Expanding Investment

HEFN's Expanding Investment priority focuses on work to draw more philanthropic resources into environmental health and justice HEFN partners with the Environmental Grantmakers Association on a Tracking The Field project to deepen understanding of trends, challenges, and critical needs in environmental health and justice philanthropy. This helps us benchmark and identify the growth and distribution of funding.

Members have access to an exclusive members-only database to search grants made by other members to inform their grantmaking strategies and learn about potential investment opportunities to expand their portfolios.

Our goal is to double philanthropic commitments and leverage equivalent investments from outside philanthropy.

In 2024, HEFN will leverage equivalent investments from outside philanthropy, through a variety of partnership efforts. This priority area includes:

  • Research, outreach, communications, and programming to engage funders
  • Implementing a model for collaborative engagement of high net-worth individuals
  • Collaborating with other philanthropy-serving organizations to further mainstream key issues in philanthropy
  • Providing timely resources for funders to accelerate investment at the intersection of climate, health, and equity.

Federal Funds Engagement

Over the last five years, philanthropy has invested about $3B in environmental health and justice. In contrast, EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice alone will be making $3B in grants through Spring 2024, only one part of a massive government investment to support infrastructure, reduce air and climate pollution, and provide outdoor opportunities to nature-deprived communities. 

Now more than ever it is imperative that philanthropy is educated and equipped to support its grantees and work together to leverage these federal dollars to ensure that the projects support community-led environmental health and justice efforts. Collaborating with Neighborhood Funders Group and The Funders Network, HEFN is engaging with public sector and philanthropic partners to boost policies and systems changes that benefit and strengthen impacts in disproportionately affected communities.

In 2024, HEFN has contracted with Lynn Ross, Spirit for Change Consulting, to more deeply engage funders in the network and devote additional capacity to this project.

Lead Funders Action Network

The Lead Funders Action Network (LFAN) brings together national, regional, state, and local foundations that are working collaboratively and strategically to address gaps in the field of childhood lead poisoning prevention. The funders collectively represent a range of topics including the environment, health, housing, early childhood, anti-poverty, and social justice.

LFAN is led by chair Arturo Garcia Costas of New York Community Trust. HEFN houses LFAN, providing some staff support, and contracting with John Monaghan to coordinate most of the bulk of the work of the network. The group meets regularly, focusing in 2024 on LFAN’s National Lead Safe Home Fund Advocacy Project as it progresses into Phase Two with strategic goals aimed at eradicating residential lead exposure. This next phase includes working to secure a $10M appropriation in the House of Representatives and securing the commitment of the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development’s Director of Lead Hazard Control and Healthy Homes to collaborate with LFAN on a Lead Safe Home Fund replication pilot, with discretionary funding, if Congress does not appropriate new funds for this program.