What VoLo Foundation does

VoLo Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit family foundation established in 2014 by David S. Vogel and Thais Lopez Vogel, headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The foundation operates across three core program areas — climate solutions, education, and health — deploying capital through grants while building public engagement via convenings (the Climate Correction Conference, Florida Climate Week, the Go Green Challenge), media productions (The Visioneers TV series on CBS, a podcast, and the VoLo Climate Newsletter), and advocacy awards (the VISTA Award). Since inception, the foundation has disbursed approximately $83 million in cumulative grants, with roughly $27 million deployed in 2025 alone, funded entirely by the founding family rather than external donors.

Operationally, VoLo functions as a programmatic platform that combines grantmaking, convening, and content production rather than as a traditional revenue-generating enterprise. Its grantee base spans research institutions (Florida International University), conservation organizations (Rock The Ocean), policy advocacy groups (CLEO Institute), and educational initiatives, supplemented by media distribution through a Hearst/CBS partnership. Headcount is lean — approximately 1-10 employees — indicating reliance on partnerships and media leverage to amplify programmatic reach rather than internal scaling. The founder-funded model provides unusual programmatic flexibility and the absence of donor-imposed constraints, but also concentrates governance and capital decisions within the founding family, creating single-point-of-failure dependency on the Vogels' continued funding capacity and engagement.

Name

VoLo Foundation

Legal name

VoLo Foundation

Website

https://volofoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

VoLo Foundation is a 501(c)(3) family foundation deploying approximately $27M in 2025 grants across climate, education, and health, while building public engagement through CBS broadcast media, conferences, and advocacy partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF), Environment, Climate & Sustainability Congresses (THAHAJAH), Environmental Science & Sustainability Programs (Ecology, Climate, Conservation) (EDAMABAD)

Keywords

• Climate philanthropy
• Grantmaking foundation
• Climate education
• Nonprofit funding
• Environmental grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Jupiter

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Foundation Funding: VoLo Foundation is sustained entirely through the support of its founders David S. Vogel and Thais Lopez Vogel. The foundation does not accept external donations and generates no commercial revenue from products or services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

VoLo Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit family foundation that accelerates climate solutions and improves global health by awarding grants to researchers and nonprofits, hosting flagship educational events such as the Climate Correction Conference and Florida Climate Week, and producing climate-focused media including a podcast, newsletter, and CBS television series. The foundation supports science-based climate research, student-led innovation, ocean conservation, and humanitarian programs, with a primary geographic focus on Florida and broader United States.

Product overview

VoLo Foundation is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit family organization that operates as a philanthropy-focused foundation rather than a product company. Its portfolio consists of climate-focused programs and events including: Florida Climate Week (annual statewide climate engagement initiative), Climate Correction Conference (flagship annual conference), Climate Correction Podcast (media program), VISTA Award (student research grant program), VoLo Climate Newsletter (VCN), and The Go Green Challenge. The foundation also co-produces The Visioneers With Zay Harding television series on CBS. These programs span environmental research, climate education, community engagement, and grant-making activities, supported by three main program pillars: Environmental, Health, and Humanitarian & Community Building. The foundation has awarded over $27 million in grants during 2025 and $83 million in total since 2014.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Climate Correction: Annual flagship conference focused on accelerating practical climate solutions
• Florida Climate Week
• VISTA Award
• VoLo Climate News

Products and services

• Florida Climate Week An annual statewide celebration of engagement, education, and collective action focused on climate and resilience challenges facing Florida. Open to all, featuring both virtual and in-person events organized by community partners, reaching 1,800+ participants across 83 events in 2025.
• Climate Correction Conference VoLo Foundation's flagship annual conference focused on accelerating practical solutions to the global climate crisis through keynote sessions, interactive workshops, and cross-sector discussions. The 2026 edition drew 292 participants and 46 speakers at The Celeste Hotel in Orlando, Florida.
• Climate Correction Podcast A bilingual (English/Spanish) podcast series discussing climate topics, solutions, and interviews with environmental experts and innovators.
• VISTA Award Competitive grant program supporting graduate students developing innovative climate solutions in Florida, recognizing exemplary leadership and Vision, Innovation, Sustainability, Technology, and Action in climate solutions.
• VoLo Climate Newsletter (VCN) A biweekly newsletter sharing the latest news on environmental research, solutions, economy, and health. Delivers stories about program partners and upcoming events.
• The Visioneers With Zay Harding A 30-minute weekly educational television series on CBS focusing on international environmental solutions, co-produced with Hearst Media Production Group as part of the 'CBS WKND' programming block.
• The Go Green Challenge A research initiative focused on promoting sustainability and environmental awareness.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $6 million raised for ocean conservation by Tortuga Music Festival since 2013
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Rock The Ocean FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2026VoLo Foundation partnered with Rock The Ocean Foundation for the 2026 Tortuga Music Festival (April 10-12, Fort Lauderdale) to expand sustainability and ocean conservation efforts. Since 2013, Tortuga has raised over $6 million for conservation supporting 100+ nonprofit partners and five universities. VoLo Foundation's support helps elevate the festival's environmental standards and reach.
• CLEO InstituteminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 September 2025VoLo Foundation serves as a campaign partner for the 'Our Present, Icarus' Future' multimedia artivism campaign launched at Climate Week NYC. The campaign pairs an emotionally captivating Icarus-themed installation with an art contest and petition seeking hundreds of thousands of supporters ahead of COP30 in Brazil.
• Hearst Media Production GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 September 2025Co-production partnership for 'The Visioneers With Zay Harding' TV series on CBS. The 30-minute weekly series focuses on international environmental solutions and is part of the 'CBS WKND' educational programming block. Series expands coverage to a dozen U.S. states and international destinations including Portugal, Germany, Switzerland, and the U.K.
• O-Town CompostminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership at Climate Correction 2026 where O-Town Compost helped divert 282 pounds of food waste and compostable serviceware from the landfill.
• We Are NeutralminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to achieve net-zero status for Climate Correction conference. We Are Neutral measured, reduced, and offset 39.93 metric tons of CO2e.
• Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation (WGCU)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoLo Foundation acted as 'last-in' funding catalyst to help WGCU hire an environmental reporter (Valerie Vande Panne, Harvard graduate) for their public media station covering Southwest Florida environmental news.
• Florida International University (FIU) - Department of Earth and EnvironmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoLo Foundation supports FIU's Environmental Finance and Risk Management program, which uses financial modeling and environmental science to prepare future workforce to evaluate, manage, and reduce risks associated with climate change and sea level rise.
• Furry Friends Adoption, Clinic & RanchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoLo Foundation supports this Jupiter, Florida nonprofit focused on rescuing abused, neglected, abandoned, and homeless animals in Martin and Palm Beach counties.
• Fundación Rafa NadalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVoLo Foundation partners with the Rafa Nadal Foundation which promotes inclusive access to education, reduces social inequalities, and ensures health and wellbeing for people in Spain and India through sports and education programs.
• Citizens' Climate InternationalminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for climate policy advocacy and education. Citizens' Climate Lobby contributes content and perspectives to VoLo Foundation's climate events and communications.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• The Rockefeller Foundation: Historic private foundation with active climate resilience and clean energy grantmaking portfolios. Comparable as an established private foundation funding climate and health, though operating at significantly greater scale and programmatic depth.
• The Kresge Foundation: A major U.S. private foundation with active climate and health-equity grantmaking programs. Comparable as a private foundation with multi-pillar programming spanning environment and health, though with a much larger endowment and longer history.
• Bezos Earth Fund: A $10 billion personal-commitment climate philanthropy focused on grantmaking for climate mitigation, nature-based solutions, and justice. Comparable as a privately funded, founder-driven climate grantmaker, though orders of magnitude larger in capital.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Operates one of the largest climate programs of any private foundation (Beyond Carbon, $700M+), combining grantmaking, convening, and media advocacy. Comparable as a private, founder-funded climate philanthropy, though materially larger in scope and budget.
• Hewlett Foundation: Major private foundation funding climate, environment, education, and health through large-scale grantmaking. Comparable in funding climate science and convening, though with substantially greater endowment and program breadth.

Direct peers

• Pisces Foundation: A private family foundation funding U.S. climate and conservation work, including nature-based solutions and state-level policy advocacy. Closely comparable in scale, private-family funding model, and focus on science-based climate solutions.
• ClimateWorks Foundation: A private climate-focused foundation that funds policy, innovation, and communication initiatives globally. Most directly comparable as a private grantmaker exclusively focused on accelerating science-based climate solutions.
• Schmidt Family Foundation: A private family foundation funding climate, conservation, and science initiatives with a grants-plus-convening model. Comparable in family-funded, climate-science-focused grantmaking structure and engagement of media and policy channels.
• Energy Foundation: A private foundation that pools philanthropic capital to fund clean energy and climate policy advocacy. Directly comparable as a grantmaking foundation dedicated to science-based climate and energy transition outcomes.

Others

• Citizens' Climate Education / Citizens' Climate Lobby: An advocacy and education organization that partners with VoLo Foundation on climate policy events and content. Comparable as a partner ecosystem member within VoLo's network, though its mission is advocacy rather than grantmaking.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/VoLoFoundation
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCkRiLins-I99v5oAKTeadQw
• Facebookfacebook.com/VoLoFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/18434986/admin/updates
• Instagraminstagram.com/volofoundation
• TikToktiktok.com/@volofoundation?

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about VoLo Foundation