For more than fifty years, The Joseph & Vera Long Foundation has made conservation grants to study, protect, and restore the natural environment. With the help of many grantee partners, we have learned about the resilience of ecosystems and the adaptability of species, but we have also seen the extraordinary work needed to reverse the damage caused by humankind's advancement without concern for the impact on nature. This experience has provided us with a great appreciation for the delicate, natural balance that is required for all forms of life to thrive.

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Both Joe and Vera Long instilled in their family the importance of limiting waste, protecting natural resources, and caring for others - values which are needed to sustain a healthy world. This planet is our home, and we feel strongly that it is humanity’s responsibility to care for and preserve it for future generations. However, if we let global average surface temperatures continue to increase at their current rate, the environmental and social consequences would be harrowing.  We optimistically believe that many solutions to climate change can do more than limit atmospheric carbon; they can maintain biodiversity, improve food systems, and address social inequity. 

 

Moving forward, the Board of The Joseph & Vera Long Foundation has decided to shift our focus away from traditional conservation grant making and towards creative climate solutions that yield multiple co-benefits.

We have committed half of our annual grant budget to support work which mitigates climate change.  With the help of key partners, we are taking a strategic approach to develop our climate grant program focused on identifying solutions that hold great promise but may have limited access to conventional financing or funding and where our philanthropy can be effective and impactful within the larger, global effort to end the climate crisis.

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While our proactive approach to climate grantmaking will evolve over time, the demand for climate funding greatly exceeds the availability of funding sources.  The Foundation will continue to concentrate on our work with existing partners in order to focus on building a grant portfolio that is tightly aligned with our strategy.  As a result, we will not accept new applications for responsive grants for the environment in 2023.