The Portfolio
The Overshoot Funding Challenge supports frontier research programs at 12 leading organizations featured at the Funder Summit in San Francisco this past fall. The goal is to fully fund their 2026 program budgets by the end of Q3.
Participating organizations work on several pathways:
Glacier stabilization to reduce sea-level rise
Frontier super pollutant abatement, removal & forecasting to rapidly counter warming
Sunlight reflection to rapidly counter warming
Open-system carbon removal to return atmospheric CO2 to safe levels over the long term
Strategies to restore Arctic sea ice
Other novel approaches to address overshoot risks
The organizations perform a variety of vital roles across these areas. Many fund and orchestrate scientific research and act as foundational “field builders”; several educate the public and policymakers on these subjects to catalyze greater governmental research leadership; some focus on Global South engagement.
Background on each organization, including contact info, is provided below. Please reach out directly to any of the organizations to explore funding opportunities. You can also contact our team for full proposals and budgets or to discuss any of the organizations.
Organizations
The Alliance for Just Deliberation on Solar Geoengineering (DSG)
FOCUS AREA: Sunlight Reflection
ABOUT: DSG is a non-profit dedicated to fostering just and inclusive deliberation about research and potential use of solar geoengineering. DSG empowers civil society and policy actors to engage in solar geoengineering governance and decision-making.
ORG-REPORTED PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Deepen and expand regional engagement and capacity-building efforts with civil society, youth, and policy actors in climate-vulnerable regions.
Launch and operationalize a Solar Geoengineering Research Governance Consortium (SGRG) to bring research institutions, scientific bodies, and regional partners into a shared research governance framework that moves high-level principles into concrete standards, transparency expectations, and independent oversight.
Invest in and expand communications and literacy initiatives that shape how SRM is understood and discussed in public, ensuring that the narrative isn’t left to technical insiders or bad actors.
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
Crankstart Foundation
Giving Green
Grantham Foundation
LAD Climate Fund
The Navigation Fund
Open Philanthropy
Outlier Projects
CONTACT:
Shuchi Talati, Executive Director
Advanced Research for Climate Emergencies (ARC) Initiative
FOCUS AREA: Sunlight Reflection; Other Novel Approaches; Multi-pathway Public Engagement
ABOUT: The ARC Initiative, a program within Renaissance Philanthropy, accelerates translational R&D to predict, prevent, and prepare for high-risk, under-addressed climate tipping points and cascades.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Arctic Climate Emergency Response (ACER) program: delivering model-observation integration, Arctic field campaigns, preparation for carefully governed small-scale experiments, and decision-grade evidence to inform potential risk-reduction options.
Sulfur Tracking Programme (STP): build the global monitoring, modeling, and attribution infrastructure needed to understand sulfur-cloud feedbacks and evaluate potential pathways to manage this critical and, at present, poorly understood/governed climate risk.
ARC and CEF: Expand these programs as the backbone of a catastrophic-risk response ecosystem; scale ARC’s R&D pipeline, the growing portfolio of programs and field-building efforts
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Anonymous Donors
ARIA (UK Advanced Research & Invention Agency)
The Navigation Fund
Outlier Projects
CONTACT:
Joshua Elliott, Director
Arête Glacier Initiative
FOCUS AREA: Glacier Stabilization
ABOUT: Arête aims to forecast and mitigate catastrophic sea-level rise by advancing frontier glacier science, modeling, and glacial-stabilization research. They aim to improve predictions of glacier collapse and accelerate the development of interventions that could preserve ice-sheet stability.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Deliver next-generation sea-level forecasts by completing Arête’s integrated modeling system, publishing new forecast scenarios, and releasing the first public-ready forecast to support global decision-making.
Build the scientific and operational foundation for field deployment through expanded research investments, new RFPs, sensitivity analyses, and the launch of multi-year field campaigns to collect baseline observations at priority Antarctic sites.
Advance and validate early intervention technologies by designing, prototyping, and testing thermosyphon and water-extraction systems, preparing Arête for limited on-glacier trials starting in 2028.
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Grantham Foundation
John Wolthius
Katsura Fund
Kissick Family Foundation
K Young / The Sky Foundation
Larsen Lam Climate Change Foundation
Marcus Wedner
Michael and Georgette McConnell Foundation
Outlier Projects
The Navigation Fund
CONTACT:
Melissa Barnes, Executive Director
Carbon to Sea Initiative
FOCUS AREA: Open-system Carbon Removal
ABOUT: Carbon to Sea is the leading nonprofit effort to evaluate whether the ocean can safely and permanently remove CO₂ at scale, through a process called ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE). They fund foundational research, deploy field-research sites globally, and work on policy, communications, and sector-governance to build a transparent, science-driven ocean-based carbon removal sector.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Coming soon
Coming soon
Coming soon
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Builder’s Vision
Catalyst for Impact
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Grantham Foundation
Iconiq
Kissick Family Foundation
Oceankind
Ocean Resilience and Climate Alliance (ORCA)
Outlier Projects
The Navigation Fund
Thistledown Foundation
CONTACT:
Antonius Gagern, Executive Director
Cascade Climate
FOCUS AREA: Open-System Carbon Removal
ABOUT: Cascade is a philanthropy-backed nonprofit helping mobilize a comprehensive response to the climate crisis by accelerating high-potential solutions that remain on the margins of mainstream climate action.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Build the agronomic and carbon removal evidence base needed to reduce uncertainty in enhanced rock weathering (ERW) value proposition.
Deliver a step-change reduction in ERW project costs by making the leap to model-based measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV).
Dramatically expand market demand and farmer adoption through strategic policy and market development.
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Frontier
Google
Grantham Foundation
King Philanthropies
Kissick Family Foundation
K Young / The Sky Foundation
Quadrature Climate Foundation
The J.M. Kaplan Fund
The Navigation Fund
The Patrick J. McGovern Foundation
CONTACT:
Dai Ellis, Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Climate Hub
FOCUS AREA: Multi-pathway Public Engagement
ABOUT: The Climate Hub is a high-level advocacy initiative created to close the global gap in climate contingency planning. While mitigation and adaptation remain the world’s top priorities, the Hub seeks to ensure that strategies are in place to manage escalating risks from overshoot, tipping points, ecological disruption, and societal shocks.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Scale and expand the influence of a capable, connected, and politically viable ecosystem for contingency planning.
Build political power by recruiting leaders and influencers across science, politics, civil society, and business to legitimize and drive the agenda.
Defend and expand space for responsible contingency planning in real political arenas.
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
Kissick Family Foundation
Outlier Projects
The Navigation Fund
CONTACT:
Upcoming
The Climate Systems Engineering Initiative CSEI at UChicago
FOCUS AREA: Glacier Stabilization; Sunlight Reflection; Open-system Carbon Removal; Multi-pathway Public Engagement
ABOUT: The CSEI Initiative at UChicago is working to better understand the science, technology, and public policy of Climate Systems Engineering and to educate students who will inform how society navigates a warming planet in the years ahead.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Coming soon
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Not public
CONTACT:
David Keith, Founding Faculty Director
The Degrees Initiative
FOCUS AREA: Sunlight Reflection
ABOUT: The Degrees Initiative is focused on leading the world in building the capacity of developing countries to evaluate solar radiation modification.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Expand and develop work that enhances SRM expertise in the Global South.
Coordinate and fund global SRM impact studies and reports.
Connect SRM experts in the Global South with local policymakers.
CURRENT FUNDERS:
ARIA (UK Advanced Research & Invention Agency)
Coefficient Giving
Crankstart Foundation
LAD Climate Fund
Outlier Projects
Quadrature Climate Foundation
The Navigation Fund
CONTACT:
Andy Parker, Chief Executive Officer
Environmental Defense Fund, Solar Radiation Modification Initiative
FOCUS AREA: Sunlight Reflection
ABOUT: The Environmental Defense Fund’s Initiative on solar radiation modification (SRM) aims to conduct policy-relevant research on SRM and its impacts. Additionally focusing on stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) as a priority.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Design, catalyze, and fund (4) research campaigns on SAI impacts on ecosystems, agriculture, water supply, and large-scale weather systems.
Organize, co-design, and leverage a coalition to drive greater advocacy for SRM research across government and non-government stakeholders, with an emphasis on the global South.
Engage the environmental community and with other SRM research organizations to advocate to advance research in multilateral forums.
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Anonymous Funders
LAD Climate Fund
Outlier Projects
Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
The Navigation Fund
CONTACT:
Lisa Dilling, Associate Chief Scientist
Ocean Visions
FOCUS AREA: Arctic Sea Ice Restoration
ABOUT: Ocean Visions is a non-profit focused on developing and advancing solutions to protect and restore the ocean. They focus on the biggest driver of dangerous change – the climate disruption that is increasing ocean temperatures and levels of acidification.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Advance understanding and close knowledge gaps for 6 high-potential approaches to protect and restore Arctic sea ice.
Scope, design and fundraise for a global Grand Challenge to find bold, new creative ideas to slow the loss of and/or restore Arctic sea ice.
Expand and strengthen a broad-based international coalition to increase visible support for this work.
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
Crankstart Foundation
Kissick Family Foundation
The Navigation Fund
CONTACT:
Brad Ack, Chief Executive Officer
Reflective
FOCUS AREA: Sunlight Reflection
ABOUT: Reflective is a philanthropically-funded initiative focused on sunlight reflection research and equipping the world with data and tools needed to make informed decisions about sunlight reflection.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Justify and design a minimum viable outdoor experiment to constrain aerosol processes.
Build a multi-scale modeling infrastructure that underpins the above experiment and makes decision-relevant stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI) research faster, easier, and more inclusive.
Refine and publish a roadmap for SAI research, backed by uncertainty analysis and costed scenarios, that situates the above aerosol experiment within a finite, stage-gated plan to responsibly evaluate the safety and efficacy of SAI.
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Astera Institute
Crankstart Foundation
John Wolthius
LAD Climate Fund
Open Philanthropy
Outlier Projects
Richard and Sabine Wood
Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
The Navigation Fund
Troper-Wojcicki Foundation
CONTACT:
TBD
Spark Climate Solutions
FOCUS AREA: Frontier Super Pollutant Abatement, Removal & Forecasting
ABOUT: Spark Climate Solutions is a science-driven, philanthropically-funded non-profit that shortens the timeline for managing major climate risks that currently lack solutions such as major sources of unabated emissions.
PRIORITIES FOR 2026-2027:
Livestock Enteric Methane Mitigation: Activate research, policy, and market incentives to support significant enteric methane mitigation and identify key leverage points for decreasing emissions intensity in geographies with high projected growth.
Agricultural Nitrogen Transformation: Increase interest, investment, and progress in this field by collaboratively developing a clear research agenda and evidence base demonstrating that innovation in crop and livestock systems and manure capture and recycling can materially improve nitrogen efficiency and reduce N₂O emissions in real-world systems.
Warming-Induced Emissions: Quantify past, current, and expected future warming-induced emissions, integrate them into global monitoring and inventory frameworks, and assess direct mitigation opportunities where realistic.
Methane Removal: Advance targeted research on high-potential atmospheric methane removal approaches. Build governance frameworks and secure substantial public research funding in the U.S. and Europe.
CURRENT FUNDERS:
Alta Futures
Astera Institute
Ben Eidelson
Benji Jasik
Breakthrough Energy Foundation
Climate Pathfinders Foundation
Conscience Bay Research
Daniel Oldman
Eric Neuner
Giving Green Fund
Jenelle Bray
Jeremy Sokulsky
John Jersin
Julie and George O'Brien Fund
Kirsti and Bryant Chou
Kissick Family Foundation
K Young/ The Sky Foundation
Newman Family Charitable Fund
PACT
Primordium
Quadrature Climate Foundation
Ross Boucher
Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs
The Adirondack Foundation
The Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust
The Breakout Foundation
The Cohler Family Foundation
The Grantham Foundation
The Leila Yassa & David Mendels Fund
The Navigation Fund
Valhalla Foundation
Vivo Foundation
Wedner Family Foundation
XTX Markets Philanthropy
CONTACT:
Erika Reinhardt, Executive Director