Rivian Foundation

Background

The Rivian Foundation was formed in 2023 by Rivian, an electric vehicle manufacturer founded in 2009 that is best known for its fully electric pickup truck models, which entered the market in 2021. At the time of Rivian’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2021, the company pledged to direct 1 percent of the company’s equity to nonprofit grantmaking efforts to make the “natural world” a “stakeholder in our success.” ^{5 2}

Rivian initially formed a 501(c)(4) political advocacy organization called Forever by Rivian to accomplish its goal of directing one percent of the company’s equity to environmental causes and transferred 8 million Rivian shares, worth $643 million at the time, and $20 million in cash to Forever by Rivian. However, shortly after Forever by Rivian was formed, a company spokesperson stated that the company decided instead to create a 501(c)(3) charitable grantmaking foundation, calling it the “most impactful and most transparent approach.” The company decided to wind down Forever by Rivian’s operations and transfer its assets to the Rivian Foundation, which was formed in 2023. $25 million in cash was transferred from Forever by Rivian to the Rivian Foundation. ²

Rivian’s stock price dropped significantly following its IPO. The notional value of the one percent of equity the company pledged to the foundation shrank from $643 million to $98 million by 2024. ²

Activities

In 2023, Rivian Foundation distributed only $123,250, but significantly increased its activity in 2024. Almost half of the foundation’s 2023 giving funded research with the Doris Duke Foundation on “Natural Climate Solutions,” a concept promoted by groups including the Nature Conservancy and the World Economic Forum. The foundation also paid $91,500 in consulting fees to Building Impact Partners, a New York-based philanthropy advisement firm, in 2023. ²

In 2024, the foundation began funding dozens of left-of-center environmental groups, including a $2 million grant to the Nature Conservancy, which Rivian said would “help foster the collaborative efforts needed to ensure that critical California landscapes remain places where wildlife thrives, cultural resources are protected, and people are inspired for generations to come.” ²

The Foundation also gave $1 million to the Ocean Resilience & Climate Alliance (ORCA) in 2024. ORCA previously announced Rivian Foundation was involved in a collective commitment of $250 million to the alliance in late 2023, but did not detail the size of the gift. The majority of the other 39 grants given in 2024, detailed on the foundation’s website, ranged between $100,000 to $400,000. ²

Other grantees of the Rivian Foundation include the Surfrider Foundation, the Alliance for Tribal Green Energy, Trout Unlimited, CalWild, Conservation Land Foundation, and the Ecology Action Center. ⁶