Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment
Fostering Stewardship, Building Community, Demanding Justice
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Rose Foundation was founded by Jill Ratner and Tim Little in 1992. The Foundation is dedicated to the memory of Rose Ratner, whose wit, wisdom and commitment were forged in the neighborhoods of Chicago over the course of 50 years of community activism. Inspired by Rose, we believe that environmental stewardship, community regeneration, consumer protection, robust civic participation and a healthy economy are all inextricably linked. As a society, we cannot expect to achieve lasting economic progress at the expense of the environment, worker, or community rights. Similarly, lasting environmental, consumer, and community protections must also be grounded in economic reality. Civic participation, especially by traditionally disempowered communities, often serves as the necessary catalyst. Alliances between traditionally diverse interests provides a fundamental and lasting glue that binds long-term sustainable solutions.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
California Environmental Grassroots Fund
The California Environmental Grassroots Fund supports small and emerging local groups across California that are building climate resilience and advancing environmental justice. Grassroots Fund grantees tackle the toughest environmental problems facing their communities from toxic pollution, urban sprawl, sustainable agriculture, and climate advocacy, to the environmental degradation of our rivers and wild places and the health of our communities. Guided by a board of community activists and veteran funders, the Fund’s mission is to bridge a significant gap between grassroots environmental groups and the traditional funding patterns of organized philanthropy by awarding small grants ($7,500 or less) to small organizations that are underserved by most foundations’ funding strategies.
New Voices Are Rising
New Voices Are Rising conducts environmental justice advocacy and leadership development programs for high school students from low-income communities of color. New Voices originally focused on Oakland youth but has recently expanded to include students from across the Bay Area from Bayview-Hunters Point to Antioch. The program helps young people gain the skills and experience in civic engagement that they need to begin to tackle the problems – including environmental health problems – that disproportionately impact their communities. Primary partners include several Oakland high schools and non-profit agencies. New Voices is funded through a combination of individual donations, government grants, and support from other foundations.
Puget Sound Stewardship and Mitigation Fund
The Puget Sound Stewardship and Mitigation Fund supports community-driven conservation, restoration, science, education and advocacy for environmental justice and shoreline access in the Puget Sound. This fund, like our other funds which are geographically limited to specific communities in places like Texas and Louisiana, demonstrates the Rose Foundation's expertise connecting grassroots advocates with funding and training resources.
Environmental and Consumer Mitigation Settlements
We manage 20 grantmaking funds and many are powered by cy pres awards or environmental settlements--over $60 million to date. We direct money to grantees to protect watersheds, ensure clean air, and mitigate pollution, as well as administer funds that support community resilience, financial education, and consumer rights.
Where we work
Awards
Champion of Freedom 2010
Electronic Privacy Information Center
Certificate of Appreciation 1995
Mothers of East LA
Oakland Works: Best Project-Law 2007
Oakland Unified School District
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of grants awarded
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The Rose Foundation awards grants to qualified organizations working primarily in conservation and environmental justice, but also in areas including consumer protection and financial education.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We are building the grassroots base of the conservation, environmental justice, and consumer protection movements through strategically targeted grantmaking, incubating emerging projects through fiscal sponsorship, and helping youth of color step forward to become the next generation of community leaders.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Build and maintain a "money bridge" supporting grassroots environmental and social justice leaders.
Provide fiscal sponsorship to incubate emerging new projects.
Help individual donors develop and implement community-based philanthropic visions.
Youth leadership development through our New Voices Are Rising high school program.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Staff who are passionate and about conservation and environmental justice.
Deep in-house experience in our staff and funding boards with environmental and consumer protection.
A commitment to investing in youth leadership development.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Since our founding:
$50+ million in community grants awarded nationally, including over $3.5 million to volunteer-based grassroots groups that are generally not supported by mainstream philanthropy.
More than 45 groups have been part of our fiscal sponsorship incubator. Some of these have achieved their objectives and sunsetted. Many more have become full-fledged charities serving their communities.
New Voices Are Rising has graduated over 175 students from our in-depth leadership development program and reached more than 3,000 local youth through our environmental justice curriculum.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment
Board of directorsas of 06/28/2023
Jill Ratner
No Affiliation
Term: 2022 - 2025
Kevin Hendrick
Jill Ratner
Attorney
Kevin Hendrick
Energy Management and Project Consultant
Ellen Hauskens
Iarussi, Gelhaus & Hauskens
David Michelfelder
California Nurses Association - retired
Cindy Tsai Schultz
Public Health Consultant
Alan Ramo
Golden Gate University School of Law
Amy Lyons
John & Marcia Goldman Foundation
Marybelle Nzegwu Tobias
Environmental Justice Solutions
Laura Fernandez
Program Manager, Goldman Environmental Prize
Carlos Zambrano
Program Associate, Friends of the River
Willard Brown
Volunteer, Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? No -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
No data
Transgender Identity
No data
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 11/23/2020GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.