International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD)

The IISD lists several government agencies that have provided more than $10,000 CAD (approximately $7,136 USD) in funding to the organization, including agencies from Canada, the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

Other funders of the organization include the Open Society Foundations, the Ford Foundation, and the ClimateWorks Foundation. ²

Background

The International Institute for Sustainable Development is a Canada-based think tank that focuses on the left-of-center issue of sustainable development. The organization has offices in Canada; Geneva, Switzerland; and New York. According to its website, the IISD has more than 250 staff. ^{1 3}

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are a set of 17 policy goals that were adopted by all United Nations (UN) member states in 2015 as a part of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The 17 SDGs include 169 policy targets and focus on issues including climate action, gender issues, energy production, government institutions, education issues, and global poverty. ^{4 5}

The IISD has its own Sustainable Development Goals program, which supports the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the 17 SDGs, and works to “enhance SDG implementation.” ¹

In 2016, the organization created its SDG Knowledge Hub, a digital platform for sharing information and knowledge regarding SDGs and the UN 2030 Agenda. ⁶

People

The president and CEO of the International Institute for Sustainable Development is Patricia Fuller, who has worked extensively for the Canadian government. ⁷

She was the chief economist for foreign affairs and international trade from September 2007 until July 2010, and she was the department’s director general of strategic planning from September 2010 until August 2012. ⁷

Other government positions Fuller has held include director general for the Office of Energy Efficiency at the Natural Resources department from August 2015 to August 2017; director general of economic development for the Global Affairs department from August 2017 to June 2018, and Ambassador for Climate Change for the Canadian government, a position she held until December 2021. ⁷

Fuller became the president and CEO of the IISD in February 2024, a position she holds as of October 2025. ⁷

Financials

The International Institute for Sustainable Development receives most of its revenue via contributions, gifts, and grants. ⁸

The organization reported total revenue of just over $23.5 million in 2022, just under $32 million in 2023, and just under $37 million in 2024 to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Its expenses amounted to just under $23.4 million in 2022, just over $29 million in 2023, and around $36.1 million in 2024. The organization’s net assets amounted to $7.7 million in 2022, $9.8 million in 2023, and $10.5 million in 2024. ⁸

Funding

Government Funding

The International Institute for Sustainable Development lists several government agencies that have provided more than 10,000 CAD (approximately $7,136) in funding to the organization. These agencies include the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia; several Canadian agencies, including the Environment and Climate Change department; the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety of Germany; the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom; and the United States Coast Guard. ²

Other Funding

The International Institute for Sustainable Development also receives contributions, gifts, and grants from nonprofit organizations and private grantmaking foundations. ²

The Open Society Foundations is a private grantmaking foundation created and funded by billionaire financier and left-of-center philanthropist George Soros. The Open Society Foundations granted a total of $3,125,000 across five grants to the IISD from 2016 to 2024. ⁹

The IISD has also received a total of $1.5 million from the Ford Foundation, which has been a major force in American philanthropy and, because of its size, has given a great deal of money to left-wing and center-left organizations since its founding. The IISD has also received a total of $1,332,000 across seven grants from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the 20th-largest foundation in the world as of 2024, with total assets over $8 billion; a total of $2.55 million from the Gates Foundation, formed in 2000 by Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his then-wife, Melinda French Gates; and $200,000 from the Rockefeller Foundation. ^{10 11 12 13 14}

The IISD also lists several other nonprofit organizations, foundations, and NGOs that have provided more than 10,000 CAD (approximately $7,136) in funding to IISD. These organizations include the ClimateWorks Foundation, a left-of-center “pass-through” funding entity that distributes funds from donors to environmentalist advocacy groups around the world; the United Nations Development Programme, an agency of the United Nations developed to help improve international development within countries in need by ending poverty, reducing inequality, and building democratic institutions; and the European Commission, the main executive arm of the European Union (EU). ^{2 15}