Summary
The Earth Funding Lab is a place for philanthropic funders to connect, develop new forms of strategy, and work towards greater impact together. We believe that to see the fundamental changes our world needs, we must fundamentally transform philanthropy.
Aims and activities
Aims and questions
Aims and activities
The Earth Funding Lab is a community of funders and philanthropists who are learning and working together towards an economy that truly serves all life. We believe that to see the fundamental changes our world needs, we must fundamentally transform philanthropy. The Lab offers a space to connect, develop new forms of strategy, and work towards greater impact together through collaborative action groups and learning programmes.
The Earth Funding Lab was created on the premise that we cannot rely on traditional methods of funding alone in order to meet the unprecedented challenges our world faces. If we continue using the same methods, we are likely to continue seeing the same results and the same rate of change.
The Earth Funding Lab is therefore a call to evolve the systems and structures behind funding in order to support greater and more systemic forms of impact, and more sustainable and generative change.
Our activities include:
- A year-round, cutting-edge learning programme
- Multiple collaborative action groups on strategic intervention areas, currently focusing on:
Evolving the tax system to serve life
Going beyond ESG
Supporting the rights of nature movement
- Exploring innovative philanthropic practices and emerging opportunity areas
The Lab is a place to see the bigger picture of possible change together, coordinate action around key areas of need, and learn and adapt quickly as a community.
How to get involved
The Lab process begins with what we call a Basecamp programme. Here we introduce principles about how the Lab works, share models and stories about alternative forms of funding, open space to explore how to support life-centred economic models, and sow the seeds for a more collaborative way of working within the Lab.
The Basecamp Programme takes two months and combines time in nature with virtual sessions hosted by leading thinkers and practitioners. The next one begins in September 2025 and applications are open. You can find out how to join the Basecamp Programme and more information about what each involves here.
For questions about the upcoming Basecamp programme or current workstreams, please get in touch with Hannah Temple (hannah@tealco.org) and Andres Roberts (andres@bio-leadership.org).
For practical questions about the Lab and its administration, please contact Sophia Cooke (sophia@greenfunders.org).
Who's involved
Who was involved
The Earth Funding Lab was initiated and is facilitated by the Environmental Funders Network in partnership with the Bio-Leadership Project and the Teal Collective.
Some participating funders include the A Team Foundation, Be the Earth Foundation, Friends Provident Foundation, Gower Street, John Ellerman Foundation, Savitri Waney Charitable Trust and the Wates Family Enterprise Trust.
Learning and Resources
Watch Hannah Temple's presentation about the Earth Funding Lab at a Funders Collaborative Hub event in August 2022, Collaborating in response to climate change
