AgroEcology Fund (AEF)

The organization was a fiscally sponsored project of New Venture Fund, a fiscal-sponsorship nonprofit managed by Arabella Advisors, a left-leaning consulting firm. ² The organization has also received a significant amount in grants from Open Society Foundations, the left-of-center private grantmaking foundation operated and funded by liberal billionaire activist George Soros. ³

In 2021, the group switched fiscal sponsors from the New Venture Fund to the Global Greengrants Fund. The switch in fiscal sponsors was accompanied by a massive fundraising windfall for the AgroEcology Fund, with the group raising over $100 million a year by 2024. ⁴

Agroecology

The organization advocates what it calls “agroecology,” said to be “blending traditional knowledge with science to find solutions to productivity, fertility, pest control and agrobiodiversity.” The organization also claims that agroecology is a tool that can be used to create “climate resilience,” and offer solutions to poverty and famine. ⁵

The organization claims that agroecology can be a solution to what it claims to be a global “climate crisis.” It claims that the industrialized agricultural practices prevalent in developed countries contribute significantly to global warming and that providing incentives and aid to small farmers would remedy the perceived threats. The organization asserts that “low market prices” and “unfair competition” are detrimental to small farmers and call for organizations to advocate for increased benefits and rights for small and peasant farmers. ⁵

Retired professor David Zaruk labeled agroecology activists as “radical socialists infusing farming practices with their anti-industry, anti-globalization, and anti-capitalist dogma.” He also described agroecology as, “cult dogma that imposes arbitrary political restrictions on agriculture (no industry involvement, no global trade, no innovative technologies, no synthetic inputs…). As a medieval farming ideology, it embraces peasant agriculture, social justice and a holistic, communal approach to food.” ⁴

Funders and Supporters

AgroEcology Fund was established in 2012 by four donor organizations, The Christensen Fund, New Field Foundation, the Swift Foundation, and one “anonymous foundation,” according to the organization’s website. As the organization grew, it welcomed a number of new left-leaning organizations as supporters including the McKnight Foundation, a left-of-center grantmaking entity; the Franciscan Sisters of Mary, a Roman Catholic environmentalist organization; and the Casey and Family Foundation, a left-of-center grantmaking organization that regularly makes large donations to New Venture Fund. ⁶

AgroEcology Fund receives funding from a number of left-of-center organizations. Most notably, the organization receives funding from Open Society Foundations, a large left-of-center grantmaking organization created and funded by liberal mega-donor George Soros. Other organizations listed as donors to AEF include the McKnight Foundation, the David and Lucille Packard Foundation, which donated $50,000 in 2016;⁷ Wallace Global Fund; Ben & Jerry’s Foundation; and the Panta Rhea Foundation. ⁸

AEF also lists a number of left-leaning organizations and coalition entities as “allies” of the organization. Notable among those listed is the Environmental Grantmakers Association, a left-of-center environmentalist organization that was once a project of the Rockefeller Family Fund. ⁸

In 2025 AgroEcology Fund received a grant from Yield Giving, MacKenzie Scott’s philanthropic initiative started in 2022. Scott is the former wife of Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos and gave over $7.16 billion to various organizations in 2025. ⁹

In 2024, the AgroEcology Fund received over $100 million in donations, which is a massive increase from the group raising between $2 million and $3 million annually several years earlier. Part of the reason why the group began to raise much more money is that the group changed fundraising tactics. The group’s fundraising pitch changed to pitching agroecology as a climate mitigation strategy for agriculture, and the group’s new fiscal sponsor, the Global Greengrants Fund, tapped its network of tech billionaires. ¹⁰

Lobbying

Starting in 2024, the AgroEcology Fund began receiving donations for the expressed purpose of using the funds to lobby against conventional agriculture. Among the donors that gave money to encourage lobbying against conventional agriculture were the Waverly Street Foundation, which gave $10 million, and the Ballmer Group, which gave $9 million. The groups gave the AgroEcology Fund money to lobby against conventional agriculture in the countries and international organizations that help regulate agricultural practices around the world. ⁴

In a joint press release with the Waverly Street Foundation, the AgroEcology Fund’s co-director Daniel Moss said “Industrial agriculture is a major contributor to climate change, underwritten by public subsidies and bad policies. With this large investment in the Agroecology Fund the Waverley Street Foundation is demonstrating to the donor community how we can collectively invest in grassroots, movement-led food systems change at scale.” A major part of the Waverly Street Foundation’s donation is meant to fund “Increased power and influence of the networks of farmers and other stakeholders that are advocating for climate-resilient, agroecology-based food systems in targeted countries and regions.” He also advocated for “stronger grassroots capacity for policy advocacy through research-guided strategies.” ¹¹

Palestinian Nationalism

In October 2024, the AgroEcology Fund published on its website an article about how Palestinians were using farms based on agroecology to fight the Israeli occupation. The specific farm profiled had land reclaimed from the wall Israel built in the West Bank to deter Palestinian terrorist attacks. The farm claimed that it was seeking independence from the “occupier’s economy.”  ¹²

Grantmaking

the AgroEcology Fund advocates primarily through grantmaking and gives millions of dollars annually to organizations aligned with its mission. Many of the grants made go to small organizations advocating for agricultural issues and issues related to land. Most of the grants made are to international organizations. The grants primarily go to countries in West Africa, to India, to South Korea, and to countries in South America. It has made grants of $6.1 million to 49 organizations since 2012. ¹³

People

Daniel Moss is the co-director of AgroEcology Fund. He previously worked as a development director for Grassroots International, an organization that financially supports small farmers in developing countries but has also made donations to labor union-aligned worker centers in the United States. He also worked as the South American program director for Oxfam America, an organization advocating for increased international aid from developed countries like the United States. Moss has also authored a number of articles in left-of-center and liberal media outlets such as Huffington Post, and Yes! Magazine. ¹⁴

Angela Cordeiro is the co-director of the AgroEcology Fund. She is an agronomist with over two decades of experience working with non-governmental organizations, the Brazilian government, and the United Nations. She first joined the group in 2015 working on the group’s advisory board. She transitioned to a full-time position with the group in 2019 becoming a program director before eventually being named co-director. ¹⁵