Cause area
Leave a legacy for Climate & Environment
Climate evaluators say gifts go furthest when they back neglected, high-leverage work: policy, overlooked sectors and under-funded technologies.
Why it matters
Climate philanthropy is a small share of total giving, so well-targeted gifts can punch above their weight.
Evaluators such as Giving Green and Founders Pledge favor work that changes systems and policy, sectors that funders neglect such as heavy industry, aviation and shipping, and under-funded technologies such as advanced geothermal.
Sources:
Where an extra dollar goes furthest
These are the kinds of programs our research looks at first in this cause. With a research-guided gift, specific organizations are chosen when your gift arrives, so it can go to what works best then.
Policy and research
Nonpartisan research and advocacy for effective climate policy.
Neglected sectors
Heavy industry, aviation and shipping, which get little philanthropic attention.
Under-funded technologies
Advanced geothermal, clean firm power and other overlooked solutions.
Conservation
Protecting forests, wetlands and oceans that store carbon and shelter wildlife.
Three ways to give to climate and the environment
Recommended
Research-guided gift
Your will dedicates the gift to climate and the environment and asks your executor to choose the most effective organizations working on it when the time comes, guided by published research.
A charity you name
Leave your gift to a specific organization you already know and trust.
Your own named fund
Start a fund in your name or a loved one's that gives to climate and the environment every year. How it works
Sample wording for your will
Our builder fills this in for you. If you already have a will, share this wording with your attorney.
I give ____ percent (____%) of my residuary estate to one or more charitable organizations described in Sections 170(c) and 2055(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, selected by my Executor, to be used for protecting the natural environment and reducing climate change. I ask that my Executor consider the research and recommendations published by MyLastWill.org at the time of my death.
Sample language for discussion with your attorney. Not legal advice.
Questions about giving to climate and the environment
Can I protect a specific place?
Yes. Name the land trust or conservation group that protects it.
Is advocacy allowed with charitable money?
Charities can do nonpartisan research and education, and a limited amount of lobbying. They can never support or oppose candidates.
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