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Elizabeth Wade

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Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has donated $640 million to 361 nonprofit groups, she announced Tuesday.

Scott, the ex-wife of Jeff Bezos and a co-founder of Amazon, has been keeping good on her word to donate at least half of her wealth to charity as part of the Giving Pledge.

The latest round of donations, which varied from gifts of $1 million to $2 million, were awarded to nonprofit groups across the country with a variety of focuses - the arts, affordable housing, education, public health, immigration and diversity.

In a post on her Yield Giving website, she wrote that those community-led groups were "elevated by peer organizations and a round-2 evaluation panel for their outstanding work advancing the voices and opportunities of individuals and families of meager or modest means, and groups who have met with discrimination and other systemic obstacles."

The organizations were chosen from a pool of over 6,000 applicants.

The nonprofit groups were chosen either via "quiet research" that identified and evaluated organizations for "indicators of high potential for sustained positive impact" or through an " open call " application process.

Scott also thanked Lever for Change, which handled the open call, and those on the evaluation and implementation teams, calling them "vital agents of change."

Scott is the 41st-wealthiest person in the world, with a net worth of $36.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

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MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million to 361 nonprofits

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Scott, a co-founder of Amazon and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, has been periodically updating the public on her donations as part of her vow to give half her wealth to charity.

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We could sell responsibly produced items or offer responsibly produced items as "gifts" for donations of particluar amounts. - Elizabeth Wade

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The Research team and partnership/outreach individuals. - Elizabeth Wade

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Funding & Grant Resources For Nonprofits Focused On Education

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To assist in the arduous grant research process, check out this list of grant resources and funders prioritized by education.

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This has a number of links to funders. - Elizabeth Wade

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Funding & Grant Resources For Nonprofits Focused On Education

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To assist in the arduous grant research process, check out this list of grant resources and funders prioritized by education.

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There's research coming about about the video game community and how they are interested in identifying opportunities to engage users in climate science and solutions. Is it worth it to explore funding sources there?

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Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

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What do video gamers think about global warming?

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American gamers support strong action to reduce global warming.

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Could we do something like a "coaching package" that can be tacked on to the PD? Teachers/districts/schools could sign up for different packages - 1 session, 3 month package, 6 month package. We would coach the teacher on how to apply their learning and integrate the materials. Similar to the mentorship program in NJ, but more formalized and finished. The package could include a certain number of live sessions, a personalized curriculum integration guide, and access to their coach (by text) for the duration of the package.

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When it comes to state hubs, I see the value in curating our advisory committee from the start. We can utilize our partners to identify highly connected folks to invite right away.

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Having a student learning side where it has all the resources they need, games, news, lessons, places they can write, where a lot of teachers I think would utilize this in their classrooms. It would be a tech product that we would need to build but I can see it drawing a lot of attention as there's nothing really like it out there! To reach more students and teachers, it can be more about environment, state parks (I know my students LOVED everything about state parks), outdoor activities, etc.

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I like the idea of government funding or looking into that as an idea. I also think asking states/districts to pay for professional development or even some of our more specific lessons would be something to look into

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State by state, there is potential to leverage PD offerings for funding. School districts, state agencies, other non-profits that have grants to share. Again, it will be about making the connections and outreach efforts!

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The three teacher training courses could be something that we could "sell" in the future. We are exploring this in NJ to cover internal costs, but this may be a place to start. Teachers receive a certificate and PD hours.

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We are just beginning to tap into the knowledge of State Leads. I think as we look ahead, their state-specific ideas can help open up more funding opportunities.

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From state to state, we are making many great connections for funding, but it's a slow process. State agencies move at a snail's pace, but have the potential to provide higher amounts of funding for teacher training, mentorship program, etc. With more State Leads on board, there is more potential to understand where to find the money!

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Annual funding opportunities would be ideal - even if there is more lift to secure them in the beginning! Especially if this can be used to fund State Hub maintenance, as an example.

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Could we leverage funding from venture capitalists if we are selling something? Unsure how this works - just throwing it out there

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Need to be intentional about how much we want to still provide for free to fulfill our mission, while at the same time being intentional about what the value add will be of whatever product(s) we are selling.

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We need to also consider how this affects our mission - currently a big sell for our grant applications is that we are providing all of this for free - if that is no longer the case, will that affect our pull either for grants or in states who want Hubs?

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Network for Keeling curve - I feel like there is a lot of opportunity for funding & connections with being a finalist - should we explore more?

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Is government funding a good option? Federal government grants are usually very high effort and very competitive, but sometimes have high payoffs. Similarly, state government funding can have a high threshold for reporting, and sometimes is not indefinite...

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I think that having a large amount of our expenses supported by donations from high net worth individuals/donations from family foundations that are recurring would be an ultimate goal - these are often nondiscriminatory (we can use funds for whatever we need), low effort in terms of reporting, and would not require us to continue soliciting new funding each year.

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Leverage alumni networks - many of our team members have powerful alumni networks and I think there is more possibility for funding connections than we are currently leveraging

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Recruit board members for StC's board of directors and/or Advisory Boards that are also on the boards of high fit funders - might be hard to do...

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PD could be a good service to sell to districts or nonprofits that do teacher training?

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Think about staffing needs - would it be worth hiring someone else full time to do development?

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Prioritizing recruiting folks from foundations/interested funders on our state Advisory Committees

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Maybe we could turn the case study format into digital learning modules for students

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Would our new shift towards supporting student outcomes open up more funding opportunities for us to explore? Maybe along green careers?

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If we created a new education tech tool, could we get funding from tech world? For example, exploring digital learning in the climate space.

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Is getting funding for a service the same as creating a service to sell? I'm guessing there's a difference that I might not understand.

I think Level 2A could be a training that we could sell to districts with minimal effort on our part.

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Could we explore justice group funders? For example, the intersection between gender justice and climate justice is strong. Those organizations have a vested interest in seeing more climate action. This is one example but maybe if we did more research along these lines, we could find something that matches better:

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Women’s Rights Are Human Rights | Global Fund for Women’s Mission

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Global Fund for Women funds bold gender justice movements to support women’s rights around the world. Learn more about our mission and vision.

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With our revised mission statement emphasizing climate change, justice, and action, would we qualify for federal funding under the Justice40 initiative?

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"We'll create good jobs for millions of Americans...and we'll do it all to withstand the devastating effects of climate change and promote environmental justice."
President Joe Biden, 2022 State of the Union

What is the Justice40 Initiative?

For the first time in our nation's history, the Federal Government has made it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. President Biden made this historic commitment when he signed Executive Order 14008 within days of taking office.

What kinds of investments fall within the Justice40 Initiative? The categories of investment are: climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure.

How is the Administration implementing the Justice40 Initiative? A national commitment to environmental justice of this magnitude has never been made before. To meet the goal of the Justice40 Initiative, the Administration is transforming hundreds of Federal programs across the government to ensure that disadvantaged communities receive the benefits of new and existing Federal investments in these categories. Through the President's Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the American Rescue Plan, Federal agencies are making historic levels of investment to advance environmental justice. This investment will help confront decades of underinvestment in disadvantaged communities, and bring critical resources to communities that have been overburdened by legacy pollution and environmental hazards.

What type of direction has the White House provided to Federal agencies to achieve the goals of Justice40 Initiative?

The task of delivering the benefits of hundreds of Federal programs to communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution requires fundamental and sweeping reforms to the very way in which the Federal Government as a whole operates. Last year, the White House issued formal Interim Implementation Guidance directing all Federal agencies to identify and begin transforming their programs covered under the Justice40 Initiative - which agencies are currently implementing. Here are some key topics addressed in the formal guidance:

What is a covered Justice40 investment? Covered Federal investments include any grant or procurement spending, financing, staffing costs, or direct spending or benefits to individuals for a covered program in a Justice40 category.

What is a Justice40 covered program? A "covered program" is a Federal Government program that falls in the scope of the Justice40 initiative because it includes investments that can benefit disadvantaged communities across one or more of the following seven areas: climate change, clean energy and energy efficiency, clean transit, affordable and sustainable housing, training and workforce development, remediation and reduction of legacy pollution, and the development of critical clean water and wastewater infrastructure. Existing and new programs created by President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the American Rescue Plan that make investments in any of these categories can also be considered Justice40 covered programs.

All Justice40 covered programs are required to engage in stakeholder consultation and ensure that community stakeholders are meaningfully involved in determining program benefits. Covered programs are also required to report data on the benefits directed to disadvantaged communities.

The list of Justice40 covered programs are being released in groups of agencies over the coming weeks. Agencies that have released their covered programs include:

The full list of Justice40 covered programs is available, here.

What is a Justice40 Pilot Program? The Administration identified 21 existing Federal programs to serve as Justice40 Pilot Programs in the Interim Implementation Guidance issued last year. The purpose of the Justice40 Pilot Programs was to accelerate implementation of the Justice40 Initiative. The 21 identified programs underwent the most rapid changes, creating a roadmap for all covered programs to meet the goals of the Justice40 Initiative. By developing Justice40 implementation plans and reporting on an expedited schedule, Justice40 Pilot Programs helped to provide lessons and best practices that could be applied to other covered programs.

How are communities involved in the Justice40 Initiative?

Communities have been involved in shaping the Biden-Harris Administration's environmental justice agenda and the Justice40 Initiative since the campaign trail. This engagement continues to shape the implementation of the Justice40 Initiative.

What did President Biden and Vice President Harris hear from communities on the campaign trail? The Biden-Harris campaign heard directly from communities about how to secure environmental justice and confront decades of underinvestment. Community members made it clear that delivering climate, clean energy, clean transit, water, and other investments would help address these interrelated issues and their associated impacts. This historic engagement informed the Justice40 Initiative, which seeks to address the intersectionality of underinvestment, environmental injustice, and the climate crisis.

What does the Justice40 Initiative mean for communities? The Biden-Harris Administration is implementing the Justice40 Initiative right now. The Justice40 Initiative is not a one-time investment, nor a single pot of money. Rather, it is a series of changes to improve how government ensures equitable distribution of the benefits of many programs. Existing and new programs-including programs created by the President's Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the American Rescue Plan-are covered by the Justice40 Initiative if they meet the eligibility requirements. To meet the goal of the Justice40 Initiative, agencies are changing their programs to ensure the benefits reach disadvantaged communities.

How is the Justice40 Initiative promoting meaningful stakeholder engagement? Community engagement is a critical component of the Justice40 Initiative. Formal Administration guidance directed Justice40 covered programs to conduct meaningful engagement with stakeholders to ensure community members have an opportunity to provide input on program decisions, including in the identification of the benefits of Justice40 covered programs.

What is the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool and how does it relate to the Justice40 Initiative?

Explore data about communities across the U.S., including your own, and provide feedback on the tool.

What is the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool? The Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) is a geospatial mapping tool to identify disadvantaged communities that are marginalized, underserved, and overburdened by pollution. The CEJST features a user-friendly, searchable map that identifies disadvantaged communities across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories, to the extent that the data for the U.S. territories is available. By helping Federal agencies identify disadvantaged communities, the CEJST seeks to fulfill the promise of the Justice40 Initiative. The CEJST was developed with Federal resource allocation purposes in mind.

Why was the CEJST released in a beta version? The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) launched a beta - or draft - version of the CEJST on February 18, 2022 with support from the U.S. Digital Service, and in collaboration with other Federal agencies and departments. The CEJST was released in a beta version in order to seek feedback from Tribal Nations, the public, and Federal agencies. The public comment period was extended until May 25, 2022.

When will the CEJST be updated? After the public comment period, the CEJST will be updated based on feedback. The CEJST will be continuously updated and refined based on feedback and as new datasets and research become available.

How will the CEJST be used for the Justice40 Initiative? Agencies will use the CEJST to help identify disadvantaged communities who will benefit from programs that are part of the Justice40 Initiative.

Where can I find more information? Additional information on the CEJST can be found here. CEQ and the U.S. Digital Service hosted several public training sessions on the CEJST. A recording is available here.

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Justice40 Initiative | Environmental Justice | The White House

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"We'll create good jobs for millions of Americans...and we'll do it all to withstand the devastating effects of climate change and promote environmental justice." President Joe Biden, 2022 State of the Union What is the Justice40 Initiative? For the first time in our nation's history, the Federal Government has made it a goal that 40...

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It will be easier to market a product that offers personalization. This would improve user engagement and retention. The ultimate personalized experience would be offered if they created an account and we could personalize their experience.

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It would be interesting to separate these into categories: (A) products that require accounts and (B)"products that don't require accounts"

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Are there other events such as Giving Tuesday that we could participate in?

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A potential idea is a service we can call a "classroom bundle." This is a group for a teacher (the admin of the group) and their students, which includes a discussion board where students respond to each other, quizzes (directly on our platform) based on our materials, etc! It would need a lot of development work, but a potential idea for the future to think about how we can grow our student users.

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Potentially we could create a guide on how to integrate our lessons, activities, StC materials into pre-existing curriculums?

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What is our current process?

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Is it possible to target groups that give us annual funding instead of one off amounts?