Energy Action Fund

Background

The Energy Action Fund was founded in 2008 as the “Green Tech Action Fund” and is the 501(c)(4) lobbying and advocacy funding arm of the Energy Foundation, also known as the United States Energy Foundation, a left-of-center “pass through” charitable foundation founded by and supported by a network of left-wing organizations. ³ The Foundation began in January 1991 as a $20 million collaboration between the Pew Charitable Trusts, Rockefeller family foundations, and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and has subsequently grown in partnerships and funding. ^{4 5}

When the Green Tech Action Fund was founded by the Energy Foundation in 2008, the group reported that it was established to “support public policy, advocacy, and educational work designed to promote clean energy technologies and energy efficiency and thereby reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.” ⁶

During the group’s first full year in operation in 2009, it dispersed funds to the NRDC Action Fund, the Sierra Club, the Tides Center, and the BlueGreen Alliance. ⁷

According to the group’s website, the organization funds programs focused on public policy, engaging elected officials, and holding politicians “accountable” for their positions on environmental issues. ²

Grantmaking

The Energy Action Fund routinely distributes between $10 million and $15 million in grants to left-of-center environmental organizations annually. Groups funded by the Energy Action Fund include the Alliance for a Green Economy, American Sustainable Business Institute, Arizona Public Interest Research Group, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Black Environmental Leaders Action Fund, the BlueGreen Alliance, Environment America, Sierra Club, ProgressNow, California Environmental Voters, Center for Biological Diversity, Clean Fuels Michigan, Clean Power Campaign, Clean Water Action, Physicians for Social Responsibility, New Jersey Working Families Alliance, and the Michigan League of Conservation Voters. ⁸

Funding

Between 2018 and 2023, the Energy Action Fund received $8,306,500 from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a left-of-center lobbying and advocacy organization that often operates alongside its charitable “sister” nonprofit New Venture Fund, which provides similar funding and fiscal sponsorship services to center-left organizations. Both groups are administered by Arabella Advisors, a Washington, D.C.-based philanthropy consulting firm that caters to left-leaning clients. ^{9 10 11 12 13}

Leadership

As of 2025, Ryan Werder was the executive director of the Energy Action Fund. He was also a senior advisor at the Energy Foundation, where he worked with the group’s program team to lead campaigns on climate activism. He had previously ran the foundation’s Midwest office, and prior to joining the Energy Foundation was deputy director for the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and a staffer for former U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI). ¹⁴