amazon Watch

Dedicated to erasing medical debt across America. Donors have helped us forgive over $5 Billion in medical debt and counting.

RIP Medical Debt empowers donors to forgive billions in oppressive medical debt. We are dedicated to removing the burden of medical debt for individuals and families and veterans across America.

Medical debt destroys the financial stability of large segments of America’s most vulnerable communities: the sick, the elderly, the poor, and veterans. It also targets the middle class, driving many families who are barely getting along into poverty. Medical debt isn’t the result of bad decisions. It’s a debt of necessity.

By forgiving this debt we strive to give struggling individuals, and their families, a fresh start. We hope to give those affected the ability to seek the continued medical care they need and help them back towards financial stability.

Every day, we receive messages from people who suffer under crushing debt far beyond their financial means to pay—from the son of a stroke survivor in Kentucky whose family could not keep up with their mortgage payments, to the cancer patient in Florida whose debts made it impossible for her to continue with necessary treatment. Rising healthcare costs and endless bills are leaving families with nowhere to turn.

RIP uses donors’ funds to wipe out medical debt from the neediest cases up. 

Once we’ve pinpointed the portfolios for those in or near the poverty level, we buy up their debt and forgive it. Then we send forgiveness notices to the benefiting families, and subsequently help the recipients repair their credit reports—renewing their access to opportunities and resources that will allow them to rebuild and recover.

RIP Medical Debt

A free, collaborative, multilingual Internet encyclopedia.

The mission of the Wikimedia Foundation is to empower and engage people around the world to collect and develop educational content under a free license or in the public domain, and to disseminate it effectively and globally.  In collaboration with a network of chapters, the Foundation provides the essential infrastructure and an organizational framework for the support and development of multilingual wiki projects and other endeavors which serve this mission. The Foundation will make and keep useful information from its projects available on the Internet free of charge, in perpetuity.

Wikimedia Foundation

The mission of Coalition for Rainforest Nations (www.cfrn.org) is to slow, stop and reverse global deforestation.

The Coalition for Rainforest Nations (CfRN) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering rainforest countries to assume a leadership role in the fight against climate change. Through policy support, capacity building, and direct finance, CfRN incentivizes developing countries to slow, stop, and reverse deforestation through the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) mechanism. REDD+ is now universally recognized as one of the most immediate mitigation actions that preserves the planet’s rainforests and directly addresses the climate emergency.

CfRN’s Origins and the Promise of REDD+
Inspired by the call of Papua New Guinea’s former Prime Minister, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, to equitably preserve the planet’s rainforests, CfRN’s Executive Director, Kevin Conrad, who grew up in Papua New Guinea, and Managing Director Federica’s Bietta, who is from Italy, lead the Coalition for Rainforest Nations. By advancing REDD+, their aim was to give rainforest nations a voice within international climate negotiations and define rainforests as worth more alive than dead. 

REDD+ was introduced in 2005 at the Eleventh Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) by the newly formed Coalition for Rainforest Nations. Founding nations, Costa Rica and Papua New Guinea, envisioned REDD+ as a way to assign a financial value to forests for the role they play in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and not just as a source of logged timber, agriculture, or grazing lands.  REDD+ (Forestry) is the only sector to enjoy a unique article in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (Article 5).  Furthermore, REDD+ preserves forests at the scale and speed needed to keep 1.5 alive – the goal prescribed under the Paris Agreement of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°Celsius. 

The REDD+ mechanism was developed over the years at successive COP meetings, as shown in the timeline below. As a result of CfRN’s leadership, rainforests are now recognized as a critical climate solution under the UNFCCC.  

What We Do
CfRN’s work encompasses three key areas: policy support; capacity building; and direct finance. The collective goal of these programs is to effectively reward countries for the work they do to preserve their forests. The Coalition provides direct policy support during all UNFCCC negotiating sessions and works in-country to help develop conservation policies, laws, and national forest protection plans. CfRN also trains countries’ experts to build the expertise needed to gather data required by the UNFCCC to report forest conservation results. CfRN works to ensure that rainforest countries are compensated for verified emission reductions under REDD+, as promised under the Paris Agreement. 

Policy Support
As a UNFCCC-recognized Negotiating Group, CfRN establishes and advances positions on behalf of its countries – over fifty rainforest nations —at all UNFCCC sessions. In this capacity, CfRN strives to advance the REDD+ mechanism and ensure that climate finance is allocated equitably to rainforest nations. Currently, CfRN is working to ensure that REDD+ is fully represented in the rulebook of the Paris Agreement. 

Technical Training & Capacity Building 
Countries’ results are eligible for financial compensation through REDD+ only after rigorous measurement, reporting and verification data are submitted, reviewed, and deemed to conform to UNFCCC guidelines. REDD+ results are then registered on the UNFCCC REDD+ Information Hub and made available to the public to review in detail. In its capacity building role, CfRN helps countries develop national technical expertise to take stock of their forest resources, create national plans to preserve them, and submit their data to the REDD+ registry at the UNFCCC in a consistent manner with their climate pledges, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) to the Paris Agreement. 

Direct Finance
To date, rainforest countries have not been compensated for the majority of their REDD+ emissions reductions, as promised. Though certain governments including Norway, the U.K., and Germany, have paid bilaterally for some results, this is far from sufficient. CfRN’s finance work helps rainforest nations raise debt funding and receive performance-based compensation. The sale and trading of REDD+ Paris Agreement-compliant carbon credits is a growing source of climate finance. These credits are available for purchase through CfRN’s REDD.plus platform. Over the next few years, our member countries will bring a pipeline of sovereign carbon credits to market representing Paris Agreement-compliant emissions reductions, resulting from member country efforts to keep their rainforests standing. 

Coalition for Rainforest Nations

Pollinator Partnership

The internet is a global public resource that must remain open and accessible.

Our work is guided by the Mozilla Manifesto. We are constantly working and reworking to build the best possible resource for a healthy open internet.

The direct work of the Mozilla Foundation focuses on fueling the movement for a healthy internet. We do this by supporting a diverse group of fellows working on key internet issues, connecting open Internet leaders at events like MozFest, publishing critical research in the Internet Health Report, and rallying citizens around advocacy issues that connect the wellbeing of the Internet directly to everyday life.

The Foundation is also the sole shareholder in the Mozilla Corporation, the maker of Firefox and other open source tools. Mozilla Corporation functions as a self-sustaining social enterprise – money earned through its products is reinvested into the organization.



Mozilla Foundation

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is a nonprofit organization that protects invertebrates and their habitats.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organization that protects the natural world through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitats. As a science-based organization, we both conduct our own research and rely upon the most up-to-date information to guide our conservation work. Our key program areas are: pollinator conservation, endangered species conservation, and reducing pesticide use and impacts.

Xerces Society

The Bay Area's NPR and PBS stations. Where facts matter, stories empower and bold conversations begin.

We are here for everyone who wants to be more. Our television, radio, digital media and educational services change lives for the better and help individuals and communities achieve their full potential.

We celebrate diversity, embrace innovation, value lifelong learning and partner with those who share our passion for public service.

KQED

Supporting highly-impactful, evidence-based solutions to the triple challenge of climate change, air pollution and energy poverty.

The Founders Pledge Climate Fund exists to leverage each dollar and fund the most effective, neglected climate solutions.

Climate change is an incredibly complex problem borne out of how we produce and consume energy; it's intertwined with challenges of economic development, energy poverty, and emissions-fueled air pollution. It is an environmental and humanitarian crisis we must urgently address.

We aim to take a holistic approach that recognizes the global nature of this challenge and the fact that, despite its urgency, we are still in the early days of climate action. We address the worst-case scenarios of climate damage, and look for solutions that can reduce current carbon emissions and accelerate the transition to clean energy to meet global demand, especially in developing countries. Through the Fund, we:

- Accelerate innovation in neglected technologies
- Catalytically grow the most effective climate organizations
- Promote policy leadership and paradigm shaping

### Our Approach to Grantmaking
When evaluating potential grants, we consider several key points:

- **Counterfactual impact.** Our grants are designed to create a meaningful outcome that would not otherwise have happened. This means that you can rely on the Funds to create meaningful, real change, rather than just maintaining the status quo.
- **Impact-driven philanthropy.** This fund prioritizes the highest-impact solutions to challenges. We assess where the gaps are, which opportunities may be neglected by other funders, and where the biggest wins are in terms of making the biggest difference.
- **The organization’s funding gap.** Not all organizations are set up to scale up their programming and many can’t productively absorb large amounts of unsolicited funding. We evaluate all potential grantees’ capacity for growth and consider how much money they could put to good use.
- **Organizational strength.** Particularly with unrestricted funding, it’s important to have trust in the leadership and capacity of the organizations we support. We look at their track record of success and their transparency about failures as well as successes, and we only support those organizations which are exceptionally well run.
- **Time-critical opportunities and funding certainty.** While Founders Pledge members give to our top climate charities regularly, sometimes there are time-critical opportunities which require fast decisions. We will use the Fund to make grants that enable such short-term opportunities and stability for high-impact funding opportunities thereby increasing the impact compared to individual giving to specific organizations.
- **Portfolio approach.** Because most climate damage comes from particular severe outcomes – with a world of 4 degrees of warming being much worse than twice as bad as a world with 2 degrees – and because every particular strategy – such as energy innovation – might underdeliver, we pursue a portfolio approach to maximize positive impact. This means we will diversify our bets in ways that, when one approach fails (such as energy innovation), the others we promote (such as carbon removal) can be expected to be particularly important and still available.

### Frequently-Asked Questions

**Can charities apply for money from the Fund?**
The Funds do not generally accept applications from charities, and we request that charities do not send unsolicited applications for funding. If the Fund Managers choose to open up an application round, this will be publicized.

**How frequently will you make grants from the Fund?**
In general, Fund Managers will review grantmaking decisions on a quarterly basis. Decisions will be made based on the value of Funds and the available options for high-impact grantmaking. We may disburse funds outside of quarterly review dates if we become aware of a particularly promising and time-sensitive funding.

**How will my contribution be used?**
All funds are granted out. The Fund is not an investment vehicle. The Fund does not use any percentage of contributions to cover staff time or other overhead costs. Every dollar contributed to the Fund will be used to make grants directly to end-user organizations creating a real difference.

### More Questions?

To learn more about the Founders Pledge Climate Fund, please visit [founderspledge.com](https://founderspledge.com/funds/climate-change-fund) or email the Fund Managers at [funds@founderspledge.com](mailto:funds@founderspledge.com).

Founders Pledge: Climate Fund

Protecting rainforests in partnership with Indigenous peoples since 1988



The mission of the Rainforest Foundation US is to support Indigenous and traditional peoples of the world’s rainforests in their efforts to protect their environment and uphold their rights by assisting them in:

- Securing and controlling the natural resources necessary for their long term well being and managing these resources in ways which do not harm their environment, violate their culture or compromise their future; and​
- Developing the means to protect their individual and collective rights and to obtain, shape and control basic services from the state.

Rainforest Foundation US

Founders Pledge is a global nonprofit empowering entrepreneurs to do the most good possible with their charitable giving. 

We equip members with everything needed to maximize their impact, from evidence-led research and advice on the world’s most pressing problems, to comprehensive infrastructure for global grant-making, alongside opportunities to learn and connect. We’re grateful to be funded by our members and other generous donors. 

Founders Pledge

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We are a nonprofit, so instead of charging fees we rely on the generosity of donors like you.

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