The Trottier Family Foundation (TFF) is pleased to announce that they have dedicated $150 million by 2030 towards fighting the climate crisis.
We are at a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change, with only a limited window to mobilize the capital necessary to meet this generational challenge. In response, they are increasing grant allocations and partially spending down our endowment to support the charities and initiatives working to advance net-zero pathways in Canada.
TFF’s announcement is part of an unprecedented new funding commitment by nine Canadian families and foundations totaling $405 million. Brought together by the Clean Economy Fund, the joint effort is the largest philanthropic contribution to climate solutions in Canadian history.
The urgency of the climate crisis calls for immediate and bold action. The next five years are crucial to keeping global warming at or below 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, a critical threshold to prevent the most severe effects of climate change. Every degree of warming they avoid will save lives, preserve ecosystems, and reduce economic damage. At TFF, they believe that solutions are within reach, and philanthropy plays a unique role in driving these efforts forward.
By increasing our climate funding, they aim to catalyze innovative work and accelerate climate solutions across the Canadian economy. The Trottier Family Foundation has chosen to partially spend down its endowment to maximize its impact during this critical period. This hybrid approach reflects the strategic urgency of the climate crisis, while also ensuring that TFF can continue supporting Canada’s long-term transition to net-zero alongside our other strategic priorities for years to come.
This increased funding will support the foundation’s Climate Program Strategy, which is designed to catalyze solutions that empower Canadian governments, provinces, cities, institutions, charities, and businesses to meet ambitious climate targets. The approach focuses on both immediate and sustained efforts to reduce emissions over the short, medium, and long term. To achieve this goal, the foundation, has implemented a 2-pronged approach: 1) proactive granting in which TFF staff use rigorous analysis and research to proactively seek out, develop or support projects that accelerate innovative climate solutions, representing about 2/3 of our funding and 2) reactive granting in which the Foundation is solicited for support, representing about 1/3 of our funding. This dual approach enables TFF to both address strategic gaps and remain open to emerging, innovative solutions from new partners.
TFF began its partial spend-down in 2023 and is entering its 3rd year of funding. They will continue ramping up funding over the next several years, with a goal to complete the process by the end of 2030. After this period, our funding will return to the CRA-mandated 5% disbursement quota, allowing us to maintain our mission and support key priorities for the long term.
This commitment is part of a growing movement of foundations and high-net-worth families in Canada dedicated to using their resources to confront the climate emergency. They are pleased to be joined by other committed organizations, including the Peter Gilgan Foundation, the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, the Chisholm Thomson Family Foundation, David Keith and Kirsten Anderson, the Sitka Foundation, the Vohra Miller Foundation, Allan Shiff, and a recommitment from the Ivey Foundation, and are grateful for the leadership of the Clean Economy Fund in uniting these efforts.
The Ivey Foundation’s 2022 decision to wind down its operations and fully invest in climate action has been pivotal in energizing this collective movement. They appreciate their bold leadership on this issue.
They hope that this combined effort will encourage more Canadian foundations and families to join in tackling this urgent challenge. They invite those interested in joining this effort to connect with TFF or the Clean Economy Fund to learn how they can be part of this movement.
Why did they choose to commit such a large sum to climate and partially spend down the Foundation’s endowment? Why now?
We are at a crucial moment to address the climate crisis: less than decade remains to ensure that global warming stays below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Tackling climate change requires an urgent, large-scale mobilization of capital and philanthropy has a critical role to play in this movement. Currently, however, less than 1% of philanthropic dollars are dedicated to climate funding.
To meet this challenge, the Board members of the Trottier Family Foundation committed to disbursing $150M through this climate program by the end of 2030. The increased budget will partially spend down our endowment over the next several years.
The decision to go beyond the CRA mandated 5% disbursement quota was made to maximize our impact during this critical moment, while also allowing us to continue to support Canada’s efforts to reach net-zero for years to come.
They believe that solutions are possible, and that every action they take now can help to prevent or lessen the worst impacts of climate change. Every degree of warming they avoid means fetheyr lives lost, ecosystems preserved, and less damage to our economy and eases our ability to adapt to a changing climate.
They hope that others will join them in this commitment. There has never been a more critical or opportune time for Canadian philanthropists to step up and take bold action in this space. They are hoping to ignite a movement.
When does this budget increase come into play?
TFF’s partial spend down began in 2023 and will be ramping up over the coming years. They are about to enter our 3rd year of this 8-year commitment and have already distributed close to 25 million over the last 2 years. They aim to complete our partial spend down by the end of 2030. After 2030, TFF’s funding will gradually return to the CRA mandated 5% disbursement quota and align with the Foundation’s mission and funding priorities.
What do you hope this budget increase will achieve?
Only a small percentage of philanthropic dollars and investments are directed towards solving the climate crisis despite the existential threat this challenge poses to our communities and our planet. They hope that our commitment will inspire and galvanize others to increase their funding in this area. Philanthropy can and must play a bigger role in addressing climate change. The time to act is now.
They want their funding to act as catalytic capital—helping to scale impactful projects and de-risk innovative work. It is hoped that this will unlock more funding for these projects, particularly from other sources that may be hesitant to invest without the early support they can provide. Ultimately, they hope that this capital will help to multiply impact and create a ripple effect that accelerates climate solutions across the Canadian economy.
How much is TFF’s climate budget increasing?
The Trottier Family Foundation’s will distribute $150 million towards climate programs between now and the end of 2030. The funding began in 2023 and will ramp up over the coming years. While the overall budgets may change year over year, this represents roughly $20 million in climate funding annually.
The funding will be allocated alignment with the strategic priorities of our climate program, including: cities, buildings, transportation, energy, industry, strategic opportunities, stainable finance, and health & climate.
Who will the funds go to?
The funds from this commitment will be used to support charities, think tanks, academic researchers making significant progress on climate solutions.
They are open to funding work across the country, including all cities, provinces and Indigenous communities.
Are TFF’s funding strategies changing due to this increased commitment? Are there new applications processes?
The funds from this commitment will be used to support projects and partnerships that align with TFF’s existing climate strategy, which has been designed to address key issues facing the most important facets of Canada’s economy, while also remaining agile to respond to emerging opportunities and urgent needs. They are entering year 3 of our commitment and have already determined our funding priorities.
This climate program supports and catalyzes solutions to help Canadian governments, institutions, civil society, companies to meet ambitious climate targets and curb emissions in the short, medium and long term. Specifically, they aim to advance climate action in the areas of cities, buildings, transportation, energy, industry, sustainable finance, health & climate, alongside other strategic opportunities.
To achieve this goal, the foundation, has implemented a dual approach that allows us to address strategic funding gaps while remaining open to innovative solutions from new partners:
Proactive partnership development: Their team uses rigorous research and analysis to identify gaps and proactively seek out partners to develop or support strategic projects that accelerate innovative climate solutions.
This work represents about two thirds of the funding.