In this episode of the Philanthropisms podcast we talk to Emily Teitsworth, Executive Director of the Honnold Foundation (the nonprofit set up by world-famous climber Alex Honnold), about trust, risk and the foundation’s work supporting community led climate work and low-cost solar projects.
Including:
How did the Honnold Foundation come about, and what are the organisation’s core focus areas?- How and why was low cost solar energy chosen as an intervention? What makes this so effective?
- What is the foundation’s operating model and where do its funds come from?
- Has it helped to have a high-profile founder in Alex Honnold? How does his involvement in the foundation work?
- Why is so little philanthropy currently aimed at climate issues?
- Do we need to stop seeing climate as a “cause area” and see it instead as a cross-cutting issue that affects all funders and civil society orgs?
- Is it a challenge for climate philanthropy that the needs of the planet are often framed as in competition with those of people? How can climate funders overcome this?
- What kind of due diligence do donors need to do on charities in order to fund them in a trust-based way?
- Can funding from donors/foundations confer legitimacy on grassroots orgs as well as financial resources? Is this useful for them?
- Is scaling about helping individual organisations to get bigger, or about growing the overall ecosystem?
- How can funders design impact measurement approaches with their grantees to ensure they are genuinely empowering and beneficial rather than imposing a new burden?
- Do we need a better narrative about what it means to “fail” and to “succeed” in philanthropy?
- Does Alex Honnold’s background as a climber gives him a unique understanding of risk, and how does this play into the work of the foundation?
- What role does storytelling and narrative have to play in addressing climate concerns? How is this reflected in Honnold Foundation’s approach?
- Is the current political moment posing challenges for organisations focussed on climate?
Further Reading
- Honnold Foundation
- Honnold Foundation 2025 Impact Report
- Emily’s article for Alliance, “To build effective climate solutions, embrace human-centred design“
- Emily’s article for Inside Philanthropy (with Suzanne Singer), “Trust-Based Philanthropy Is the Key to a Just Transition“
- Emily and Alex Honnold on the Invested in Climate podcast
- WPM article, “Why Isn’t All Philanthropy Trust-Based Philanthropy?“
- Philanthropisms podcasts with Renata Minerbo, Edouard Morena, Joshua Amponsem and Ewan Kirk.
