Wyss Foundation Commits $1 Billion for Conservation: Grants Roundup

By M.J. Prest
Senior Editor, Solutions

The Wyss Foundation has pledged $1 billion to buy and protect land and water sources to keep 30 percent of the planet's landmass in a natural state by 2030. Peru

November 7, 2018 | Read Time: 2 minutes

Here are notable new grant awards compiled by the Chronicle:

Wyss Foundation

$1 billion pledge to the Wyss Campaign for Nature to buy and protect water sources and land in an effort to keep 30 percent of the planet’s landmass in a natural state by 2030. Of the grants already awarded, the Nature Conservancy received $6.9 million to expand its Blue Bonds for Conservation program in the Caribbean and create a sustainable agriculture zone and protected area covering more than 200,000 acres in Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin. The foundation is the creation of Swiss-born billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, who lives in Wyoming.

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation

$85 million over six years to the Diagnostic Excellence Initiative, which aims to help doctors and hospitals reduce misdiagnoses and other medical errors, particularly among patients with heart problems and cancer.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

$30 million over five years to the Coalition for Operational Research on Neglected Tropical Diseases for research programs to control or eliminate five neglected tropical diseases and address governmental obstacles in countries where these diseases flourish.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation

$10 million to the Hospital for Special Surgery to endow and rename the Complex Joint Reconstruction Center and expand its clinical, research, and educational programs.

ECMC Foundation

$2 million to the North Carolina State College of Education to enhance and strengthen research on postsecondary career and technical education.

X Prize Foundation

$1.8 million to the Skysource/Skywater Alliance for its high-volume water generator, which extracts more than 2,000 liters of water a day from the atmosphere using renewable energy.

Wells Fargo

$1.1 million pledge to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund to provide leadership training to students at historically black colleges and universities.

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation

$1 million to the University of Southern California’s Sol Price Center for Social Innovation for the Homeless Policy Research Institute, which conducts policy research and programs to reduce chronic homelessness in Los Angeles County.

New Grant Opportunity

The Center for Craft is accepting applications for its Materials-Based Research Grant, which gives up to $15,000 per grant to organizations and teams of researchers conducting interdisciplinary research projects that blend artistic craft and the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Applications are due February 8.

Send grant announcements to grants.editor@philanthropy.com.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy subscribers also have full access to GrantStation’s searchable database of grant opportunities. For more information, visit our grants page.

About the Author

M.J. Prest

Senior Editor, Solutions

M.J. Prest is senior editor for solutions at the Chronicle of Philanthropy, where she highlights how nonprofit leaders navigate and overcome major challenges. She has covered stories on big gifts, grant making, and executive moves for the Chronicle since 2004. Her work has also appeared in the Washington Post, Slate.com, and the Huffington Post, and she wrote the young-adult novel Immersion. M.J. graduated from Williams College and after living in many different places, she settled in New England with her husband, two kids, and two rescue dogs.