Announcing the Klamath Philanthropic Funder Collaborative

The approaching holidays mean, for many, a time of celebration and renewal. One of the things we’re excited to celebrate this year is the removal of four dams on the Klamath River. Dam removal is the first step in the world’s largest river restoration project, and the philanthropic community is excited to support the next phase of locally driven projects that will restore fish and wildlife and strengthen the many communities that rely on the natural resources of the Klamath Basin. To make every investment as strategic as possible, the Humboldt Area Foundation launched the Klamath Philanthropic Funder Collaborative (KPFC or the collaborative). Part of the Humboldt Area Foundation’s Klamath River Fund, the KPFC builds on our commitment to help support the restoration and revitalization led by the Tribes and communities in the Klamath Basin. We established the collaborative to increase our impact in the basin through the collective action of philanthropic funders. 

For most of us, the approaching holidays are a time of celebration, reflection, and renewal. This may be especially true for everyone that had a hand in the victory of Klamath dam removal. Tribal leaders and Indigenous communities along with scientists, fishing families, ranchers, and allies in the conservation community worked for more than two decades to inspire dam owners, policymakers, and the public to envision a new future for the basin—one in which the river ran free again.   

These celebrations are well deserved, and they’re happening even as Klamath advocates continue to move forward on basin-wide restoration. Already Tribes, irrigators, scientists, and nonprofit groups are implementing restoration projects on public and private land across the basin to restore floodplains that help alleviate flooding on local farmland; return the former reservoirs into a vibrant free flowing river; restore wildlife habitat; and balance limited water resources all over the Klamath basin. 

The Humboldt Area Foundation, with our partner funders, are working to assist these efforts. 

We look forward to the future we are building together in the Klamath community and to keeping you updated about progress along the way.    

The collaborative is a complementary effort to the Klamath River Fund, which was initiated in 2023 with a generous grant from the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation. Through its Western Conservation grantmaking, the Hewlett Foundation has supported community-driven conservation across the U.S. West for more than six decades.   

Here in the Klamath basin, the Hewlett Foundation committed funds for over two decades. In that time they have supported a diversity of Tribes and nonprofits working on environmental monitoring and research; public communications; coalition-building; sustainable agriculture; wildfire resilience, and advocacy. The removal of four dams in 2024 was not the end of Hewlett’s commitment to the community. They instead wanted to help ensure Tribes and rural communities across the basin could benefit from river restoration efforts and begin the process of healing.   

“When foundations focus on conserving a cherished place, it also means investing in the people who call that place home. Through many conversations with Tribal and community leaders from the Klamath Basin, we learned that the Humboldt Area Foundation is well respected and well positioned to invite new philanthropic funding into the Klamath Basin and collaborate with Tribes and rural community partners to support the long-term needs of people and nature in the region. We’re excited to support the local community in building a bright future for this and future generations,” said Hewlett Foundation Western Conservation Program Officer Andrea Keller Helsel.  

We’re humbled by the community’s support. That support is based on the Humboldt Area Foundation’s long history of serving as a community hub. Initiatives such as the decade-long Building Healthy Communities – Del Norte and Tribal Lands project supported a community-centered design approach to solving the most pressing issues affecting people, like youth literacy rates, job training, food access, and more.  

“Our approach includes direct support for building relationships and an understanding of community needs while also working closely with funders and public agencies. HAF has achieved big things by brokering relationships between the community, philanthropy, and policymakers,” says Pimm Tripp-Allen Vice President for Programs, Community Partnerships & Tribal Relations at the Humboldt Area Foundation.  

“As a community foundation, we’re able to understand the needs, strengths, and weaknesses of the local organizations we’re supporting. This knowledge can inform broader funding strategies with partnering foundations to better serve the region,” adds Gina Zottola, Vice President for Advancement & Philanthropic Innovation at the Humboldt Area Foundation.   

We invite Foundations interested in maintaining the momentum generated by Klamath dam removal to consider joining us as either a pooled or aligned funder. Collaboration can compound our collective impact to achieve common goals and take full advantage of the opportunities afforded by dam removal.  

“Whether you join us as a pooled or aligned funder, the Humboldt Area Foundation can help foster local relationships and provide local expertise to increase your impact in the basin,” says Tripp-Allen. “After all the hard work our communities put in to remove the dams, we want to do our part to make sure philanthropic investments are as strategic and effective as possible.” 

The Klamath Philanthropic Funders Collaborative thanks its current members for their continued support: The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, The James Irvine Foundation, the Roundhouse Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, Tamalpais Trust, the Jubitz Foundation, The California Endowment, the MacArthur Foundation, the Bella Vista Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.