The Sequoia Climate Foundation (also known as the Sequoia Climate Fund) is donor to left-leaning climate advocacy groups that was created in 2020 as a spinoff from the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. In a February 2023 report, Inside Philanthropy declared Sequoia was a “new giant climate change philanthropy” and identified Sequoia’s likely benefactor to be California billionaire C. Frederick Taylor. In 2014 Taylor was identified as a major donor to Wellspring. ^{1 2}

During its first two years in operation, Sequoia’s largest total grants went to groups such as the European Climate Foundation, the Energy Foundation, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, The Sunrise Project, the Windward Fund, and the World Resources Institute (WRI). Sequoia grants during the first two year also included multi-million-dollar cumulative donations to groups known to oppose carbon free nuclear power, such as WRI, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the Sierra Club Foundation, the Rocky Mountain Institute, the Environmental Defense Fund and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. ^{3 4}

Background and Leadership

A February 2023 report in Inside Philanthropy proclaimed that Sequoia Climate Foundation had become a “new giant climate change philanthropy” and reported the $180 million in grants issued by Sequoia for 2022 made it the “environmental funding” rival of “all but some genuine giants, like the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation or the Bezos Earth Fund.” Sequoia president Christie Ulman told Inside Philanthropy the foundation was not a “spend down institution.” Citing other sources knowledgeable with the formation of Sequoia, Inside Philanthropy also reported that Sequoia would “stick around for the long term,” but that its initial focus was on “climate interventions that will have an impact by 2030, the deadline for the world to halve emissions . . .”  ⁵

Sequoia was created in 2020 as a spin off from the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. The Inside Philanthropy report quoted a Sequoia spokesperson who explained the founding this way: “To expedite funding to the field, Sequoia initially leveraged Wellspring’s back office for first staff hires and grantmaking, and then spun out to become an independent organization with an independent mission.” ⁶

Christie Ulman, the founding president of Sequoia, had previously held that position at Wellspring. Ulman is a former U.S. Department of Energy official According to Inside Philanthropy, her “ties remain close” to the Department, and she had been invited to a 2021 event with Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. Ulman has also worked as the climate director for environmental London-based non-profit Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. ^{7 8}

Inside Philanthropy reported that Sequioa “keeps its donors’ identity tightly under wraps” and that it “declined to provide details” about the main donors when asked. However, the report also stated that it was possible to “make a pretty good guess” that Sequoia’s main and potentially sole donor was probably California billionaire C. Frederick Taylor: ⁹

Sequoia’s benefactor appears to be C. Frederick Taylor, a low-profile hedge fund billionaire. He was listed in 2021 tax filings as the foundation’s board chair, and has long been a Wellspring trustee. Taylor was revealed as the donor behind what is now Wellspring by a 2014 Bloomberg article, which named him as one of a trio of donors who controlled more than $13 billion in philanthropic funds. That said, contributions to Sequoia have come so far through an anonymous LLC, with an apparent pay-as-you-go approach. ¹⁰

Taylor was listed as the chair of the board of Sequoia in each of its first two IRS filings. Also, all of the funding put into Sequoia during the first two years—a combined total of $387 million—was sent from Twenty-One Holdings LLC. Prior to the creation of Sequoia, Twenty-One Holdings had been a major donor to Wellspring. A 2014 report in Bloomberg Businessweek identified Fred Taylor as a board member and donor to Wellspring, along with two of his brothers. Inside Philanthropy reported that John Taylor, brother of Fred, had “long been” the president and public face of Wellspring. ^{11 12 13 14}

The Orange County Business Journal reported in 2023 that Taylor was one of the region’s richest, with an estimated “$1.2 billion to multiple billions” in net worth from his position as a founding partner at TGS Management “an extremely secretive quant hedge fund . . .” ^{15 16}

Taylor and his TGS partners David Gelbaum and Andrew Shechtel were reported in 2014 to be the initial donors funding multiple secretive foundations. Wellspring was originally named the Matan B’Seter Foundation. Matan B’Seter is a Hebrew phrase meaning “anonymous gift.” ¹⁷

Grant History

For the IRS filings covering the two years through November 2021 and November 2022, Sequoia reported a cumulative total of $300 million in grants paid. The major individual groups receiving funding during this two year period included the European Climate Foundation ($61.4 million cumulative donations), the Energy Foundation ($23.5 million), Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors ($23.3 million), The Sunrise Project ($11.5 million), the Windward Fund ($11 million), and the World Resources Institute ($10.1 million). ^{18 19}

The specific policies being funded or groups receiving Sequoia’s grants is often difficult to discern. For example, with the exception of the Sunrise Project, each of the other major recipients listed above is either donor advised fund (such as Windward) or environmental policy regranting groups (such as the Energy Foundation).

In addition to the World Resources Institute, several other recipients of multi-million-dollar cumulative donations during the 2021 and 2022 period are known opponents of carbon-free nuclear energy: the Natural Resources Defense Council ($7 million cumulative donations), the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund ($5.7 million), the Sierra Club Foundation ($5.1 million), the Rocky Mountain Institute ($3.4 million), the Center for International Environmental Law ($2 million), Climate Justice Alliance ($2 million), Environmental Defense Fund ($2 million), the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis ($2 million), and Public Citizen Foundation ($2 million). ^{20 21}

1. Kavante, Michael. “There’s a New Giant in Climate Change Philanthropy. Here’s Everything We Know So Far.” Inside Philanthropy. February 9, 2023. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4v6UyEb52g4J:https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/2/9/theres-a-new-giant-in-climate-change-philanthropy-heres-everything-we-know-so-far&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
2. Mider, Zachary R. “The $13 Billion Mystery Angels.” Bloomberg Businessweek. May 8, 2014. Accessed May 20, 2024.  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-08/three-mysterious-philanthropists-fund-fourth-largest-u-dot-s-dot-charity
3. Sequoia Climate Fund. 2021 IRS Form 990. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/854095972/202342879349100304/full
4. Sequoia Climate Fund. 2020 IRS Form 990. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/854095972/202232879349101003/full
5. Kavante, Michael. “There’s a New Giant in Climate Change Philanthropy. Here’s Everything We Know So Far.” Inside Philanthropy. February 9, 2023. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4v6UyEb52g4J:https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/2/9/theres-a-new-giant-in-climate-change-philanthropy-heres-everything-we-know-so-far&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
6. Kavante, Michael. “There’s a New Giant in Climate Change Philanthropy. Here’s Everything We Know So Far.” Inside Philanthropy. February 9, 2023. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4v6UyEb52g4J:https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/2/9/theres-a-new-giant-in-climate-change-philanthropy-heres-everything-we-know-so-far&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
7. Kavante, Michael. “There’s a New Giant in Climate Change Philanthropy. Here’s Everything We Know So Far.” Inside Philanthropy. February 9, 2023. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4v6UyEb52g4J:https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/2/9/theres-a-new-giant-in-climate-change-philanthropy-heres-everything-we-know-so-far&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
8. “Our Team.” Sequoia Climate Fund, Accessed June 15, 2023. https://sequoiaclimate.org/team/
9. Kavante, Michael. “There’s a New Giant in Climate Change Philanthropy. Here’s Everything We Know So Far.” Inside Philanthropy. February 9, 2023. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4v6UyEb52g4J:https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/2/9/theres-a-new-giant-in-climate-change-philanthropy-heres-everything-we-know-so-far&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
10. Kavante, Michael. “There’s a New Giant in Climate Change Philanthropy. Here’s Everything We Know So Far.” Inside Philanthropy. February 9, 2023. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4v6UyEb52g4J:https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/2/9/theres-a-new-giant-in-climate-change-philanthropy-heres-everything-we-know-so-far&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
11. Sequoia Climate Fund. 2021 IRS Form 990. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/854095972/202342879349100304/full
12. Sequoia Climate Fund. 2020 IRS Form 990. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/854095972/202232879349101003/full
13. Mider, Zachary R. “The $13 Billion Mystery Angels.” Bloomberg Businessweek. May 8, 2014. Accessed May 20, 2024.  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-08/three-mysterious-philanthropists-fund-fourth-largest-u-dot-s-dot-charity
14. Kavante, Michael. “There’s a New Giant in Climate Change Philanthropy. Here’s Everything We Know So Far.” Inside Philanthropy. February 9, 2023. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4v6UyEb52g4J:https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/2/9/theres-a-new-giant-in-climate-change-philanthropy-heres-everything-we-know-so-far&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
15. Kavante, Michael. “There’s a New Giant in Climate Change Philanthropy. Here’s Everything We Know So Far.” Inside Philanthropy. February 9, 2023. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4v6UyEb52g4J:https://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/2/9/theres-a-new-giant-in-climate-change-philanthropy-heres-everything-we-know-so-far&cd=14&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
16. “OC’s Wealthiest 2023: C. Frederick Taylor.” Orange County Business Journal. July 25, 2023. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20230726081122/https:/www.ocbj.com/special-report/2023-oc-wealthiest/c-frederick-taylor/
17. Mider, Zachary R. “The $13 Billion Mystery Angels.” Bloomberg Businessweek. May 8, 2014. Accessed May 20, 2024.  http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-05-08/three-mysterious-philanthropists-fund-fourth-largest-u-dot-s-dot-charity
18. Sequoia Climate Fund. 2021 IRS Form 990. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/854095972/202342879349100304/full
19. Sequoia Climate Fund. 2020 IRS Form 990. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/854095972/202232879349101003/full
20. Sequoia Climate Fund. 2021 IRS Form 990. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/854095972/202342879349100304/full
21. Sequoia Climate Fund. 2020 IRS Form 990. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/854095972/202232879349101003/full