Why Should Philanthropy Be First In on Climate? Randall Kempner on Catalytic Capital | RootsToFoods Capital Series

RootsToFoods Capital Series · Wave 2, Episode 6 · Capital Insight Brief

Why Should Philanthropy Be First In on Climate? Randall Kempner on Catalytic Capital

Philanthropy is the capital that moves when nothing else will, according to Randall Kempner, executive director of the Climate Philanthropy Catalyst Coalition. It can take more risk over longer time horizons and build the ecosystem conditions no commercial actor can justify building alone. It does not close the deployment gap directly. It builds the infrastructure through which every other form of capital moves.

Guest: Randall Kempner, Executive Director, Climate Philanthropy Catalyst Coalition; President, Prosperity Strategies

Host: Ovidiu Bujorean, Chief Executive Officer, OviBees Ventures

Series: RootsToFoods Capital Series, produced by OviBees Ventures with AV Ventures (an ACDI/VOCA affiliate) as founding partner and AllAfrica Global Media as media partner

Episode: Wave 2, Episode 6: "Catalytic Capital: How Philanthropy Shapes Climate Investment" (Wave 2 opening episode, "The Philanthropic Engine")

Published: September 8, 2026

Key takeaways

Randall Kempner, executive director of the Climate Philanthropy Catalyst Coalition, argues that philanthropy is a distinct category of capital, not a synonym for blended finance, because it can take more risk, over a longer period, with social impact as its only goal.
Less than 2% of global philanthropy goes to climate, and even that share is the highest it has ever been.
In a survey of U.S. foundations cited by Kempner, 80% said they do not fund climate because "it's not on our mission statement," even though climate affects every mission.
U.S. foundations must pay out 5% of their assets each year. Kempner asks why the other 95% of the endowment is not also working for the mission.
A $50 million foundation gives away about $2.5 million a year. The remaining $47.5 million could be invested in line with its mission, as the Russell Family Foundation has shown.
In climate, the deployment gap is also an intent gap: most philanthropists have not made climate a priority.
Kempner makes the case for "changing the battlefield" toward Brazil, Indonesia, India and parts of Africa, where governments, businesses and populations are more receptive to climate action.

"Philanthropy should be the first in, period. Because it has a unique role: it can take more risk, support pilots, build ecosystems, and recognise that its goal is completely social impact. Its job is to do the research, be the guarantor, and put its money in knowing it is at risk, so that others can follow."

Randall Kempner, Executive Director, Climate Philanthropy Catalyst Coalition, RootsToFoods Capital Series, Episode 6

Why climate's deployment gap is also an intent gap

In other development sectors, capital intent often exists and the deployment infrastructure is what is missing. Climate philanthropy has an earlier problem: interest. Most philanthropists have not prioritized climate. The mechanisms exist; the mindset has not shifted. Complexity, uncertain impact measurement and institutional inertia keep foundations in familiar territory, even as climate change makes every cause they do care about harder.

The endowment, not the grant

Kempner argues that philanthropy's biggest lever is the endowment. A $50 million foundation disburses about $2.5 million a year. The other $47.5 million is also available and could be invested fully in line with the foundation's mission. His example is the Russell Family Foundation, which has aligned its endowment investment strategy almost completely with its philanthropic mission while keeping financial discipline. The wall between grant-making and investment, he says, does not have to exist.

Changing the battlefield

Faced with political headwinds, philanthropists have three options: keep fighting with different tactics, change the battlefield, or leave. Kempner argues for changing the battlefield. Brazil, Indonesia, India and parts of Africa have receptive governments, business communities and populations, and a molecule of carbon reduced there has exactly the same global effect as one reduced in Indiana. Philanthropic collaboratives forming around nature-based solutions and specific climate pathways are the vehicles for that shift.

What is working

Philanthropic collaboratives

Forest & People Climate, Global Methane Hub, FoodSystem Innovations and ORCA (ocean resilience) pool resources around specific high-impact solutions, reaching the scale needed to work in emerging markets.

Bespoke advisory for high-net-worth donors

Groups that work directly with billionaires and millionaires help unlock capital that is held back by information gaps and risk perception, not by a lack of resources.

A focus on nature-based solutions

Preserving existing rainforests, mangroves and carbon sinks in the Amazon and the Congo Basin is, in Kempner's view, the highest-leverage climate investment available. It is also where geography and philanthropic interest overlap most.

What is not working

Mission-investment misalignment

Most foundations keep their investment portfolio strictly separate from their philanthropic goals, leaving 95% of their assets working against, or independently of, their mission.

Complexity paralysis

Climate touches many systems and its impact is hard to attribute, so foundations get stuck instead of acting. Too many mechanisms, not too few, create decision paralysis.

Institutional inertia

Mission statements change slowly, and most foundations never ask how climate change affects their existing goals, even though the honest answer is that it affects all of them.

Frequently asked questions

What can philanthropy do that investors, DFIs and governments cannot?

According to Randall Kempner, executive director of the Climate Philanthropy Catalyst Coalition, speaking on the RootsToFoods Capital Series, philanthropy can "take more risk over a longer time period." Because its goal is purely social impact, it can fund research, support pilots, act as guarantor and put money in knowing it is at risk, so that other capital can follow.

Why do so few foundations fund climate?

Less than 2% of global philanthropy goes to climate. In a U.S. foundation survey cited by Kempner, 80% of foundations said they do not fund climate because it is not in their mission statement. Kempner adds that complexity, hard-to-measure impact and institutional inertia keep foundations in familiar territory, even though climate affects every cause they fund.

How can a foundation use its endowment to advance its mission?

U.S. foundations must pay out 5% a year, which leaves 95% of the endowment invested. Kempner argues that this larger share can also be invested in line with the mission. For a $50 million foundation, that means $47.5 million working for the mission alongside the $2.5 million in annual grants. He cites the Russell Family Foundation as an example of near-complete alignment.

Where should climate philanthropy focus in the face of political headwinds?

Kempner argues for changing the battlefield: shifting effort to places such as Brazil, Indonesia, India and parts of Africa, where governments, businesses and populations are more receptive. A molecule of carbon reduced there has exactly the same global impact as one reduced in Indiana. He points to nature-based solutions, such as protecting rainforests in the Amazon and the Congo Basin, as the highest-leverage opportunity.

When does field building in philanthropy work?

"When trust exists across key players in the field," Kempner says. "It stalls when that trust breaks down."

Data points

Figure	What it means	Source
<2%	Share of total global philanthropy directed toward climate, a figure that has never been higher.	Climate Philanthropy Catalyst Coalition, RootsToFoods Capital Series, Episode 6
80%	Share of U.S. foundations surveyed that said they do not fund climate because "it's not on our mission statement."	U.S. foundation survey cited by Randall Kempner, Episode 6
5% / 95%	Annual payout requirement for U.S. foundations; the share of the endowment that remains invested and could also serve the mission.	U.S. foundation payout rules, discussed Episode 6
$50M / $2.5M / $47.5M	Example foundation endowment; its approximate annual disbursement; the remainder available for mission-aligned investment.	Randall Kempner, Episode 6

Rapid insights: Randall Kempner's verbatim closing answers

The thing philanthropy can do that no investor, DFI or government can do is…

"Take more risk over a longer time period."

Capital moves across the deployment gap when philanthropy does this one specific thing…

"Takes the first step. Takes the risk to move money."

The mechanics of field building work when installed, and stall when…

"When trust exists across key players in the field. It stalls when that trust breaks down."

Too much philanthropic capital is going to… and not enough is going to…

"Too much going to physical buildings with philanthropist names on them. Not enough going to climate."

The most powerful thing a foundation could do tomorrow that it probably is not doing today is…

"Aligning its investment strategy with its philanthropic mission."

Climate philanthropy at its best looks like…

"Driving capital to the most impactful climate solutions in a way that crowds in additional funders."

Practical implications for capital allocators

For a family office, development finance institution or institutional investor with a climate or development mandate, Kempner's argument is that the philanthropic actors in your co-investment ecosystem are more than grant-makers. They build the infrastructure that decides whether your capital has a viable field to enter. Foundations that invest their endowments in mission-aligned vehicles, build collaboratives that pool smaller donors and fund unglamorous ecosystem organizations are your upstream partners in closing the deployment gap. Their first-in capital is what makes your follow-on capital viable. The question is whether you know which philanthropic actors in your geographies are doing the field-building work that will shape your investment conditions three to five years from now.

About the practitioner and the host

Randall Kempner is executive director of the Climate Philanthropy Catalyst Coalition and president of Prosperity Strategies.

Ovidiu Bujorean works at the intersection of capital deployment, entrepreneurship ecosystem building and global venture acceleration. Chief executive of OviBees Ventures and designer and host of the RootsToFoods Capital Series, he brings more than 25 years of experience in impact investing, blended finance and cross-sectoral partnerships to globalizing promising early-stage companies. As architect and senior manager of the U.S. Department of State's Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Initiative under the Obama Administration, he built a global advisory council and mentor network spanning 50 entrepreneurship organizations across Africa, the Middle East, Turkey and Southeast Asia. He serves on the boards and advisory councils of the Corporate Council on Africa, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, ANDE and Convergence, and his work has been featured in Forbes, CNBC Africa, Al Jazeera and AllAfrica, among other outlets worldwide. Fluent in English and French, he holds a master's in public administration from Harvard Kennedy School and an MBA from MIT, and was selected for Marquis Who's Who in America in 2024. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/bujorean

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