Philanthropic and public funding for nature-based climate solutions is scarce, hard-won, and under pressure to demonstrate results. The question is not just how much capital is available—it is whether that capital is being deployed in ways that are truly catalytic.
The dominant framing of a ‘financing gap’ for nature obscures the real constraint: a funding-layer failure. Money does not reliably reach the right work, at the right time, from the right payers. Too much catalytic capital has been spent making carbon markets function, rather than on the landscape initiatives and institutional capacity that ultimately determine whether outcomes are achieved and sustained.
Foundations and bilateral donors are uniquely positioned to address this. Their capital can fund the public goods that no other funder will: claims standards, governance infrastructure, MRV systems, intermediary capacity, and the field-building work that makes a contribution capital system possible. This is not supplementary to the co-investment model—it is constitutive of it.
Contribution capital infrastructure
Grant funding is essential for building the shared foundations of a contribution capital system. This includes developing claims standards and verification frameworks, supporting accredited intermediaries, and establishing the registry and governance infrastructure that gives corporate and public funders confidence. These are public goods with high leverage—relatively modest investment that unlocks much larger capital flows.
Co-investment platforms and windows
Foundations can play a catalytic role in launching and anchoring co-investment platforms and funding windows. Early philanthropic capital provides the design resources, governance development, and initial proof-of-concept funding that larger public and corporate funders require before committing. We work with foundations to structure these investments for maximum catalytic effect.
Large-scale initiative support
Direct support for jurisdictional programs and Indigenous-led conservation remains critically needed—and our work on funding strategy, mechanism design, and readiness helps ensure that philanthropic investment in these initiatives unlocks further co-investment rather than standing alone.
Foundations increasingly seek to leverage their investments by engaging corporate funders. Contribution capital provides a credible, structured pathway for corporate co-investment that foundations can help anchor. We work with foundations to design engagement strategies that bring corporate capital alongside philanthropic funding—in ways that maintain integrity and serve the initiative’s needs.
Foundations and bilateral agencies need sense-making in a crowded, confused field. We work as partners and enablers, providing the analytical depth that allows philanthropic and public funders to deploy capital with confidence.
Field intelligence. Case studies, landscape assessments, and recommendations on key enablers—the analytical foundation for informed grantmaking in nature-based climate solutions.
Partnership development. Rapid opportunity assessments for mobilizing private-sector contribution capital alongside existing philanthropic and public funding priorities.
Program architecture. Designing funding windows, criteria, sequencing, and governance for new or restructured funding programs.
Co-funder coordination. Aligning multiple funders around common frameworks and shared investment theses—reducing duplication and increasing collective impact.
Portfolio analysis and program retrospectives. Structured diagnostics and honest look-backs on past investments—identifying what worked, what didn’t, and what to do differently.
