The Ray C. Anderson Foundation seeks to promote a sustainable society by supporting and pioneering initiatives that harmonize society, business and the environment for the present generation and tomorrow’s child.
We achieve this mission through inspiring and funding innovative, educational and project-based initiatives that promote visionary change in society.
Gray Notes™ Grants are awarded annually.
Gray Notes™ Grants were created in honor of the comments and questions Ray would write to his Interface associates on his gray notepad, encouraging them to solve the next great sustainability challenge his company faced. We likewise hope to encourage and support our grantees in solving particular sustainability problems that our society currently faces. Since the Foundation's relaunch in 2012, the trustees have identified four lead projects that they have committed to support long-term through Gray Notes Grants: Drawdown Georgia, the Biomimicry Institute, (Biomimicry Launchpad and Ray of Hope Prize®), The Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business at Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business and The Ray.
We’ve partnered with the Biomimicry Institute to create the Biomimicry Launchpad and the Ray of Hope Accelerator, designed to bring commercially viable, nature inspired solutions to market. The Accelerator is focused on nature-inspired solutions that address one or more of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Ray’s message has resonated to far reaching corners of the earth, and it's no surprise that some of the strongest roots are bearing fruit at his beloved alma mater, Georgia Tech. The Foundation has committed $5 million to Georgia Tech, creating the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business in the Scheller College of Business.
In July 2014, the State of Georgia honored Ray’s legacy by renaming the stretch of I-85 that extends from exits 2 to 18 in West Georgia as the Ray C. Anderson Memorial Highway. Now referred to as "The Ray" this organization is transforming the highway and its surrounding acres, serving as a global model for future transportation.
In addition to our three core grant programs, the Foundation has awarded a number of other Gray Notes™ Grants to universities and nonprofits with which we have longstanding relationships.
The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has been a financial supporter of Project Drawdown from the beginning. Over the years we have committed nearly $1 million to this cause. We’re proud to have funded and supported their efforts from initial concept through the research, writing and publication phases. Our commitment continues as the Drawdown team constantly refines its research to support its partners and stakeholders at a level that is necessary to allow further propagation of the concept of drawdown in the public sphere.
The Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded a $650,000 grant to Emory University to advance the Georgia Climate Project, a state-wide consortium co-founded by Emory, the University of Georgia, and the Georgia Institute of Technology, joined by Agnes Scott College, Georgia Southern University, Spelman College, and the University of North Georgia, to build a network of experts who can improve understanding of climate impacts and solutions and better position Georgia to respond to a changing climate.
The Foundation has awarded $500,000 in seed grant funding to The Georgia Institute of Technology for the launch of the Global Change Program, a new initiative designed to coordinate and grow educational and research activities focused on providing solutions and creating economic opportunities at the intersection of global change, climate change, and energy.
The Foundation's NextGen Committee is made up of Ray's grandchildren and their spouses. This group meets regularly and takes an active role in perpetuating Ray's legacy by investing in projects geared to making the world a better place for Tomorrow's Children.
The NextGen Committee has awarded a $100,000 grant to Ducks Unlimited de México to improve infrastructure and conserve blue carbon through erosion control and protection of 94,016 acres of the Seri First Nation Reservation in the area of Canal del Infiernillo in the mid-Pacific coastal state of Sonora, México.
The NextGen Committee of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to Cultural Survival to support grassroots Indigenous solutions to climate change.
The NextGen Committee of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to The Inga Foundation for their "Land for Life" program. The program offers families in Honduras (and all of the humid tropics as there are 300+ native Inga species) increased soil fertility with no chemical fertilizers/pesticides/herbicides or heavy equipment--ensuring good harvests, long-term food security and improved income potential, on the same plot of land--without the need to slash and burn fresh land.
The NextGen Committee of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation has awarded a $90,000 grant to Second Nature to provide the tools necessary to allow universities to collaborate and pool their financial investments, to increase the number of large-scale renewable energy projects in the national grid, and to achieve climate neutrality on more U.S. campuses.
Please note: The Ray C. Anderson Foundation accepts grant applications by invitation only, with funding preference in the Southeast, particularly in Georgia. Grants from the Foundation are limited to no more than 5% toward indirect costs. To access tax returns and the tax determination letter for the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, click here.
