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| Greenfields Foundation | |
|---|---|
| Name | Greenfields Foundation |
| Type | Nonprofit foundation |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Daniel Mercer |
| Headquarters | Portland, Oregon |
| Area served | International |
| Focus | Environmental conservation, sustainable agriculture, community development |
| Revenue | $45 million (2023) |
Greenfields Foundation Greenfields Foundation is a private philanthropic organization focused on environmental conservation, sustainable agriculture, and rural community development. Founded in 1998, the foundation operates grantmaking, research, and capacity-building programs across North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia. Its activities include landscape restoration, agricultural extension, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizations.
Greenfields Foundation was established in 1998 by entrepreneur Daniel Mercer after a series of philanthropic commitments that followed his sale of Mercer Agro Holdings. Early projects included reforestation initiatives in the Pacific Northwest and watershed protection in the Columbia River basin, linking the foundation to organizations such as the Nature Conservancy, World Resources Institute, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Oregon State University. In the 2000s the foundation expanded internationally, partnering with International Union for Conservation of Nature, World Wildlife Fund, CARE International, and Heifer International to pilot agroforestry and community-based conservation programs in Kenya and Vietnam. The 2010s saw larger-scale landscape finance experiments in collaboration with African Development Bank, International Finance Corporation, Global Environment Facility, and Rockefeller Foundation. Recent years featured research collaborations with University of Oxford, Columbia University, Stanford University, and University of California, Berkeley focused on carbon sequestration, soil health, and climate resilience.
The foundation's stated mission centers on resilient landscapes and livelihoods through integrated conservation and sustainable agriculture. Core programs include Landscape Restoration Grants, Sustainable Livelihoods Fellowships, Research and Evidence Grants, and a Landscape Finance Facility. Program partners and grantees have included Conservation International, Rainforest Alliance, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Soil Association, National Geographic Society, Food and Agriculture Organization, and Smithsonian Institution. Programmatic emphases tie into multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, and engage national institutions like Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and U.S. Forest Service.
Greenfields Foundation is governed by a board of trustees and administered by an executive leadership team. Past and present board members include leaders from McKinsey & Company, Bank of America, National Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, and academia, with advisory committees drawing expertise from International Union for Conservation of Nature species specialists and agroecology researchers at Michigan State University and Cornell University. Operational units include Grantmaking, Research, Finance, Monitoring and Evaluation, and Policy Engagement. The foundation has regional offices in Nairobi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Toronto and maintains program officers seconded to partner organizations such as Oxfam, Mercy Corps, and World Bank task teams.
As a private foundation, Greenfields Foundation’s endowment-based model blends donor-advised assets with returns from impact investments. Financial instruments have included project grants, concessional loans, and guarantees co-financed with European Investment Bank, KfW, Asian Development Bank, and philanthropic consortia involving Gates Foundation-aligned funds. Annual reports cite disbursements to projects supported by Global Green Growth Institute, Climate Investment Funds, GCF (Green Climate Fund), and regional conservation trusts. Audited financials are periodically reviewed by major accounting firms that work with nonprofits and foundations such as KPMG and Deloitte. The foundation has also seeded blended finance vehicles with participation from BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and regional impact investors.
Greenfields Foundation commissions independent evaluations and meta-analyses to assess outcomes on biodiversity, carbon sequestration, and household incomes. Evaluations have been conducted by institutions including Independent Evaluation Group (World Bank), RAND Corporation, Pew Charitable Trusts researchers, and university teams from University of Cambridge, Yale University, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Reported impacts include hectares of restored forest, tons of carbon removed, and increases in smallholder yields in pilot regions. The foundation’s monitoring framework references indicators used by United Nations Environment Programme and Global Environment Facility project cycles, and it has published method papers in collaboration with International Institute for Environment and Development and Stockholm Environment Institute.
Partnerships span multilateral agencies, research institutions, NGOs, and private-sector actors. Notable affiliations include long-term collaborations with World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, Heifer International, Rockefeller Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and regional bodies like African Union technical units. Research alliances include International Rice Research Institute, CIFOR-ICRAF, and university consortia hosted at Princeton University and University of California, Davis. Financial partnerships involve European Investment Bank, International Finance Corporation, and philanthropic networks such as Council on Foundations and Charity Navigator-listed peer groups.
Critics have raised concerns about land-rights implications of landscape restoration projects and the potential displacement effects reported in some regions, citing cases reviewed by Amnesty International researchers and investigative reporting by outlets such as The Guardian and ProPublica. Environmental justice advocates have engaged with the foundation over consultations with Indigenous communities, referencing standards from United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and critiques published by Survival International. Financial critics have questioned blended finance deals involving major banks like Goldman Sachs and BlackRock for opacity around fees and risk transfer to public funds; these debates have been echoed in analyses by Institute of Development Studies and Overseas Development Institute. The foundation has responded by updating grievance mechanisms, commissioning third-party audits from Transparency International-associated firms, and revising stakeholder engagement policies in line with guidance from International Finance Corporation performance standards.
Category:Environmental charities