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What is Milkywire?
Milkywire is a technology-driven giving platform that makes contributing easy, accessible, and engaging for companies who care about the environment. Unlike other charity organizations and giving platforms, Milkywire provides rewarding, transparent, and personalized feedback on contributions.
Is Milkywire a charity or NGO?
Milkywire is not a charity or NGO but a registered Swedish company.
How does Milkywire differ from other donors or organizations?
Milkywire itself is not a donor or organization but a platform for creating impact. We let donors directly influence where their money goes and support multiple causes they care about in one place. We show the actual work done in the field in our appthrough content reports, and we track where the money goes for full transparency.
How does Milkywire drive donations to impact organizations?
Milkywire helps organizations get funding through private and corporate donations, either via monthly subscriptions or one-time donations. Both companies and private individuals can support impact organizations directly, or donate to our impact funds, which encompass organizations working under a specific theme.
What types of initiatives does Milkywire represent?
Milkywire supports a wide range of initiatives, from locally-rooted civil society organizations to pioneering carbon removal start-ups to advocacy and policy networks. We focus on initiatives connected to the environment, such as saving oceans and seas, protecting wildlife, restoring forests and landscapes, supporting environmental defenders, and fighting climate change.
How much of each donation goes to the initiatives being supported?
90% of your donation directly supports our carefully audited, high-impact organizations. 10% covers platform and transaction costs. Of the 90% we disburse, up to 10% is spent on compliance and fundraising for the organization, while the rest goes towards their project budget. Our model is also audited annually by PwC.
Does Milkywire have a whistleblowing function?
Yes, the whistleblowing function can be found at www.milkywire.com/whistleblowing and can be used anonymously by anyone. Anything that you think might seriously affect Milkywire, our donors, or the organizations on our platform is worth reporting.
How does Milkywire select which initiatives to support?
First, we evaluate potential organizations through outreach and recommendations. Each organization is assessed and deemed eligible or ineligible based on our criteria. All organizations are vetted by our dedicated impact team or impact partners. We conduct in-depth research to find effective, credible environmental organizations working to protect our planet.
What are impact partners?
Impact partners are an essential part of a strategic partnership in the impact management work process, where we collaborate with a third party who is responsible for due diligence and quality assurance of grants to locally rooted organizations. The partnership aims to be strategic because it creates mutual business value through sharing of resources and information, enhanced efficiency, reduced risk, and enhanced support to local partners.
How does Milkywire select its corporate partners?
Milkywire cooperates with companies that share our values and ambitions regarding the environment and social responsibility. All corporations are screened before entering a partnership with Milkywire assessing various aspects. You can view the screening criteria here.
Does Milkywire accept all donations?
No, Milkywire reserves the right to refuse or return donations from third parties that we do not deem aligned with Milkywire’s partnership policy.
What type of funding does Milkywire provide?
We mostly offer flexible grants, which are grants where we do not know the amount upfront. When an organization is approved, a cooperation agreement is signed, which defines the yearly fundraising target. This funding target is the amount to be raised every year through the platform, which will constitute the flexible grant. Due to the uncertain nature of Milkywire’s flexible grants, they aim to provide extra support to initiatives that already have a main source of funding secured.
Occasionally, we offer fixed grants, which are grants in which Milkywire commits to a certain amount upfront. These grants depend on our strategic partnerships, so they often have additional thematic requirements.If interested in being notified once the call for fixed grant proposals opens, please email impact@milkywire.com.
Who does Milkywire fund?
Milkywire provides grants to registered organizations that implement initiatives focused on environmental and/or climate challenges. Since Milkywire is a tech platform, it’s also important that organizations are interested in using digital tools to communicate and increase transparency around their work. See our full eligibility criteria here.
Does Milkywire support for-profit companies?
Yes, we have created the Climate Transformation Fund, which focuses on high-cost carbon removal projects, research initiatives, and advocacy and policy projects. Some of the initiatives selected for this fund include for-profit companies. However, all projects must be deemed aligned with our CTF policy.
What types of costs are eligible for Milkywire funding?
Milkywire aims to support organizations' salaries, overheads and day-to-day running costs, capacity-building, equipment, advocacy, and more. However, Milkywire’s Flexible Grants are always dependent on how much we are able to fundraise on the platform. Therefore, they should not be relied upon for high-priority items which are crucial for the implementation of your initiative.
How do I apply for funding from Milkywire?
We are currently working to have a broader spectrum of organizations, so we are not accepting new applications at this time. If you are interested in joining our platform, please email impact@milkywire.com with information about your organization, and we may contact you when we reopen the application process.
What material does my organization need to apply for funding from Milkywire?
In order to apply for a Milkywire grant, your organization will need to submit a certificate of registration, statutes, the latest financial statements, and, for the higher funding levels, copies of internal policies. If your application is successful, we will need a designated person to submit a profile photo, action photos, a short video, and a short summary of your daily work.
Can I use existing information from ongoing initiatives to complete the application?
Yes. You can base the application on the work you already have in place, given that additional funding is needed. This way, you can focus as much as possible on your work and spend less time on administration.
How do I know how much funding my organization has raised?
As an active organization, you can follow your donations and funding raised in your financial overview directly in the Milkywire app or on our website here. You can see how much funding is needed until you meet your goal, get an overview of your monthly support, and more.
How do you manage the grant payments?
Grants are disbursed to organizations via Wise, bank transfers, or PayPal, normally on a quarterly basis.
How can my organization receive funds from Milkywire?
To receive funds from Milkywire, your organization must have a bank account, and you must send us confirmation of the bank account details, including the account number and IBAN, etc.
What are the reporting requirements by Milkywire?
Once you join the Milkywire platform, we require you to submit regular content reports and progress reports.
Content reports are photo and video updates, including descriptions documenting the progress of the implementation of your initiative, corresponding with the objectives and activities submitted in your project proposal. These are uploaded via our app or website. An organization is encouraged to create content reports on a weekly basis but is required at least once per month.
Progress reports are a financial update on the implementation of your initiative. We ask you to provide us with an update on your actual costs so that we can monitor the implementation of your initiative. For Level 1 organizations, these shall be submitted on a quarterly basis, while for Level 2 organizations, it’s on a biannual basis.
What is the purpose of content reporting?
We use content reports for monitoring and reporting purposes so Milkywire can follow the progress of your initiative. Additionally, content reports give your donors and potential donors a chance to connect with you and follow your work and progress in real-time, encouraging additional support.
Who should create content reports?
The designated ‘impacter’ will be the organization's ambassador to Milkywire, but other staff can also create content reports and be featured in them. To do that, they must download the app, create an account, and contact us, specifying which email they used to create the account.
Can other staff besides the impacter submit progress reports?
Yes. Anyone in your organization can submit the progress reports; they just need to be connected to your profile. To do that, they must download the app, create an account, and contact us, specifying which email they used to create the account.
Do I need to have a smartphone?
Yes. Having a smartphone is the easiest way to upload content reports and gives you the full experience of the app. You can, however, also make updates using a computer or tablet via our website here.
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Funding
General
Offsetting
Projects
Why did you create this initiative?
We believe companies should contribute to climate action but that there should be a greater focus on the expected effect of those contributions rather than on how many credits you bought. This fund supports the different types of solutions needed to reach global net zero presents impactful projects in several areas, both within carbon markets and other areas.
How can companies contribute to the fund?
We are actively seeking contributions from more companies. If you are interested in being at the forefront of fighting climate change, please contact us. Some of the funds brought in will support projects already in the Climate Transformation Fund; some may be distributed to newly identified projects. Projects are supported via donations or the purchase of carbon removal certificates, not through making equity investments.
How should companies determine how much to contribute if they are not offsetting?
We recommend setting an internal carbon tax and using those funds to support climate projects. This ensures a connection between the pollution a company creates and the financial responsibility it takes for it. Our white paper provides guidance on how to set a fee.
Do you claim to create the greatest possible climate impact with the fund?
No. That is the aim of the fund and what we evaluate projects on, but it is very difficult to know beforehand which projects will prove to be most impactful. We cannot evaluate more than a small share of the numerous climate projects available globally and are sure to miss out on good opportunities. However, we strive to evolve the initiative, get tips and feedback, and find new projects to evaluate and support.
Are carbon credits bad?
Carbon credits offer a structured way to support climate projects. Some credits are high quality, but significant shares of credits sold are cheap low-quality ones. Even with high-quality credits, the problem lies in only focusing on buying a set amount of credits and making questionable neutrality claims rather than impact. Notably, carbon credits are not the same as offsets. Offsetting is a claim you make on the back of a credit, but there is no need to do so.
How much CO2 do you avoid/remove per dollar?
We try to find projects that get the most bang for the buck. This can mean buying carbon removals at a higher price today to help them become cheaper in the future or supporting credible environmental organizations to protect forests and plant trees. We try to quantify the effect of the contributions in our reporting, but the actual implication of a tonne of carbon avoided or removed differs significantly between solutions. Some solutions avoid releasing carbon in the short term, some capture carbon and store it permanently, and some lobby decision-makers to create regulation that stops emissions in the future. Read more about the framework for evaluating projects here.
What is carbon removal?
Carbon removal refers to various technologies and methods that remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.
How effective is carbon offsetting in reducing overall emissions?
Carbon offsetting can be a useful tool, but it should not be used as a substitute for reducing emissions at the source.
How can companies reduce their carbon footprint?
Companies can reduce their carbon footprint through energy efficiency measures, renewable energy use, and carbon offsetting.
How can companies offset their carbon emissions?
Companies can offset their emissions by investing in carbon removal technologies, renewable energy projects, afforestation and reforestation projects, or by purchasing carbon credits from carbon offset projects.
How can consumers know if a company's carbon offsetting efforts are legitimate?
Consumers can look for certifications such as Verified Carbon Standard or Gold Standard, which verifies the quality and credibility of carbon offset projects.
Feel free to contact us at hello@milkywire.com to clear up any questions you might have. Or leave your details here and we’ll contact you.