About Windward Fund
Building a more impactful and inclusive environmental movement by providing fiscal sponsorship to organizations pursuing bold solutions to the climate crisis and other pressing environmental challenges, and by connecting donors with projects to maximize impact.
Focus Areas
Energy & ClimateWaterLand & BiodiversityFood & AgricultureEnvironmental JusticeFiscal Sponsorship / Capacity Building
Who They Fund
environmental organizationsfarmers and agricultural communitiesfood security / nutrition programsadvocacy and civil rights organizations
Funding Style
thematic/focus-area grants
About Windward Fund
Windward Fund’s recent grantmaking is built around fiscal sponsorship and project support for environmental organizations working on climate, water, land and biodiversity, food and agriculture, and environmental justice. The funder’s largest reported grant in the data was $20,000,000 to Carbon Mapper Inc in 2023, followed closely by $19,950,000 to Home Planet Fund in the same year. That scale sits alongside a broader portfolio of six- and seven-figure grants to environmental intermediaries, universities, policy groups, and advocacy organizations. The pattern suggests a funder that backs both technical and movement-oriented work. Potential Energy Coalition Inc received $13,191,061 in 2024 and $13,084,686 in 2023, while the University of California Davis received $9,347,488 in 2024. Windward Fund also supported Environmental Defense Fund Inc with multiple large grants across 2023, 2024, and 2025, showing repeated support for some recipients rather than only one-off awards. Alongside direct grants, the foundation’s existing profile describes it as connecting donors with projects to maximize impact, which fits the mix of fiscal sponsorship and program support visible in the recent awards.
What Windward Fund Funds
In climate and emissions work, Windward Fund backed Carbon Mapper Inc with $20,000,000 in 2023 and $5,000,000 in 2025, pointing to sustained support for climate-related environmental programs. It also funded Clean Air Task Force Inc with $5,274,812 in 2024 and $2,475,000 in 2023, reinforcing a focus on air and energy policy. For research and implementation, the funder gave $9,347,488 to the Regents of the University of California Davis in 2024 and $2,991,652 to Cornell University in 2025. In city and coalition work, it awarded $4,500,000 to C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Inc in 2024 and $3,500,000 to the Inter-American Development Bank in 2024. Land and ocean-linked environmental work appears as well through Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, which received $2,541,980 in 2024 and $2,500,000 in 2023.
How Windward Fund Gives
Windward Fund’s typical grant size is $50,000 at the 25th percentile, $100,000 at the median, and $250,000 at the 75th percentile, but the recent grants list also shows a substantial number of multiyear awards in the millions. The same recipients appear across multiple years, including several repeat grants to environmental groups and research institutions, which indicates recurring support rather than isolated one-time giving. The funder is classified as a regular funder and does not fund individuals. Its profile also identifies fiscal sponsorship and capacity building as part of the model, alongside thematic and program support.
Financial Snapshot
Annual Giving
$137.7M
Total Assets
$432.7M
Total Revenue
$308.2M
Total Expenses
$251.3M
Typical Grant Size
Most grants fall between $50K and $250K, with a median of $100K.
25th Percentile
$50K
Median
$100K
75th Percentile
$250K
Geographic Reach
National52 states funded
About 9% of grants go to recipients in CA.
Funding intensity
LowHigh
Headquarters
Leadership
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