Funders

At the core of RE-AMP is the concept that funders and NGOs must work collaboratively to achieve significant change. The approach is mutually beneficial. Funders have the opportunity to regularly participate in conversations among advocates on regional collaborative strategies, and advocates have the benefit of the perspective of the funders.

Foundation members in RE-AMP have the opportunity to join any issue-based  working group, and have the opportunity to join the Foundation Working Group. The Foundation Working Group provides a forum for funders to learn about activity within the RE-AMP network. Members meet on a regular basis to ensure that their strategies remain aligned with other RE-AMP funders and with RE-AMP’s overall strategic vision. Leaders from the other RE-AMP working groups regularly brief the Foundation Working Group on projects and issues from the network.

In 2007, the RE-AMP Steering Committee took its funder/grantee relationship to a new level. Advocates on the Steering Committee identified an immediate opportunity for coordinated action in four states (IL, IA, MN, and WI) that had empanelled advisory committees on climate change policy. The problem was, there was no funding available for advocates that just learned they were appointed to the committees. The Steering Committee applied for, and was awarded, a $700,000 grant from the Garfield Foundation to re-grant to advocates in the four states to ensure that the advisory committees developed strong recommendations. This was the beginning of the Global Warming Strategic Action Fund (GWSAF).

Since then, the GWSAF has grown and evolved significantly to provide approximately $3.5 million/year of re-grants across the region. The Fund is managed by a committee of advocates and funders working side by side to create a regional strategy upon which to make funding recommendations.

To read more about the GWSAF, contact Elizabeth Wheeler.

How funders can participate in RE-AMP:

• Contribute directly to the RE-AMP Steering Committee (to learn more, contact Elizabeth Wheeler or Rick Reed)
• Contribute to the Global Warming Strategic Action Fund (to learn more, contact Rick Reed)
• Join RE-AMP’s Foundation Working Group to collaborate with other funders in the region, learn about what is going on in RE-AMP, and discuss strategies for optimizing funding on energy issues in the Midwest.
• Align your foundation’s priorities with RE-AMP’s so that our efforts complement one another.
• Join any of RE-AMP’s issue based working groups to learn more about the work going on in the region in Clean Energy, Coal, Energy Efficiency, Global Warming Solutions, or Transportation.