Sustainable Markets Foundation is a philanthropic funder singularly focused on climate, pollution prevention and campaigns to accelerate a just transition away from fossil fuels. They prioritize advocacy, strategic communications, and grassroots movement-building groups — often funding national and regional climate networks, investigative/communications shops, and environmental justice organizations. Grants are targeted to organizations that run campaigns, policy advocacy, or public-facing storytelling to shift markets and corporate behavior.
Sustainable Markets Foundation’s largest recent grant went to Spun in Dover, Delaware, a $3,367,500 award in 2025 for environmental conservation. That scale is consistent with a funder that backs national climate advocacy, public-facing communications, and movement infrastructure rather than individuals or investments. Across recent grants, the foundation supports organizations working on climate change, pollution prevention, clean energy and just transition, environmental conservation, and journalism and civics. The grant list shows repeated support for groups that shape campaigns and public narratives. The Years Project Inc in New York received $3,360,000 in 2025 for pollution prevention, while Third Act Initiative Inc in Nassau, New York received multiple awards, including $1,050,000 in 2025 and $450,000 in 2025, both for pollution prevention, plus earlier climate-related support. Other sizable awards have gone to 350seattle, Essential Information, Changing Markets Fdn Inc, Consumer Watchdog, and Oil Change International, indicating a mix of movement-building, watchdog work, and policy-facing advocacy. The foundation also funds regional environmental justice and clean-energy work, including California Environmental Justice Alliance in Huntington Park, California. Its latest grants show a consistent preference for organizations that can influence markets, corporations, and public policy through campaigns, communications, and organizing.
Climate and just-transition organizing is a core theme. In 2025, Sustainable Markets Foundation gave $500,000 to 350seattle and $425,000 to Changing Markets Fdn Inc, both tied to clean energy and just transition work. Public narrative and accountability also appear frequently. The foundation awarded $385,000 to Essential Information in 2025 for pollution prevention and $200,000 to Fund for Constitutional Govt in 2025 for journalism and civics. Environmental justice shows up in its regional support. California Environmental Justice Alliance in Huntington Park, California received $300,000 in 2025 for clean energy and just transition work. The foundation also backed conservation-oriented work through Rewild in Austin, Massachusetts with $279,234 in 2025.
Typical grant size is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $25,000 at the median, and $100,000 at the 75th percentile, while recent awards also include several seven-figure grants. The pattern suggests a mix of many smaller awards and a smaller number of large strategic grants. Recipients appear across multiple years, including Third Act Initiative Inc, Essential Information, Consumer Watchdog, Changing Markets Fdn Inc, and 350seattle, pointing to recurring support rather than isolated one-time gifts. Sustainable Markets Foundation is a regular funder, does not fund individuals, and does not make program-related investments. The available data does not show an application process.
$13.2M
$51.2M
$48M
$41.5M
Most grants fall between $10K and $100K, with a median of $25K.
25th Percentile
$10K
Median
$25K
75th Percentile
$100K
About 14% of grants go to recipients in CA.
ELIZABETH HITCHCOCK
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Concentrated, campaign-oriented giving: relatively few large multi-year grants alongside repeated mid-size awards to the same advocacy and communications organizations. Funding is skewed toward programmatic/advocacy work (domestic with some international reach), with strong preference for repeat grantees and organizations capable of rapid public-facing impact.
Notable grantees: SPUN, THE YEARS PROJECT INC, 350SEATTLE / 350 network, ESSENTIAL INFORMATION, CONSUMER WATCHDOG
Grants are national, with recipients in 100% of the United States. California appears most often by grant count, and the recent list includes Los Angeles, Berkeley, and Huntington Park. New York recipients include New York and Nassau, while Washington, DC also appears repeatedly. Other recipient locations include Seattle, Washington; Dover, Delaware; Towson, Maryland; Spokane, Washington; and Ames, Iowa. The foundation’s HQ is in New York, NY, but its giving footprint extends well beyond that state.
It funds organizations working on climate change, pollution prevention, clean energy and just transition, environmental conservation, and journalism and civics. Recent recipients include groups focused on movement-building, watchdog work, environmental justice, and campaign-oriented advocacy.
The typical grant size is $10,000 at the 25th percentile, $25,000 at the median, and $100,000 at the 75th percentile. The recent grant list also includes several much larger awards in the hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars.
Yes. Several recipients appear across multiple years, including Third Act Initiative Inc, Essential Information, Consumer Watchdog, Changing Markets Fdn Inc, and 350seattle. That pattern suggests ongoing support for selected organizations.
Its giving is national, but California is the top state by grant count. Recent California recipients include Los Angeles, Berkeley, and Huntington Park.
No. The foundation’s profile indicates it does not fund individuals and does not make program-related investments.
2025
Source: IRS Form 990-PF, fiscal year 2025.
Most recent grants reported to the IRS.
| Recipient | Location | Amount | Year | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fossil Free Media | Dover, DE | $4,000,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| SOC PROT UNDERGROUND NTWKS | Chicago, IL | $1,024,379 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| 350Seattle | Seattle, WA | $900,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Ctr for Law and Human Values | Ossining, NY | $600,000 | 2026 | Journalism And Civics |
| Rockefeller Phil Adv | New York, NY | $500,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Reloop Amer Research Inst | Wilmington, DE | $440,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Third Act Education Fund | Nassau, NY | $401,500 | 2026 | Env. Conserv. & Pollution Prev. |
| Center for Biological Diversi | Tucson, AZ | $400,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| IIFDS Batani | Yarmouth, ME | $356,666 | 2026 | Human Rights |
| Food and Water Watch | Washington, DC | $335,000 | 2026 | Pollution Prevention |
| Consumer Watchdog | Los Angeles, CA | $256,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| State Democracy Project | Brooklyn, NY | $250,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Goodpower Education Fund | Cambridge, MA | $250,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Sunrise Movement Education Fu | Washington, DC | $200,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Sci & Env Health Network | Eugene, OR | $190,000 | 2026 | Pollution Prevention |
| GreenFaith | New York, NY | $141,453 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Texas Camp for the Env | Austin, TX | $130,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Hip Hop Caucus Educ Fund | Washington, DC | $130,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Sierra Club Foundation | Oakland, CA | $125,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Public Citizen Foundation | Washington, DC | $100,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| MARCH ON MARYLAND | Annapolis, MD | $100,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| NYPIRG Fund | New York, NY | $95,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| The Story of Stuff | Berkeley, CA | $62,500 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Toxic-Free Future | Seattle, WA | $60,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Protecting Our Waters | Stoneridge, NY | $57,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| TRUSTEES OF UNIV OF PENN | Philadelphia, PA | $50,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Jacobin Foundation Ltd | Brooklyn, NY | $50,000 | 2026 | Journalism And Civics |
| Vermont PIREF | Montpelier, VT | $35,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Cultural Survival Inc | Cambridge, MA | $34,703 | 2026 | Human Rights |
| Container Recycling Institute | Culver City, CA | $30,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| NY Communities Org Fund | Brooklyn, NY | $30,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| NextGen Climate America | Sacramento, CA | $25,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Dollar For | Vancouver, WA | $20,675 | 2026 | Journalism And Civics |
| Inst for Energy Econ and Fi | Lakewood, OH | $20,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Good Works Educ Fund | Wilmington, DE | $16,801 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Ctr for Intl Enviromental | Washington, DC | $15,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| DeployUS | Boston, MA | $11,925 | 2026 | Pollution Prevention |
| Oil and Gas Action Network | Berkeley, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Climate Access Inc | Scotts Valley, CA | $10,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Inst for Energy & Env Resea | Takoma Park, MD | $10,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Oil Change International | Washington, DC | $10,000 | 2026 | Clean Energy And Just Transition |
| Natural Resources Council | Augusta, ME | $10,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| GREEN HOUSE COLLABORATION | Denver, CO | $10,000 | 2026 | Pollution Prevention |
| 350 Tacoma | Tacoma, WA | $10,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Columbia Riverkeeper | Hood River, OR | $9,000 | 2026 | Environmental Conservation |
| Climate Emergency Fund | Beverly Hills, CA | $7,700 | 2026 | Clean Energ. Just Trans. & Pollutio |
| Journalism & Women Sympos | Grandville, MI | $7,500 | 2026 | Journalism And Civics |
| FJC | New York, NY | $5,500 | 2026 | Journalism And Civics |
| SPUN | Dover, DE | $3,367,500 | 2025 | ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION |
| THE YEARS PROJECT INC | New York, NY | $3,360,000 | 2025 | POLLUTION PREVENTION |
Fossil Free Media
$4,000,000Clean Energy And Just Transition
SOC PROT UNDERGROUND NTWKS
$1,024,379Environmental Conservation
Reloop Amer Research Inst
Environmental Conservation
IIFDS Batani
$356,666Human Rights
Sci & Env Health Network
$190,000Pollution Prevention
NYPIRG Fund
$95,000Environmental Conservation
Protecting Our Waters
$57,000Environmental Conservation
Container Recycling Institute
$30,000Environmental Conservation
Good Works Educ Fund
$16,801Environmental Conservation
Climate Access Inc
$10,000Clean Energy And Just Transition
Inst for Energy & Env Resea
$10,000Environmental Conservation
GREEN HOUSE COLLABORATION
$10,000Pollution Prevention
350 Tacoma
$10,000Environmental Conservation
Journalism & Women Sympos
$7,500Journalism And Civics
SPUN
$3,367,500ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
THE YEARS PROJECT INC
$3,360,000POLLUTION PREVENTION