The High Tide Foundation is a left-of-center foundation that funds other organizations in an effort to curtail conventional fuel use, advocate for carbon offset credits, reduce methane-gas emissions, and fight global warming. The High Tide Founded provided funding for a new center at Yale University’s School of Public Health to argue global warming is a public health concern. ^{1 2}

The High Tide Foundation has funded environmentalist organizing, legal opposition to pipelines, and retrofitting maritime vessels to reduce carbon emissions with the potential of imposing a carbon tax on cargo ships. The High Tide Foundation continues to fund satellite research to track carbon emissions and other environmental concerns. The High Tide Foundation seeks to transform agriculture and food systems, referring to them as major contributors to global warming. ¹

History

Founded in 2004 as the “Overlook International Foundation,” the organization began using the name the High Tide Foundation in 2018. It provides grant money to organizations fighting global warming and supporting other environmentalist endeavors. ³

Positions

The two areas of focus for the High Tide Foundation are methane gas and carbon credits. ⁴  Highlighted partners of the High Tide Foundation include Global Methane Hub, Carbon Mapper, Fervo Energy, First Street Foundation, Cool Effect, Viriya, Solutions for Our Climate, and the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market. ⁵

The High Tide Foundation supports the voluntary carbon market (VCM) initiative that advocates businesses reduce carbon consumption to zero and pushes the use of carbon credits as an offset. ⁶ At the COP28 meetings, the High Tide Foundation partnered in a joint statement supporting carbon credits with the Bezos Earth Fund, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, European Climate Foundation, Institute for Climate and Society, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and the Sequoia Climate Foundation. ⁷

Grantmaking

Since 2019, the High Tide Foundation has provided grant money to left-of-center Arabella Advisors’ Windward Fund, Alliance for Climate Education, Center for International Environmental Law, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, United Nations Foundation, Center for American Progress, Energy Foundation, and Greenpeace. ⁸ The High Tide Foundation also provides funding and partnership with Yale University’s Program on Climate Change and funds the Yale School of Public Health Center for Climate Change and Health. ²

In 2018, the Overlook International Foundation gave a $10 million grant to the Audubon Society for mobilization to fight global warming. ⁹ In 2019, Overlook International Foundation provided a two-year $150,000 grant to the Niskanen Center for eminent domain and anti-pipeline litigation efforts. ¹⁰ In 2019, Overlook International Foundation provided funding for Marsoft and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s (MIT) Sea Grant to evaluate shipping vessel retrofitting to reduce carbon and a carbon tax on maritime vessels. ¹¹

In 2021, the High Tide Foundation was one of several environmentalist nonprofits pledging to fund more than $328 million to reduce methane emissions around the world. ¹² In addition to the High Tide Foundation, pledges to the fund included the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies, Breakthrough Energy, Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, Erol Foundation, Grantham Foundation, IKEA Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, McCall McBain Foundation, Montpelier and Hampshire Foundations, Oak Foundation, David and Lucille Packard Foundation, Pisces Foundation, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Sea Change Foundation, Sequoia Climate Fund, Skoll Foundation, Sobrato Philanthropies, and the Zegar Family Foundation. ¹²

High Tide Foundation has funded Satellites for Climate Action, a project to observe and analyze coal-burning plants, enhance satellite technology to detect greenhouse gases, and provide new mapping techniques for environmental conservation. ¹³

Financials

In 2022, the High Tide Foundation had net assets of $108,368,879. ¹⁴ In 2022, the High Tide Foundation recorded $4,982,261 in revenue and had $4,152,112 in expenses. ¹⁴ In 2021, the High Tide Foundation raised $49,770,316 in revenue and had $5,271,993 in expenses. ¹⁵ Revenue in 2021 included $21,578,438 in contributions from co-founders Richard and Dee Lawrence and $24,806,661 in 2020. ¹⁶

Leadership

Marisa de Belloy has been with the High Tide Foundation since 2017 as president since 2023 and executive director from 2017 to 2023. ¹⁷ De Belloy is on the board of High Tide Foundation’s partners Carbon Mapper, Global Methane Hub, and Climate Lead. ¹⁷ From 2015 to 2019, de Belloy was CEO of the High Tide Foundation partner Cool Effect. ¹⁷ De Belloy previously worked for Made in a Free World, Lafarge, Fotango, and Goldman Sachs. ¹⁷

Richard H. Lewis, Jr. and Dee Lawrence are directors and co-founders of the High Tide Foundation. ¹⁸ Richard Lawrence is the executive chairman of Overlook Investments Ltd., an investment management firm in Hong Kong since 1991. ¹⁸ Richard and Dee Lawrence are the founding directors of High Tide Foundation partner Cool Effect, an online platform that sells carbon emissions credits. ¹⁸ Richard and Dee Lawrence are also directors of the Proyecto Mirador Foundation that installs fuel-efficient stoves in Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. ¹⁸

1. “High Tide Foundation Joins the Global Alliance: Building A Sustainable Future for Food Systems and Climate Change Mitigation.” Global Alliance for the Future of Food. June 8, 2023. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://futureoffood.org/insights/high-tide-foundation-joins-the-global-alliance/.
2. High Tide Foundation.” Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. February 3, 2016. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/about/people-partners/overlook-international-foundation/; Greenwood, Michael. “Yale School of Public Health Launches Center for Climate Change and Health.” Yale News. January 7, 2020. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://news.yale.edu/2020/01/07/yale-school-public-health-launches-center-climate-change-and-health; High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2022; High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2021; High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2020; High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019.
3.  “About.” High Tide Foundation. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.hightidefoundation.org/about/; “Overlook International Foundation, Inc.” IRS. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/.
4. “About.” High Tide Foundation. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.hightidefoundation.org/about/
5. “Select Partners.” High Tide Foundation. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.hightidefoundation.org/programs/.
6. “High Tide Foundation.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/company/hightidefoundation/posts/?feedView=all; “Corporate Climate Action Explained.” Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://vcmintegrity.org/corporate-climate-action-explained/; “About the Claims Code.” Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://vcmintegrity.org/vcmi-claims-code-of-practice/.
7. “High Tide Foundation.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/company/hightidefoundation/posts/?feedView=all
8. High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2022; High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2021; High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2020; High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2019.
9. “The National Audubon Society Announces Landmark $10 Million Gift from Overlook International Foundation to Address Climate Change.” National Audubon Society. April 10, 2018. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.audubon.org/news/the-national-audubon-society-announces-landmark-10-million-gift-overlook.
10.  “Niskanen Center Funding.” Niskanen Center. October 2019. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.niskanencenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Niskanen-Center-funding-Oct-2019.pdf.
11. “A Carbon Tax for Shipping: Theory and (Possible) Practice.” Sea Grant MIT. November 18, 2019. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://seagrant.mit.edu/2019/11/18/a-carbon-tax-for-shipping-theory-and-possible-practice/.
12. “Leading Philanthropic Organizations Partner and Commit to Over $328M to Reducing Methane Emissions.” William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. October 11, 2021. https://hewlett.org/newsroom/leading-philanthropies-partner-and-commit-to-over-200m-to-reducing-methane-emissions/.
13. “Michael Bloomberg, State of California and Planet Partner to Deliver New Satellite Climate Data Solutions.” Bloomberg Philanthropies. September 25, 2019. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.bloomberg.org/press/michael-bloomberg-state-california-planet-partner-deliver-new-satellite-climate-data-solutions/.
14. High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2022.
15. High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2021.
16. High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2021; High Tide Foundation, Return of a Nonprofit Foundation (Form 990-PF), 2020.
17. “Marisa de Belloy.” LinkedIn. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/in/marisa-de-belloy-18b291/details/experience/.
18. “Founders & Staff.” High Tide Foundation. Accessed June 16, 2024. https://www.hightidefoundation.org/founders-staff/.