The Windward Fund seeks to raise public awareness about the importance of conservation, climate and environmental issues, sustainable food systems, and the protection of land, wildlife, and other natural resources.
The Windward Fund was founded in response to donors who expressed a desire to be more connected to their peers’ work, and to partner with experts in conservation nonprofit management to execute bold initiatives.
The Windward Fund provides a platform for donors committed to building a stronger conservation movement to learn from each other, forge relationships with peers and experts, and collaborate efficiently to make the most of their resources. Windward is managed by staff with deep experience in conservation, climate change, and food systems policy, advocacy, and programs both domestically and abroad. Its staff have a wide network of relationships among conservation donors and nonprofits, and can facilitate convenings to connect like-minded practitioners and help them better work toward their shared goals of protecting the planet and its inhabitants.
Windward is overseen by an independent board of directors that has extensive experience in philanthropy, nonprofit management, and environmental issues.
SERVICES
FISCAL SPONSORSHIP
Windward offers comprehensive fiscal sponsorship to projects that already exist as a legal entity but do not have tax-exempt status. While you run the operations, finances, and programs, Windward accepts donations into a restricted fund and grants them to organizations that support the mission.
COMPLEX HOSTED PROJECTS
Their project hosting experience enables philanthropists to more quickly achieve social goals on even the most complex endeavors. Working in partnership with a dedicated project team, they will put together a suite of support to help you get the project off the ground and scale more quickly and cost-effectively than if you were managing all aspects.
DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL GRANT MAKING
Windward’s team executes domestic and international grant-making projects. Their expertise and sophisticated technological infrastructure enable them to quickly move funds to on-the-ground initiatives so that grantees can implement their programs. Their entire grant-making cycle is 30 days or less, and their web-based grants administration allows applicants easy 24/7 access no matter where they are located.
DONOR COLLABORATIVES
Windward manages many projects on which multiple donors work toward a common goal. They provide a neutral platform that enables donors to work together efficiently. They have built collaboratives from the ground up and helped leading donors establish their project’s infrastructure, set up its advisory board, and coordinate advisory board members and project activities.
ADVOCACY
As a 501(c)(3) public charity, the Windward Fund has the capacity to engage in advocacy and a limited amount of lobbying. Windward’s projects can benefit from their staff and in-house counsel’s compliance expertise to launch campaigns that seek to impact policy change at the state, federal, and international level. They also have the capability to host projects that focus on lobbying and political activities through their sister 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, the Sixteen Thirty Fund.
