$50M Anonymous Donation To Climate Fund Bolsters Credibility for Unconventional Climate Funding Approaches

[New York, NY] – June 4, 2025 – Founders Pledge today announced a new $50 million anonymous donation to its Climate Fund – the largest single gift to the fund to date. This latest substantial contribution means the Climate Fund has now received over $100 million in donations in just over a year, including a significant $40 million anonymous donation in April 2024.

This strong influx of support underscores a powerful vote of confidence in Founders Pledge's pioneering "Funds-first" model for strategic, high-impact philanthropy. This approach prioritizes directing philanthropic capital through specialized, research-backed funds, enabling expert-led, agile grantmaking to the most effective interventions, often allowing for rapid responses to time-sensitive opportunities.

Over the past two years, the Founders Pledge Climate Fund has enabled donors to support bold, time-sensitive funding opportunities that are much harder to support as individuals, such as:

• Taking bold action ahead of time: Before the 2024 US election, when most philanthropists were still betting on a Harris administration, Founders Pledge granted $7.5M to DEPLOY/US to build the right-of-center climate field and prepare for climate action under Republican leadership.
• Stepping in promptly when other funders leave: When Breakthrough Energy unexpectedly closed their policy program in March 2025, threatening to fragment years of energy innovation leadership, Founders Pledge immediately stepped in with a $3.5M grant to launch the Innovation Initiative, working with former Breakthrough Energy staff.
• Building a globally diversified portfolio: Since its inception in 2020, the Founders Pledge Climate Fund has invested in geographies outside the US, including China, Canada, and Europe, with grants to organizations like the Cascade Institute, Future Cleantech Architects and Tsinghua University. This allows us to scale efforts based on which geographies are most promising.

Beyond the highly successful Climate Fund, the Founders Pledge portfolio includes funds dedicated to Global Health & Development, Global Catastrophic Risk, and Patient Philanthropy, among others. Each fund is built upon a foundation of transparent, evidence-based, and rigorous research, designed to identify and support the most effective, often under-resourced, interventions within its specific cause area.

Johannes Ackva, Founders Pledge Climate Lead, said today: “Over the past several years, our pivotal investments have safeguarded and unlocked climate progress. We proactively prepared for the current US Administration more than a year in advance, stepped up when a major funder retreated, and have incubated and scaled organizations to fill critical gaps. Alongside this direct action, we’ve consistently urged philanthropists to re-orient their giving in this era of increased climate risk. Crucially, our work vigorously defends hard-won gains while investing in breakthroughs like clean firm power and unlocking more clean energy through regulatory reform. This new funding will supercharge our ability to meet the moment, enabling bold, rapid, laser-focused grants for maximum positive impact."

David Goldberg, Founders Pledge Co-Founder and CEO, said today: “At Founders Pledge, we’ve quietly and confidently worked for the last 11 years to try and change the way high-impact philanthropy is done. Over the past five years, we have championed a 'Funds-first' approach to unlocking impact. This new, meaningful donation to our Climate Fund underscores the deep trust that Founders Pledge has earned as a pioneering force in this ecosystem. It’s also a testament that even when the world feels like a bleak place, good work can still happen.”

Alex Bozmoski, EVP at DEPLOY/US, said today: “Founders Pledge acts with the rare combination of speed and strategic clarity. Their agility—paired with a math-driven focus on emissions—has been catalytic for DEPLOY/US and our 30 partner grantees across the Ecoright field. Together, we’ve been able to seize fleeting opportunities while staying firmly grounded in long-term strategy and measurable emissions impact.”

Armond Cohen, Executive Director of CATF, said today: “Founders Pledge recently helped plug unexpected funding gaps due to shifting philanthropic priorities in the U.S, just as CATF needed to mount an aggressive campaign to defend gains threatened by a new administration. Founders Pledge is an informed, reliable and strategic partner whose support has been a bedrock of our success.”

About Founders Pledge: Founders Pledge is a community of entrepreneurs and investors committed to finding and funding solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. We empower our members to pledge a portion of their future exit proceeds to charity and provide research, guidance, and access to high-impact giving opportunities through our specialized philanthropic funds, helping them to direct their resources effectively. Our mission is to help entrepreneurs do immense good.

MEDIA CONTACT: James Michael Nichols, Founders Pledge Director of Communications james@founderspledge.com +1 201-201-7308