The Energy Action Fund (previously called the Green Tech Action Fund) is a left-of-center environmental advocacy nonprofit and the lobbying and advocacy arm of the Energy Foundation, a major pass-through funder to environmentalist organizations and causes. The group was formed in 2008 to conduct advocacy activity and make grants to lobbying and public policy education efforts. It grew substantially in the late 2010s and early 2020s, reporting over $48 million in revenue in 2023. The group provides funding to left-of-center environmental advocacy and activism groups, including the Black Environmental Leaders Action Fund, the BlueGreen Alliance, Environment America, Sierra Club, and ProgressNow. ^{1 2}

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

1. ^[1] “Energy Action Fund.” ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Accessed May 3, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/263390444/202413189349301936/full
2. “Home.” Energy Action Fund. Accessed May 3, 2025. https://energyactionfund.org/
3. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Green Tech Action Fund. 2008. Accessed May 3, 2025.  https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/263390444/2009_12_EO%2F26-3390444_990O_200812
4. “Energy Foundation.” Activist Facts. Accessed May 3, 2025. https://www.activistfacts.com/foundation/88-EnergyFoundation/
5. “About Us.” Energy Foundation. Accessed May 3, 2025. http://www.ef.org/about-us/
6. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Green Tech Action Fund. 2008. Accessed May 3, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/263390444/2009_12_EO%2F26-3390444_990O_200812
7. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Green Tech Action Fund. 2009. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/display_990/263390444/2010_12_EO%2F26-3390444_990O_200912
8. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). Green Tech Action Fund. 2023. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/263390444/202413189349301936/full
9. “Sixteen Thirty Fund, Form 990, 2018 Schedule I – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed July 1, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/264486735/201903169349302565/IRS990ScheduleI
10. “Sixteen Thirty Fund, Form 990, 2019 Schedule I – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed July 1, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/264486735/202033179349303983/IRS990ScheduleI
11. “Sixteen Thirty Fund, Form 990, 2021 Schedule I – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed July 1, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/264486735/202243119349300829/IRS990ScheduleI
12. “Sixteen Thirty Fund, Form 990, 2022 Schedule I – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed July 1, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/264486735/202343149349301424/IRS990ScheduleI
13. “Sixteen Thirty Fund, Form 990, 2023 Schedule I – Nonprofit Explorer.” ProPublica. Accessed July 1, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/264486735/202413169349305461/IRS990ScheduleI
14. “Ryan Werder. Energy Foundation. Accessed May 3, 2025. https://www.ef.org/person/ryan-werder/