Solutions Project

It has previously received a $43 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund in 2020 as well as an undisclosed part of a $140 million grant distributed in December 2025 through Yield Giving, the philanthropic initiative of MacKenzie Scott. ^{3 4}

Background

The Solutions Project was initially founded in 2013 by actor Mark Ruffalo, Stanford University engineering professor Mark Jacobson, banker Marco Krapels, and filmmaker Josh Fox. It was incorporated as a nonprofit that same year, recording a total revenue of $192,100 during its first fiscal year, and receiving tax-exempt status from the IRS in 2014. ^{5 6 7 8}

The group initially focused on Jacobson’s view of developing “road maps” towards transitioning to weather-dependent energy by 2050, but by 2018 it began to focus on advocacy promoting feminist organizations as well as those led by African American women as part of a “100% Commitment to Justice.”  From 2018 to 2023, total grantees expanded from approximately 30 to more than 350, and net assets grew from approximately $2 million at the close of fiscal year 2018 to $28.3 million at the close of fiscal year 2023. ^{9 1 10}

Activities

The Leadership Fund is one of the Solutions Project’s initial grantmaking programs, awarding $1 million in funding to local organizations in Iowa, New York, and California. The Fighter Fund is a program started by Mark Ruffalo and co-funded by fellow actor Leonardo DiCaprio which provides grant awards ranging up to $15,000 towards supporting organizing and communications activities by nonprofits in the United States as well as Canada and Mexico. A third program, the Ecosystem Fund, provides capacity-building grants to expand state-level advocacy networks. ^{11 5}

In 2021, Solutions Project co-launched the Justice40 Accelerator to guide smaller nonprofits towards accepting federal funding provided by the Biden Administration. ¹²

A March 2026 white paper by the Pelican Institute for Public Policy identified the Solutions Project as one of 30 out-of-state donors to organizations in Louisiana affiliated with the left-of-center coalition group Louisiana Against False Solutions (LAFS). The report claimed that Solutions Project had contributed roughly $836,000 to such organizations. ^{13 14}

Funding

In 2020, the Solutions Project received a $43 million grant award from the Bezos Earth Fund, while in December 2025 the organization received an undisclosed share of a $140 million three-way grant from Yield Giving, the philanthropic initiative of MacKenzie Scott. The group has also provided funding to several nonprofit organizations include the Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN), Communities for a Better Environment, the Kentucky Coalition, the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, the NYC Environmental Justice Alliance, People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH), Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE), Tides Center, UPROSE, We Count, and the Youth Ministries for Peace & Justice. ^{6 3 4 15}