Giving InSight
A Blog for and about Funders Focused on Health and the Environment
In 1999, Michael Lerner at the Jenifer Altman Foundation and his colleagues were concerned that the health of people, wildlife, and ecosystems all were being harmed by toxic pollution, but they saw philanthropy divided by human health and environmental interests. They hired me as a part-time consultant to help them launch a new funder network, to build bridges across environmental and health philanthropy and to expand philanthropy's investment in environmental health. There's only one way for me to wrap up the experiences of the past two decades: with gratitude.
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June 13, 2019 by Daniel Cohn and Rebecca Morley
A new Lead Funders Action Network brings together national, regional, state, and local foundations who are working collaboratively and strategically to address gaps in the field of childhood lead poisoning and make philanthropic investments more synergistic to advance the prevention of the disease.
Photo by Mi Pham for Unsplash
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What can funders do to fight the “silent pandemic” of negative health impacts from chemicals that contaminate our air, food, and water? Jeff Wise, HEFN’s director of strategic programs, outlines the scope of the issue, and ways funders can help drive the systemic reform of toxics in the U.S.
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April 1, 2019 by Juliet Christian-Smith
Juliet Christian-Smith, senior program officer at the Water Foundation, shares her thoughts and previews an introductory guide for funders on how philanthropy can help support sustainable and equitable drinking water solutions.
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March 7, 2019 by Dana Kawaoka-Chen
Dana Kawaoka-Chen, executive director of the Justice Funders, encourages founders to adopt regenerative practices that realize a new vision of philanthropy that redistributes wealth, democratizes power and shifts economic control to communities.
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Who We Are
Steering Committee Member
As Founder of the Healthy Building Network (2000-2022), he oversaw the development and launch of the Pharos Project, a non-profit database providing the most robust hazard, use, and exposure information on over 200,000 chemicals and building products. Today...