Environment Now

What Environment Now does

Environment Now is a private nonprofit foundation established in December 1989 by Frank and Luanne Wells in Southern California, now operating from Redwood City, CA. The organization protects and restores California's waters, forests, and air through strategic grantmaking, advocacy, litigation support, and coalition building rather than through technology products or commercial services. Environment Now operates four core programmatic areas: a Water Program addressing clean and sufficient water access; a Forests Program protecting California's 20 million acres of national forests from commercial logging; a Climate Change Program targeting fossil fuel phase-out; and an Environmental Rights Program advancing legal recognition of rights of nature. The foundation sustains a network of hundreds of partner organizations including NRDC, Center for Biological Diversity, LA Waterkeeper (which it founded in 1993), California Coastkeeper Alliance (launched 2000 with Environment Now support), John Muir Project, and tribal partners including the Yurok Tribe.

The organization does not develop proprietary technology platforms; its core operational mechanism is the Revolving Litigation Fund, which has filed and completed 48 cases with a 79% recovery rate on $1.7M expended as of 2020. Environment Now does not accept unsolicited proposals, instead partnering closely with selected conservation groups, tribal communities, and environmental justice advocates through a curated, entrepreneurial approach. The business model is philanthropic endowment-funded grantmaking with no commercial revenue streams, no pricing structure, and no GTM motion beyond direct partner engagement and earned media through litigation outcomes.

The foundation's measurable impact includes an 89% reduction in commercial logging on California national forests since 1989, a landmark $2 billion settlement with the City of Los Angeles over sewage contamination, removal of four Klamath River dams in 2024 reopening 500+ miles of fish habitat, and prevention of 350 million gallons of toxic road runoff annually. Leadership comprises three core staff: Executive Director Linda Sheehan (former Senior Counsel at Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, co-founder of Earth Law Center), Forest Program Director Doug Bevington (PhD, UC Santa Cruz), and Program and Grants Officer Brandi Lasch (formerly Program Officer at Heising-Simons Foundation). The organization is governed by a Board of Directors including Kevin Wells, Deborah Sivas, Paul Heeschen, Dan Emmett, David Beckman, and Robert Wells (Emeritus).

Name

Environment Now

Legal name

Environment Now

Website

https://environmentnow.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Environment Now is a private nonprofit foundation, founded in 1989 by Frank and Luanne Wells, that protects California's waters, forests, and air through strategic grantmaking, litigation support, and coalition building with hundreds of partner organizations across California and Baja California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Philanthropy and Advocacy

NAICS

Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF), Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD), Land Trusts & Protected Areas (BPAGAGAC)

Keywords

• Environmental grantmaking
• Conservation advocacy
• Water protection
• Forest conservation
• Environmental litigation

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Foundation Grantmaking and Philanthropy: As a private nonprofit foundation created by Frank and Luanne Wells in December 1989, Environment Now operates through grantmaking to partner organizations. The organization does not generate revenue from products or services but rather deploys philanthropic resources to advance environmental protection causes in California.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Environment Now is a private nonprofit foundation that protects and restores California's waters, forests, and air through grantmaking, strategic advocacy, litigation support, and coalition-building with conservation partners. The organization operates four core program areas (Water, Forests, Climate Change, and Rights) and funds a Revolving Litigation Fund that supports environmental lawsuits. It does not accept unsolicited proposals but partners directly with selected environmental, tribal, and social justice organizations.

Product overview

Environment Now is a private nonprofit foundation (not a technology company) that protects and restores California's environment through grantmaking, advocacy, litigation support, and coalition building. The organization operates four core environmental programs—Water, Forests, Climate Change, and Environmental Rights—alongside supporting initiatives like the Revolving Litigation Fund and water quality monitoring tools. Rather than a unified software platform, Environment Now functions as an action-oriented philanthropy that invests in grassroots partners, innovative strategies, and legal advocacy to achieve measurable environmental results.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• LA Waterkeeper: Formerly known as Santa Monica Baykeeper, this is a Waterkeeper affiliate focused on protecting Santa Monica Bay and coastal waters from pollution.

Products and services

• Water Program
• Forests Program
• Climate Change Program
• Environmental Rights Program
• Revolving Litigation Fund

Quantifiable outcome

• 89% reduction in commercial logging on California national forests since 1989
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and emerging.

• Ridges to RifflescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEN partner that won federal appellate ruling reaffirming the Bureau of Reclamation's duty to prioritize flows for endangered Klamath River fish.
• Yurok TribecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEN partner that won federal appellate ruling with Ridges to Riffles on Klamath River water flows for endangered fish.
• Earthrise Law CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner that worked with EN to get the Forest Service to withdraw its logging project in the Nelder sequoia grove of Sierra National Forest.
• LA Waterkeeper (formerly Santa Monica Baykeeper)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWaterkeeper organization established by EN in 1993; has won major stormwater and sewage litigation including $2 billion settlement with City of Los Angeles.
• California Coastkeeper AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEN helped launch CCKA in 2000 to coordinate Southern California Waterkeepers' pollution and habitat restoration work and provide statewide advocacy support.
• John Muir ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEN has funded this network of grassroots organizations to monitor California's national forests and challenge harmful logging projects in court since the 2000s.
• NRDCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term litigation partner on stormwater cases, San Joaquin River restoration, and various Clean Water Act enforcement actions since the 1990s.
• Center for Biological DiversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner that secured California and federal Endangered Species Act protection for Pacific fisher, challenged biomass facilities, and conducted extensive forest litigation.
• Waterkeeper Organizations (Network)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEN built and supports a 'picket line' of Waterkeeper organizations spanning the coast from Cabo San Lucas to Santa Barbara, including LA Waterkeeper, Ventura Coastkeeper, San Diego Coastkeeper, Orange County Coastkeeper, Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, and Baja Waterkeepers.
• Friends of the RivermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner that secured California Endangered Species Act listing for summer steelhead trout and pursued San Joaquin River restoration.
• Antarctic Rights InitiativeemergingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEN partners spearhead this initiative with nature's rights advocates and leading Antarctica experts to advance legal recognition of Antarctic rights.
• Eco Jurisprudence MonitormajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Oregon initiative that tracks rights of nature initiatives globally and links to official documents for research and modeling.
• MothlifeemergingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEN partners announcing the 2026 More than Human Life Festival of Ideas, convening global experts to explore research and action towards recognizing moral, legal, and social worth of the more-than-human world.
• Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature (GARN)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEN partners attended the first International Conference on the Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels with over 50 nations, calling for phase out of fossil fuels.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Earthjustice: Premier U.S. environmental litigation organization with deep California roots. Comparable as a litigation-driven environmental advocacy group, but operates as a direct legal services organization rather than a grantmaking foundation, making it a complementary rather than directly overlapping entity.
• Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Long-term EN partner on stormwater, San Joaquin River restoration, and Clean Water Act enforcement. While NRDC is larger and operates as a direct advocacy organization rather than a foundation, it is highly comparable in mission alignment and shared litigation portfolio.
• Patagonia (environmental advocacy): Activist outdoor apparel company funding grassroots environmental campaigns and litigation. Comparable in supporting bold, action-oriented California and global environmental advocacy, but combines commercial operations with advocacy rather than operating as a pure foundation.

Broad incumbents

• MacArthur Foundation: Major U.S. foundation with significant climate solutions grantmaking. Comparable as a high-conviction, long-horizon environmental funder, but operates globally across many issue areas at materially greater scale than Environment Now.
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund: Established U.S. foundation with a significant climate and sustainable development grantmaking program. Comparable as a strategic, mission-aligned grantmaker with similar convening and advocacy roles but with a global geographic footprint and substantially larger endowment.
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: One of the largest U.S. foundations, with a substantial environment program funding California conservation, climate, and Western water policy. Comparable as a California-anchored environmental funder but operates at materially greater scale and broader issue scope.
• David and Lucile Packard Foundation: Major foundation with a long-standing ocean and California-landscape conservation portfolio. Comparable in issue area (marine and coastal conservation, forestry) but with substantially larger assets and a broader programmatic remit.
• Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation: Large U.S. foundation with major environmental grantmaking on land, water, and climate. Comparable in California-focused environmental philanthropy and litigation support but with significantly greater scale and broader geographic reach.

Direct peers

• Pisces Foundation: California-focused environmental foundation with a similarly small team and entrepreneurial grantmaking approach. Highly comparable because Pisces Foundation's president serves on EN's board and both organizations concentrate on bold, action-oriented environmental strategies in California.
• Heising-Simons Foundation: Major U.S. foundation with significant environmental and climate grantmaking. Highly comparable because EN's Program and Grants Officer previously led capacity-building grantmaking at Heising-Simons, and both foundations fund California-based environmental advocacy and litigation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/environment-now

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Environment Now