The Honnold Foundation's journey began when Alex Honnold and a close-knit group of friends and family made it their mission to fund grassroots nonprofits at the intersection of community-centered solar energy and workforce development. In those early days, Alex spent hours hunched over his laptop, strategically selecting a handful of ambitious projects to support each year.
Photo by Jimmy Chin
Under Alex’s example, rooted in a radical commitment to giving away a third of his income each year in support of this work, our community has grown, and our impact with it.
In 2018, the Honnold Foundation "came of age" and became a 501c(3) nonprofit. Since then, we’ve facilitated the empowerment of nearly 60 global solar energy partners to harness solar energy to bolster their communities, with 25 more on the way in 2023. Our work has been varied and widespread - from introducing electricity to a remote fishing village in Mexico, to funding the future of solar-powered, indigenous-designed transportation in the Amazon, workforce development in the Navajo Nation, and even enabling youth-led solar-powered compost processing in Brooklyn, New York.
Today, we stand on the threshold of yet another challenge. We have $28 million in unfunded projects, nearly 300 total, in need of support this year. In the spirit of our founder, we're starting with one small step, together. We’re reaching out to our community of supporters to raise an additional $50,000 by July 15th, which will fund a new Honnold Foundation grantee Partner for the coming year.
Together, we can empower communities globally to alter their trajectories towards a brighter, more equitable future.