Board memo

To: Trustees and Executive Committee
From: Harvard Chan C-CHANGE · Office of the Director
Re: Research Year · FY2026 funding pathway — mandate, gap, and rebuild plan
Date: 2026-07-27

Mandate
Put science into climate action through research, education, and outreach that protects the health of people most vulnerable to climate change — at every level: individuals, health care systems, communities and cities, and national and global policy.

State of the funded stack
Our four pillars carry $8M in annual program commitments. As of this cycle, 27% is secured ($2.15M), $1.45M is at risk pending funder decisions, and $4.03M has been eliminated — largely federal continuations (NIH NHLBI, HRSA, NIEHS P42, EPA EJ collaborative, USAID climate-health). The rebuild gap sits at $5.85M.

Pillar-by-pillar
  • Individuals — APECS · Air Purification for Eosinophilic COPD
      Commitment $1.85M · Funded 22% · Eliminated $1.10M · Gap $1.45M
  • Health care systems — Climate MD + Frontline Clinic Resilience
      Commitment $2.40M · Funded 28% · Eliminated $900K · Gap $1.73M
  • Communities and cities — ACRES · Mystic River Watershed + C-EARTH heat interventions
      Commitment $2.10M · Funded 27% · Eliminated $1.33M · Gap $1.54M
  • National and global policy — CHAIR-India + Climate-Smart Public Health (Madagascar/Nepal)
      Commitment $1.65M · Funded 32% · Eliminated $700K · Gap $1.13M

The rebuild pathway
We are actively engaged with 4 matched funders representing $3.70M in addressable capital:
  • Wellcome Trust · Climate & Health — Discovery Award · $1.5M / 3 yr. Fit 96. Ask $1.45M. Window: Rolling · next review Mar 2026. Status: Drafting.
  • Bloomberg Philanthropies · Environment — Climate-resilient health systems RFP. Fit 91. Ask $900K. Window: LOI due Apr 15, 2026. Status: Tracking.
  • Kresge Foundation · Environment — Climate Change, Health & Equity initiative. Fit 88. Ask $750K. Window: Invitation-only · warm intro in hand. Status: Tracking.
  • Robert Wood Johnson Foundation — Policies for Action · climate & health. Fit 84. Ask $600K. Window: Concept note open Feb–May 2026. Status: Tracking.

Pursuing the top three (Wellcome Discovery, Bloomberg climate-resilient health systems, Kresge CCH&E) closes roughly 53% of the rebuild gap within one 12-month cycle without requiring mandate expansion.

Ask of the board
1. Approve the Wellcome Discovery Award submission (drafting now) and the Bloomberg LOI at the April 15 window.
2. Authorize a 6-month internal bridge against the Health-Care-Systems pillar to protect FQHC training deployments while CDC review resolves.
3. Confirm the mandate as stated — the rebuild strategy assumes no scope change; any deviation should be surfaced now.

Every figure in this memo is generated from the C-CHANGE funding pathway in CHELCIE Compass and is traceable to its source line. This memo is a draft; replace signatories and refine narrative voice before circulating.

— Prepared via CHELCIE Compass · 2026-07-27