Doris Duke Charitable Foundation

Environment

Mission

The mission of the Environment Program is to preserve wildlife in the United States, both flora and fauna.

Initiatives

The Environment Program seeks to accomplish its mission through two strategic initiatives:

• Habitat Conservation – This initiative seeks to accelerate the conservation of essential habitats identified in state wildlife action plans through grants that identify priority habitats for conservation, protect priority habitats and build conservation knowledge.
  
  
• Climate Change – This initiative seeks to help build a clean-energy economy through grants that support the research and analysis needed to develop government policies to foster technological innovation in the energy sector and accelerate the emergence of tomorrow’s clean-energy technologies.
  

For information on the availability of grants for specific projects, review the Environment Program’s Grantmaking Process & Funding Opportunities page.

Grants Awarded & Conservation Achievements

As of December 31, 2008, the Environment Program's Habitat Conservation Initiative has approved approximately 115 grants totaling more than $181 million. The foundation’s grantees, in turn, have leveraged nearly $1 billion in additional conservation funding to protect more than 1.4 million acres of habitat. This additional funding includes all public and private sources, including the value of conservation easements and land donations.

Launched in April 2007, the Environment Program's Climate Change Initiative has approved 16 grants totaling approximately $34 million as of December 31, 2008.

For information on the goals and accomplishments of individual projects, please see the Environment Program’s Grants Awarded and News & Publications pages.

Doris Duke and the Environment

Doris Duke was a lifelong environmentalist with a keen interest in conservation. In her will, she expressed her interest in "the preservation of wildlife, both flora and fauna" and in supporting "ecological endeavors."