OVERVIEW: Cargill supports international and community-based approaches to combat ecosystem degradation and climate change on coastal, river, tropical forest, and grassland communities.
IP TAKE: Cargill’s past grantmaking indicates that the foundation does pay attention to community-based organizations, and does not restrict its focus to large national and international organizations.
PROFILE: The Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies is an umbrella organization that comprises the foundations established by Cargill and her heirs. In 1995, she founded the Akaloa Foundation—so named to preserve her anonymity—and followed that with the Anne Ray Foundation in 1996. The Margaret A. Cargill Foundation was created out of her estate after her death in 2006. The MACP supports efforts to "enhance the quality of life and prevent and relieve the suffering of children, families, and seniors; preserve and promote the environment and the arts; and encourage the humane treatment of animals." The MACP's grantmaking strategies address seven areas: arts and cultures, disaster relief and recovery, environment, animal welfare, quality of life, teachers, and legacy and opportunity.
MACP’s environment program funds “community-based solutions that help address ecosystem degradation at scale.” Grants for coastal ecosystems help “communities in coastal ecosystems develop strategies to sustain themselves in harmony with their environment,” and address the consequences of “rising sea levels and other climate change impacts.” Grants for freshwater ecosystems are targeted at “important river basins and the development of sustainable strategies for the communities who depend on these ecosystems to thrive.” Grants for tropical forests help communities “develop symbiotic strategies to sustain themselves and their vital forest ecosystems.” Finally, grasslands grants support “grassland-dependent communities with community-based conservation programs and sustainable strategies to preserve these vanishing ecosystems.”
Grants generally range from $200,000 to $3 million. Past grantees include Climate and Land Use Alliance, Alliance for Conservation Evidence and Sustainability, and the Center for Marine Conservation in Bali, Indonesia.
The MACP does not currently accept unsolicited requests for support.
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