What Giving Green does

Giving Green is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization founded in 2019 by Dan Stein, Ph.D., and headquartered in San Francisco, California. The organization conducts rigorous, evidence-based research on climate-change interventions and philanthropy strategy, serving individual donors, family foundations, and institutional philanthropic advisors who seek to allocate climate capital efficiently. Originally incubated within IDinsight, Giving Green became an independent entity in October 2025 under the legal name Giving Green Research Group, supported by a lean team of approximately 13 members.

Giving Green's product surface centers on four primary offerings. First, the Giving Green Fund is a regranting vehicle that pools donations and directs them to a curated slate of high-impact climate nonprofits; $39.3M has been disbursed through the Fund since 2022. Second, the annual "Top Climate Nonprofits" list functions as a flagship research output and donor reference. Third, an open-source Research Library houses the underlying evaluations and methodologies. Fourth, fee-based Climate Philanthropy Consulting services institutional clients. Recent product launches include The Climate Optimizer (a donor decision-support tool), a Discretionary Grants program, biodiversity research, and Puerto Rico-specific research — collectively broadening both cause area and geographic scope.

Giving Green's economic model combines donation-funded operations with consulting revenue. The organization does not charge fees on its regranting Fund or research recommendations to individual donors; operating costs are instead covered by charitable contributions, including major gifts such as a $10M anonymous donation in May 2024 and a $1M contribution from the Ray and Tye Noorda Foundation in April 2024. Consulting engagements with foundations and philanthropic advisors provide a fee-based revenue layer. Cumulative donor influence exceeds $63.5M directed to recommended climate nonprofits, demonstrating measurable downstream capital mobilization beyond the organization's direct operating budget.

Name

Giving Green

Legal name

Giving Green Research Group

Website

https://givinggreen.earth

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Giving Green is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization that conducts rigorous analysis of high-impact climate interventions, helping individual donors, foundations, and philanthropic advisors identify and fund top climate nonprofits through regranting, research, and consulting services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Climate Philanthropy Advisory & Regranting

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental & Climate Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC), Environmental Education & Outreach (BPAGAGAH)

Keywords

• Climate philanthropy research
• Climate nonprofit evaluation
• Climate regranting fund
• Philanthropy advisory services
• High-impact climate giving

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations for Climate Solutions (Giving Green Fund): 100% of donations to the Giving Green Fund are regranted directly to vetted climate nonprofits. This is the primary revenue stream that flows through the organization to end recipients.
2. Operational Donations: Donations to support Giving Green's research and operations. For every $1 invested, the organization unlocks $25.90 for high-impact climate initiatives.
3. Climate Consulting Services: Custom consulting services for individuals, foundations, and businesses seeking personalized climate giving strategies or corporate climate strategy guidance.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Giving Green is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization that evaluates climate nonprofits using a rigorous Scale, Feasibility, and Funding Need framework to identify high-impact giving opportunities. It operates the Giving Green Fund (a regranting vehicle that channels 100% of donations to vetted climate nonprofits), publishes an annual Top Climate Nonprofits list, maintains an open-source research library, and provides custom consulting services to individuals, foundations, and businesses seeking personalized climate philanthropy or corporate climate strategy guidance.

Product overview

Giving Green offers a portfolio of climate philanthropy products centered around its core offerings: the Giving Green Fund (a regranting vehicle that distributes 100% of donations to vetted climate nonprofits), the annual Top Climate Nonprofits list (5-6 rigorously vetted organizations), and an open-source Research Library. The organization also provides Climate Philanthropy Consulting as an add-on service for individuals, foundations, and businesses seeking personalized guidance. The Giving Green Fund serves as the primary distribution mechanism, while the Top Climate Nonprofits list and Research Library form the advisory and educational backbone of the offering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Giving Green Fund A regranting fund that pools donations from individuals and institutions and distributes 100% of contributions to a vetted portfolio of high-impact climate nonprofits. Grants are informed by Giving Green's research and allocated quarterly, with first disbursements made in June 2023.
• Top Climate Nonprofits An annual curated list of 5-6 high-impact climate nonprofits vetted through a rigorous five-step research process using scale, feasibility, and funding need criteria, with recommendations updated annually based on the latest research.
• Climate Philanthropy Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• $63.5M+ in donations influenced to high-impact climate nonprofits
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IDinsightcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIDinsight served as Giving Green's incubator, supporting founder Dan Stein in launching the organization in 2019. Dan Stein continues to serve as a senior advisor to IDinsight.
• Effective Altruism Australia EnvironmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAustralian partner organization working with Giving Green on climate philanthropy initiatives in Australia.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GiveWell: Evidence-based charity evaluation and grantmaking organization focused on global health and poverty. Most directly comparable peer—uses rigorous cost-effectiveness research to identify top charities and operates regranting funds (GiveWell Maximum Impact Fund), mirroring Giving Green's model in an adjacent cause area.
• EarthPercent: Climate giving organization mobilizing donations from the music and creative industries to fund climate solutions. Comparable cause focus and donor mobilization model, though oriented toward industry partnerships.
• Rethink Priorities: Effective altruism-aligned research organization conducting cause prioritization and intervention analysis to inform philanthropists. Director of Research Greer Gosnell previously led research here, evidencing deep methodological overlap.
• Cool Earth: Climate-focused nonprofit that channels donor funds to rainforest protection and Indigenous community partnerships. Operates in the same donor-facing climate giving space, although focused on a narrower intervention set.
• Founders Pledge: Charity evaluation and regranting platform for tech entrepreneurs and employees, with climate as a featured cause area. Operates a similar research-then-regrant model for high-net-worth donors.
• Center for Effective Altruism: Major effective altruism community and grantmaking organization funding high-impact giving, including climate. Operates regranting infrastructure and donor education that parallel Giving Green's offerings.
• The Life You Can Save: Effective altruism-aligned charity evaluator and regranting platform, focused on global poverty. Operates the same evidence-based donation guidance model as Giving Green in an adjacent cause area.

Others

• IDinsight: Former incubator of Giving Green and current strategic partner; provides rigorous data and evidence services to social sector decision-makers. Overlap in evidence-based methodology and shared senior leadership.
• Clean Air Task Force: Climate nonprofit focused on deploying clean energy technologies and policy. Frequently appears on climate charity recommendation lists of the kind Giving Green produces, making it an end-recipient peer within the same ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• ClimateWorks Foundation: Large-scale climate philanthropy platform that channels grants to systemically important climate solutions globally. Board member Dan Plechaty is a strategist there, evidencing direct overlap with Giving Green's recommended nonprofit ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/GivingGreenE
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/giving-green

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 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 Giving Green