Environmental Philanthropy Research Articles

Role of Innovation, Policy, Social Media, and Environmental Munificence for Sustainable Ecotourism Development in Punjab, India

Sustainable ecotourism is tourism that meets the prerequisites of responsible travel and environmental conservation and improves the financial well-being of local businesses. This study investigates the role of ecotourism policy, innovation, and social media as direct antecedents of sustainable ecotourism development and the moderating role of environmental philanthropy. A quantitative process was used, and existing validated scales were used to develop the survey instrument. A partial least squares path modeling technique was utilized to test the model. The study results show that ecotourism policy, innovation, and social media significantly influence ecotourism development, and environmental munificence determines the moderating role. This study suggests that tourism firms and local businesses should focus more on innovations and their applications. The role of social media and influences should also be extensively promoted amongst locals, tourists, and firms to achieve sustainable ecotourism development. This study extends the research by using the sustainable tourism theory as the theoretical foundation and validating the moderating role of environmental munificence between innovation and sustainable ecotourism development.

How Do Nonprofits’ Organizational Characteristics Shape Environmental Philanthropy in Texas? A Network Science Approach

Abstract In efforts to address the far-reaching effects of climate change and associated impacts in communities, research on environmental philanthropy suggests that more resources are being allocated to environmental societal challenges. However, understandings about which environmental nonprofits benefit from these funding flows is limited. This study integrates resource dependency theory with elitism and pluralism perspectives to analyze a network of environmental nonprofits and their funders in Texas. Resource dependency and a network-analytic approaches share underlying relationality principles, and we connect those dots by conceptualizing the funding dynamics in Texas as a network of funder-grantee relations. Drawing on statewide survey data (n = 114), we use a network analysis technique – exponential random graph modeling (ERGM) – to analyze funding allocations in Texas through the organizational attributes of environmental nonprofits, their funder-grantee relations, and their community context. We specifically observe elitism in funding allocations in Texas, which is evident in network effects (preferential attachment) and the focal areas of environmental work. However, we find limited evidence that age or resources of the nonprofit are predictive of funding and the most influential factor determining a funder-grantee relationship is the natural hazard risk of the community served by the nonprofit. Our findings suggest interconnected funding dynamics of pluralism and elitism in the Texas environmental philanthropy landscape, prompting further discussion about the potential synergies of these patterns and the implications for environmental funding practices.

Misalignment or exclusion? Investigating climate and energy philanthropy funding of diversity

Environmental philanthropy is expanding while inequities and disparities among those impacted by environmental degradation are also growing. Little is known about the distribution of funds from environmental philanthropy, that is, who is benefitting and who is excluded? This study analyzes how environmental philanthropy is being distributed among non-profit organizations working on a low-carbon energy transition in Canada. The funding sources of 462 organizations characterized as either diversity-led or conventional-led were analyzed and compared. Organizations that are clearly led by equity deserving communities were classified as “diversity-led” while organizations that provided no indication of diverse leadership were classified as “conventional-led”. The findings indicate that the 356 conventional-led organizations receive philanthropic support from more funders than the 106 diversity-led organizations. The diversity-led organizations, that are more often addressing equity-deserving communities, received philanthropic support three times less often, and support from less funders than the conventional-led organizations. These results demonstrate that environmental philanthropy in Canada favors a large set of established organizations and perpetuates a landscape of exclusion for diversity-led organizations working on the low-carbon energy transition. By perpetuating disparities through funding, philanthropy is reinforcing inequities among marginalized communities. This in turn is setting back the progress of equity in low-carbon energy transitions in Canada.

Conceptualizing responsible exits in conservation philanthropy

AbstractConservation philanthropy has grown significantly in the past decade. As the number of philanthropic‐supported conservation initiatives increases, so too will the frequency of exits—the ending of funding relationships. A trend toward “strategic philanthropy,” where foundations fund time‐limited grants, is already contributing to near‐constant exits. We draw attention to exits as a critical and ubiquitous—yet understudied—part of conservation grantmaking processes that can have tremendous impacts on the people and places foundations invest in. This paper begins to address this research gap with the first empirical study of exit processes in the context of ocean conservation philanthropy. We draw on an analysis of interviews and a knowledge co‐production workshop with donors representing 36 foundations investing in ocean conservation globally to: (1) develop a conceptual framework that broadens and clarifies definitions of exits and provides a common language to characterize exits along varied dimensions, and (2) derive best practices for exiting responsibly. This paper provides timely guidance for environmental philanthropy broadly, including the need to think about exits early and often as an integral part of the grantmaking strategy. Responsible giving must include responsible exits.

Place-Based Environmental Philanthropy: The Role of Community-Based Organizations in the Skeena Watershed

This article explores the role of place-based philanthropy in rural community development through a case study of the Skeena watershed. The Skeena is an ecologically significant region in Northwest British Columbia that is confronting the complex and layered forces of change being experienced by many rural regions in Canada. Through qualitative interviews and document analyses, the article illustrates how a robust ecosystem of environmental community-based organizations (CBOs), funded by philanthropic capital, is extending beyond traditional environmental advocacy to fill important structural gaps in community development. Though pressed by capacity issues, the sector is shifting towards highly integrated and collaborative responses to development pressures and charting alternative pathways for development in the region. The complexity and scope of pressures in the Skeena offer insights for other rural regions and the dynamic potential and challenges associated with place-based philanthropy in community and regional development processes.

Islamic Environmental Philanthropy: Lesson From Kitab al-Jidar and Kitab al-I’lan bi Ahkam al-Bunyan

Environmental philanthropy entails devoting time and resources to addressing environmental issues through non-governmental conservation organisations or community involvement. The purpose of this research is to delve into the lessons of Islamic environmental philanthropy outlined in Kitab Al-Jidar and Kitab Al-I'lan Bi Ahkam Al-Bunyan. This paper adds to the body of knowledge by focusing on environmental philanthropy in the traditional Islamic built environment, which has received little attention in the literature. To achieve the research objective, qualitative research methods were used, while content analysis was used for analysis. According to the findings of this study, the environmental philanthropy implemented in Kitab Al-Jidar and Kitab Al-I'lan is concerned with both environmental and social sustainability. It is hoped that this paper will provide new ideas and guidelines for future environmental conservation.

Philanthropic foundations as agents of environmental governance:a research agenda

ABSTRACT Philanthropic foundations play increasingly prominent roles in the environmental arena, yet remain largely under the radar of environmental governance scholars. We build on the small body of existing research on foundations in environmental governance to outline a research agenda on foundations as agents of environmental governance. The agenda identifies current understandings, debates, and research gaps related to three themes: 1) the roles foundations perform in environmental governance, 2) the outcomes of environmental philanthropy, and 3) the sources of foundation legitimacy. We call for more systematic and empirical research using diverse theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches. This research agenda will contribute to literature on agency in environmental governance by providing a more comprehensive picture of who governs the environment and how. Coming at a time when foundations are facing growing public scrutiny, it can also inform contemporary debates and offer practical insights for effective and equitable environmental philanthropy.

Economic Valuation as a Communication Device for Environmental Philanthropy: Evidence from the Lab and Field

Economic Valuation as a Communication Device for Environmental Philanthropy: Evidence from the Lab and Field

Economic Valuation as a Communication Device for Environmental Philanthropy: Evidence from the Lab and Field

Economic Valuation as a Communication Device for Environmental Philanthropy: Evidence from the Lab and Field

Elite networks for environmental philanthropy: shaping environmental agendas in the twenty-first century

ABSTRACT Examining all donations of one-million dollars or more to environmental and animal-related causes from 2000–10 in the U.S., this paper employs network methodologies to identify structural patterns in elite philanthropy. Employing k-plex algorithms, analysis demonstrates robust, overlapping donor-recipient ties forming meaningful subcomponents within the larger network. In addition to donor-recipient subgroups that partition along major environmental and animal-related issues, we find politically polarized subcomponents among organizations engaged in energy and climate change. Here it is argued that these observed substructures in the network reflect an intra-elite fracture that mirrors ideological differences of donors and a larger partisan polarization on these issues in the U.S. These findings substantiate a critical theory of foundations and elite philanthropy that accounts for their role in establishing, maintaining, and at times contesting forms of political hegemony favorable to their factional interests.

Policy Instrument Choice with Coasean Provision of Public Goods

We examine the interplay between environmental policy instrument choice (i.e., prices vs. quantities) and private provision of public goods, which in this context we denote provision. Coasean provision captures private provision of environmental public goods due to consumer preferences for environmentally friendly goods and services, incentives for corporate environmental management, environmental philanthropy, and even overlapping jurisdictions of policy. We show theoretically that even in a world of perfect certainty, the presence of Coasean provision distinctly affects instrument choice, based on both the efficiency criterion and distributional consequences. We also generalize the analysis to account for uncertainty using the classic Weitzman (1974) framework. Our findings suggest that the increasing prevalence of Coasean provision motivates a need to rethink the design of effective and efficient environmental policy instruments. This arises because policy instrument choice can have a significant impact on the environmental commitments of individuals, companies, and states, and vice-versa, with clear implications for overall economic welfare and policy preferences among polluters, citizens, and government revenue. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.

Environmental Philanthropy and Civic Engagement: a Comparison of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore

Abstract Using the data from the World Value Survey, this paper uses a comparative lens to assess environmental philanthropy by focusing on four predominantly Chinese societies – mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, which contributes to the debate on whether culture can sufficiently explain cross-regional variation in civic engagement, particularly in the domain of environmental philanthropy. We find that residents in mainland China shared similar environmental concerns and beliefs with people from the other regions, but they are least likely to volunteer, donate, and demonstrate for these causes. After accounting for personal characteristics, the sizeable interregional gaps on pro-environmental behaviors remain. These findings are consistent with the argument that structural differences, particularly the developing nature of civil society in mainland China, hinders environmental civic engagement.

Which is greener: secularity or religiosity? Environmental philanthropy along religiosity spectrum

Using a large, nationally representative Canadian survey (N = 12,922), this paper investigates how religiosity associates with environmental philanthropy. Based on the degree of religiosity, the population is divided into five mutually exclusive segments of very religious, average religiosity, nominal affiliate, unchurched believer, and strictly secular. The analysis shows that the individuals identified as very religious contribute the least amount of money to environmental causes, while the unchurched believers are the most generous. The investigation also shows that among various dimensions of religiosity, only religious attendance is statistically significantly associated with environmental philanthropy. The effect of religious attendance is, however, negative for monetary contribution and positive for volunteerism. Finally, the contribution of money to religious organizations negatively associates with environmental giving, while donation to secular causes predicts a higher level of monetary giving to environmental organizations. Various implications are discussed.

Environmental Philanthropy and Environmental Behavior in Five Countries: Is There Convergence Among Youth?

This paper compares and contrasts environmental philanthropy, environmental behavior, and their determinants among university students in five countries: Canada, Germany, Israel, South Korea, and the United States. The paper’s unique contribution to the nonprofit literature is its focus on environmental philanthropy as an unexplored form of philanthropic behavior, and the ability to test environmental philanthropy in an international setting and in comparison to other modes of environmental behavior. By environmental philanthropy, we mean giving to, and volunteering in, various environmental non-governmental organizations, and by environmental behavior, we refer to daily behaviors in the private sphere with ecological implications. We hypothesize that although the five countries vary on several characteristics, the student populations—who are young, educated, and exposed to global ideas and norms—will be relatively similar to each other in their environmental and philanthropic behavior and in the determinants of such behavior. To test this hypothesis, a standardized questionnaire was administered to 8,477 students on five campuses. Results show significant differences between students in their environmental philanthropic behavior, as well as in the demographic and attitudinal determinants of such behaviors.

Review: Sponsoring Nature: Environmental Philanthropy for Conservation

Review: Sponsoring Nature: Environmental Philanthropy for Conservation

Environmental Philanthropy

The authors analyze environmental philanthropy as a form of environmental behavior that has received scant attention in the literature. Environmental philanthropy refers to the giving of time and money in support of environmental issues through environmental nongovernmental organizations. The authors examine the way values, knowledge, political orientation, and a variety of sociodemographic variables are associated with environmental philanthropy and compare it with several other forms of environmental behaviors. Results from analysis of a sample of 1,565 American students indicate that environmental philanthropy is not shaped by the typical set of variables influencing environmental behavior that are reported in the literature. They conclude that the personal traits that shape environmental philanthropy should be theorized differently than other environmental behaviors.

Catalyzing Sustainability (Russian)

This paper develops a decision framework for environmental philanthropy in search of achieving sustainability on a crowded planet. Many of the world's most pressing global challenges are environmental in nature (or have stark environmental implications) and require long-term efforts. Asking what and how environmental philanthropy can contribute to address the sustainability challenges, the paper first reviews the history of environmental philanthropy and analyzes its role in a world in which humanity is de facto tasked to actively manage nature. The paper maps the current landscape of environmental philanthropy, and applies the concepts of manufactured and external risks to the field. Subsequently, the paper develops a decision framework suggesting a portfolio approach that classifies actions based on knowledge about outcomes and probabilities under the categories of risk, uncertainty and ignorance. The framework is applied to the area deforestation.

E4C - Ecosystems for Change: Environmental Philanthropy - Catalyzing Sustainability

This paper develops a comprehensive decision framework for environmental philanthropy in search of achieving sustainability on a crowded planet. Many of the world's most pressing global challenges are environmental in nature (or have stark environmental implications) and require long-term efforts. Asking what and how environmental philanthropy can contribute to address the sustainability challenges, the paper first reviews the history of environmental philanthropy and analyzes its role in a world in which humanity is de facto tasked to actively manage nature. What is the competitive niche where environmental philanthropy has the edge: as a direct provider of capital? By financing the provision of expertise? By engineering unlikely but game-changing stakeholder coalitions? The paper then maps the current landscape of environmental philanthropy, and applies the concepts of manufactured and external risks to the field. Subsequently, the paper develops a decision framework suggesting a portfolio approach that classifies actions based on knowledge about outcomes and probabilities under the categories of risk, uncertainty and ignorance. The framework is applied to the areas of marine conservation and nanotechnology.

The interconnections between environmental philanthropy and business: Insights from the Southern African Nature Foundation

Analyses of environmental philanthropy tend to focus on non-profit organisations and the business sector as unrelated entities. However, the links between business and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) through philanthropy can be ascribed to a number of factors ranging from the pursuit of commercial interests to the nature and status of NGOs. This article argues that environmental philanthropy, as a mode of giving for the advancement of an environmental cause, can more appropriately be understood by paying attention to the interconnections between NGOs and the business sector. This argument is supported by a case study of the Southern African Nature Foundation, which, from its inception in 1968 to its demise in 1995, had strong links with commerce and industry. The paper concludes that environmental philanthropy is underpinned by shared interests that are pursued through dense networks between philanthropists and environmental lobby groups.

Elitism, Pluralism, or Resource Dependency: Patterns of Environmental Philanthropy among Private Foundations in California

We map the distribution of environmental grants provided by selected California foundations in 2000 and the degree of dependency of the grantees on foundation support to test theoretical claims about foundations' role in contemporary environmentalism. Contrary to assertions by critics of elitism, there is no consistent favoritism of the so-called ‘mainstream’, ‘flagship’, national environmental organizations as recipients of foundations' grants. Instead, donors support a variety of causes with varying levels of funding based on recipients' perceived expertise and needs—a finding consistent with pluralist and resource-dependency arguments. On the receiving end, we find that the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have greater reliance on foundation money are those which are younger, have fewer paying members, and are not involved in local-level or toxics issues. Overall, we find that no single theory can adequately explain the trends in giving and in dependency. Future research building on these findings can proceed along two directions: a theoretical path in search of a more universal theory of foundation giving; or an empirical path focusing on clarifying different types of NGO grantees, the longitudinal patterns of environmental giving, and the impact of foundation funding on NGO grantees.