Environment Initiative Grants

Roy A. Hunt Foundation

In the early 1900s, Roy A. Hunt worked his way up from mill clerk to president of Alcoa, the company his father helped found. After establishing The Hunt Foundation in 1951, he established the Roy A. Hunt Foundation in 1966 as an endowed resource so that future generations could be involved in charitable giving as a family. (The foundations merged in 1994).

Two generations of Hunt family members now serve as Trustees, annually granting approximately $3.4 million in the United States and abroad.

Since inception, our mission has been to support organizations that strive to improve the quality of life through proposals invited by the trustees and through the Foundation’s four main special initiatives. The Roy A. Hunt Foundation values the quality work of its partner organizations, strives to make an impact in many facets of the community – from building stronger networks for healthy, thriving neighborhoods to working toward a greener, cleaner environment – and believes in the importance of strong leadership, community-driven partnerships, and innovative ideas.

Environment

Vision: Living in Harmony

We envision a natural environment that is understood and respected as a web of interconnections of which human beings are a part, where people live in harmony within the Earth’s ecological systems, where biodiversity is preserved as an integral component of economic and technological progress, and where human impact on Earth serves to maintain sustainable processes.

Mission

To protect natural resources and ecosystems in the United States, we support sustainable solutions to altering root causes of environmental damage and encourage education for consumers and decisionmakers.

Objective

To promote strategic activities that create incentives for environmentally responsible decisions in the private sector.

Priorities

Climate and Energy – To reduce the consequences of climate change in the United States, primarily through:

• Increasing the affordability and use of cleaner and renewable energy sources, and
• Reducing demand for carbon-intensive energy sources and carbon-intensive goods and services

Toxics and Waste – To reduce damage to the environment and human health caused by the manufacture, use, and disposal of consumer and industrial products. Typical strategies include green chemistry, sustainable design, sustainable manufacturing, and product stewardship.

Clean Water – To protect and restore the quality of freshwater, coastal, and nearby oceanic areas of the United States.

Types of Foundation Support

The Environment Committee will consider grant requests of between $25,000 and $75,000 for specific projects or programs that improve the environment at a multi-state, national, and/or systems level. Typical costs funded include project management, contracted services, education and outreach programs, applied research, and innovations that could lead to public policy solutions.