Science on a Mission Episode Two: Catalyzing Change with Philanthropy
Our second episode of Science on a Mission focuses on philanthropy. Cortney Newell, Senior Director of Development at Activate, moderated a conversation taped at SXSW 2024 with Olivia Strader of LH Capital/Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Margaret Lee from Prime Coalition, and Pat McGrath from the Schmidt Family Foundation. The conversation explores how philanthropic organizations can uniquely contribute to the advancement of climate tech by leveraging their resources, convening power, and innovative funding strategies.
Strader emphasizes the dual role of investing and giving away capital. Lyda Hill’s approach involves using creative capital tools to drive impact and ensure climate tech innovations can scale from research to commercialization. She also underscores the importance of deploying capital and bringing together various stakeholders to build impactful and scalable solutions.
Lee discusses her organization’s mission to unlock catalytic capital to transform climate finance. With over $300M mobilized towards early-stage climate solutions, Prime Coalition uses philanthropic and mission-aligned capital to bridge funding gaps and support high-impact climate innovations. Lee highlights the importance of additionality—funding projects that wouldn’t otherwise receive investment—and the need for philanthropy to take on risks that other capital sources might shy away from.
McGrath brings a technology development perspective to the discussion. With a background in energy R&D, McGrath emphasizes the critical role of philanthropy in addressing the scaling gap in climate tech. He points out that while philanthropy may not be able to fund large-scale projects alone, it can play a crucial role in convening and collaborating with other funders to make these projects feasible. A key theme is the unique ability of philanthropic organizations to convene diverse stakeholders—from NGOs and government officials to venture capitalists and industry leaders. This convening power allows philanthropies to build comprehensive solutions that go beyond funding.
The discussion also touches on the challenges of measuring impact in climate tech, including the importance of establishing baseline measurements and standards to guide philanthropic investments, the need for patience and risk tolerance in funding early-stage projects, and how philanthropy’s willingness to embrace uncertainty and support innovative solutions is vital for long-term success.
As our panelists note, solving the climate crisis requires all hands on deck, with everyone—from philanthropists to scientists to community members—playing a role. They underscore the hope and dedication driving the climate tech space, encouraging continued innovation, risk-taking, and collaboration to build a sustainable future.