McKnight Foundation Pledges $100-Million to Climate Fight

The McKnight Foundation announced today that it will spend $100-million over the next five years as part of a campaign to fight global warming that involves several large philanthropies, the Star Tribune, in Minneapolis, reports.

McKnight’s president, Kate Wolford, said the coordinated strategy among foundations is necessary to face the “extraordinary challenge” posed by climate change. The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation are among the grant makers who have pledged a combined $1-billion-plus to the effort.

Ms. Wolford said McKnight will match its 2008 grant total of $99-million, much of it focused on the foundation’s Minnesota base, but some recipients will get smaller grants due to the focus on climate change, an issue she said “will put at risk all those served by our programs.”