Aileen Getty and Rory Kennedy Lead New Climate Fund to Support Activists and Protesters

From The Chronicle of Philanthropy by Julian Wyllie

A marquee group of philanthropists with business and political ties have started the Climate Emergency Fund to provide legal support and other assistance for climate activists who engage in nonviolent protest.

The founders include Trevor Neilson, an investor with ties to celebrity philanthropists, and Rory Kennedy, youngest child of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and the human-rights advocate Ethel Kennedy.

Supporters have collectively pledged $600,000 so far, with $500,000 of it from Aileen Getty, a foundation leader who has invested in HIV/AIDS advocacy work and other social-justice causes.

The new fund will support Extinction Rebellion, an international group that uses civil disobedience to call attention to the risks of “social collapse” resulting from environmental degradation.

Extinction Rebellion LA, an affiliate, and Climate Mobilization will also receive grants that will help them embark on legal protests.

The fund was inspired in part by student protesters like a 16-year-old Swedish activist, Greta Thunberg. It’s organizers said they were working with young activists in the United States like Katie Eder, who leads the Future Coalition, to offer “activist starter kits.” They will be provided with tools like bullhorns and printed materials.

“If you’re a kid who wants to start something, we’ll support you,” Neilson said, adding that “adults have failed you” in confronting climate change.

The fund will also help pay for activist groups’ rent, staff salaries, and legal expenses.

Seeking Broad Support

The founders of the group want to support activists in 100 cities and towns. They are seeking additional money from large foundations as well as smaller donations from the public.

The group is applying for expedited 501(c)(3) status as a tax-exempt nonprofit. They also want to establish a 501(c)(4) to get involved in political advocacy, although fewer details were available about that prospect.

They have joined with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, an advocacy group founded by Ethel Kennedy, to provide legal help for activists. Loeb & Loeb, a law firm in New York, and one of its partners, Marcus S. Owens, a former head of the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS, will be lead counsels to the group.

‘We Can No Longer Wait’

In a telephone interview, Neilson, Kennedy, and Getty described the reasons why they decided to start the Climate Emergency Fund. Neilson and Kennedy live in Malibu, Calif., and were temporarily driven from their homes by recent wildfires, which they say are linked to man-made climate disruption. Getty, who is an heir to the Getty Oil fortune, says it’s important for people to encourage action before it’s too late.

The fund’s founders said many foundations and wealthy individuals who support climate action aren’t giving the issue the urgency it demands. While they didn’t name names, Neilson said it’s important to engage those individuals and institutions in order to get them to fund the activists on the front lines.

Action in the streets is often the best way to force lawmakers to act, they argued. “We are very supportive of people screaming loudly that our government is not taking action,” Neilson said.

While funding that kind of disruptive activity makes some grant makers nervous, educating them about the results will help pull them on board, he said.

‘Insane’ Approach

Neilson previously served as executive director of the Global Business Coalition, a global-health group that was created with investments from Bill Gates, George Soros, and Ted Turner.

Reflecting on his conversations with billion-dollar foundations and leading philanthropists, he said, “The fact that most are still taking a gradualist approach to the climate emergency is absolutely insane.”

“We have a full-blown emergency on our hands, and philanthropists need to act like it,” Neilson said. “The people need to force the government to act — we can no longer wait for them to do what’s right, because it will be too late. Yelling on Twitter doesn’t create enough impact.”

Kennedy said people don’t have to be environmental purists to get involved. “We are all guilty — when we drive a car, when we turn on a light,” she said, emphasizing that everyone should try to be better stewards of the environment.

“This crisis isn’t 10 or 20 or 30 years away; it’s happening now,” she said. “My children are talking about not having children because the world is not going to be a friendly enough place for them. That’s heartbreaking.”

Getty, the primary funder of the initiative so far, said she recognized that her ties to oil money and fossil fuels could raise eyebrows.

“I’m trying to figure this all out myself. I’m aware that the optics are what they are,” she said. “I want to do what’s correct and what’s right.”

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.