A WISE Story

Jackie Bouvier Copeland founded The WISE Fund as a coalition of donors, social financiers, technologists and activists to seek, find and fund climate impact technologies in the corners of the world often overlooked by innovation funders but most affected by environmental crisis.

An African-American with Indigenous ancestry, who has worked extensively throughout Africa, Jackie has experienced the impact of environmental racism and exploitation worldwide. A long-time naturalist and environmentalist in her personal life and career as a foundation grantmaker, a transformative trip to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef and Kuranda Rainforest, the world’s oldest continuous rainforest, redoubled her dedication to do her part to save the planet.  

“Walking the ocean floor and flying over the Great Barrier Reef changed my life. Just seeing the contrast between the remaining healthy coral and the dying reefs was shocking. And global warming was not the only threat. Runoff from the destruction of the rainforest to create farmland was turning the ocean brown, hastening the death of marine life and the forest so vital to a healthy ecosystem. The decline of the natural environment was reflected in the despondent spirits of Kuranda’s aboriginal youth, who, without job opportunities or constructive outlets, spent their days drinking alcohol and playing sorrowful didgeridoo dirges.

The entire journey flashed me back to my life growing up Black in urban Philadelphia, stories of my South Carolina Cherokee ancestors’ trail of tears, and the displacement of my African Gullah-Geechee forebearers. In that epiphany I not only understood that our struggles were one with those of Australia’s Indigenous peoples. Indigenous and Afrodescendant communities are canaries in the mines of the world’s climate crisis.  

Harnessing the wisdom and ingenuity of the communities most affected by environmental destruction in a way that also improves their livelihoods and health is the key to addressing climate change. After months of reflection about what I could do to make a difference, I joined the boards of some groundbreaking renewable energy organizations. But I still felt that I needed to do more.

The idea for The WISE Fund came to me as I realized that through my career I have amassed a network of wise people, who together could find and support innovators with local technology solutions that might address the causes of the climate crisis, while creating new, scalable models to renew our health and environment worldwide. I hope that people of all backgrounds will join The WISE Fund to support the next generation of climate impact technology to save our planet. We can and must do this.”