Adam McKay Pledges $4 Million Donation to Climate Emergency Fund, Joins Board of Directors to Support Climate Activists
The Academy Award Winning filmmaker’s donation marks largest commitment to Climate Emergency Fund to support non-violent disruptive protest to spur urgent action combating climate change
Contact: Press@cefund.org
New York, N.Y., September 20, 2022 - Climate Emergency Fund and Adam McKay, the Academy Award winning director of Don’t Look Up, Vice and The Big Short, today announced he has pledged $4million to the fund, which makes grants to climate activists. A longtime environmentalist and climate activist, this is McKay’s largest donation ever, on any issue, “by an order of magnitude,” as well as the largest personal donation in Climate Emergency Fund history. McKay has also joined the board of directors of Climate Emergency Fund, where he will help support strategic decision making and fundraising.
“We founded Climate Emergency Fund because activism works – history makes that clear. Grassroots movements are the fastest and most effective way to create transformative change, which is exactly what we need right now. Adam is a visionary filmmaker and philanthropist, and we are excited to formally welcome him to our board,” Climate Emergency Fund Co-Founder Rory Kennedy said.
Adam McKay said, “The Climate Emergency Fund is unique in their commitment to funding, civil, non-violent, disruptive activism. We are past time for politeness, past time for baby steps. I am proud to support their efforts and call on others to join me in doing everything we can to stave off the rapidly worsening impact of the climate crisis.”
“Over the last 3 years, Adam has become a dedicated and passionate climate activist. He is using his extraordinary talents to make films about the climate, using his platform to advocate for emergency action, and using his resources to support the brave activists on the ground. He is providing visionary moral leadership. We are honored to have him.” said Climate Emergency Fund Executive Director Margaret Klein Salamon, PhD.
McKay’s donation will allow Climate Emergency Fund to continue its support of disruptive action protest in the US and beyond, especially its foundational investment in the A22 Network, a group of 11 organizations in 11 Western democracies, including Just Stop Oil (UK), Letzte Generation (Germany), and Save Old Growth (Canada). These groups, and their global coalition partners Scientist Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion who are also supported by Climate Emergency Fund, are dedicated to spurring elected leaders into taking immediate action to avert climate disaster. This investment will enable Climate Emergency Fund to deploy resources to A22 to help with recruitment and training for a mobilization campaign this fall and scale its sustained, disruptive, non-violent resistance to ultimately win legislative change.
“Scientists taking direct action is a powerful statement that underlines the need for systemic change. Our work and the work of many others at the forefront of the global climate movement wouldn’t be possible without the deep and ongoing support of Climate Emergency Fund. I'm heartened to see people with a global platform like Adam McKay support our work and call others in to join the movement,” said Rose Abramoff, Ecologist and activist with Scientist Rebellion.
In support of McKay’s donation, producer, philanthropist, and social activist Abigail Disney will also be announcing a $200k commitment to Climate Emergency Fund. “Past generations have failed us, and now it’s up to us to take swift action to avert climate disaster,” Disney said. “I’m proud to stand with Adam to lift up the brave activists Climate Emergency Fund supports and call in others to do the same. We do not have time to waste.”
Climate Emergency Fund was formed as a bridge between philanthropy and climate activism. As a non-endowed fund, Climate Emergency Fund relies on donors to raise the funds which Climate Emergency Fund then strategically deploys to activist groups that utilize disruptive protest and demand transformative as opposed to incremental change. Climate Emergency Fund's grants provide support for essential and lawful aspects of the climate movement, in particular, the recruitment and training of activists.
Research has shown that activist groups like those supported by Climate Emergency Fund are more effective than traditional environmental groups in helping drive down emissions.
Those who wish to support the Climate Emergency Fund and its grantees can donate at www.climateemergencyfund.org/?form=donate
More information about Climate Emergency Fund can found online at www.climateemergencyfund.org/
Follow Climate Emergency Fund on social media for the latest updates on climate activism around the world: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn.
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About Climate Emergency Fund
Climate Emergency Fund (Climate Emergency Fund) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that makes strategic grants to empower the movement that is waking up the public to the climate emergency through nonviolent disruptive protest. Climate Emergency Fund is an intermediary between funders and grassroots campaigns that demand transformation,not reform. We work to raise and strategically deploy funds to the boldest, most effective efforts. Vox named Climate Emergency Fund one of the highest impact, most cost-efficient organizations addressing climate to give to in 2020 and 2021.
Learn more at www.climateemergencyfund.org
About Adam McKay
Academy Award-winning writer/director/producer Adam McKay's most recent feature, Don’t Look Up, received four Academy Award and BAFTA nominations including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, as well as a WGA Original Screenplay win for McKay. Don't Look Up is one of Netflix’s most successful films of all time and stars Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo DiCaprio as two low-level astronomers who must go on a giant media tour to warn mankind of an approaching comet that will destroy Earth. His 2018 feature, Vice, received eight Academy Award nominations, six Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations, meanwhile McKay earned a WGA nomination as well as the WGAW’s 2019 Paul Selvin Award for his screenplay, and a DGA nomination. In 2015, McKay and Charles Randolph adapted Michael Lewis’s New York Times best-selling book, The Big Short. McKay and Randolph won Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards, BAFTA, WGA and USC Scripter Awards. Previously, McKay co-wrote and directed iconic comedies Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby and Step Brothers. Other work includes his role as a producer on Searchlight Pictures' social thriller Fresh, directed by Mimi Cave and The Menu directed by Mark Mylod. For television, McKay is an executive producer on the critically acclaimed HBO show Succession. McKay directed the pilot for which he won the 2018 DGA Award for Drama Series. In addition, he executive produced and directed the pilot of HBO’s drama series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. McKay's upcoming work includes the HBO limited series inspired by Bong Joon Ho's Academy Award Best Picture Parasite and a limited series based on Miami Herald investigative reporter Julie K. Brown’s book about Jeffrey Epstein.
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