HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Global Friends consortium, spearheaded by the Hong Kong based TSE Foundation, today announced and began seeking candidates for The Global Friends Prizes, three identical annual awards totaling US$1.5 million to be awarded to organizations in Greater China and the United States that are leading the transition to a climate-balanced economy. Entries will be accepted through April 30, 2016, and winners will be announced at the Global Friends Prizes gala in December 2016.
The launch of the Prizes follows the earlier launch of The Global Friends consortium at a symposium hosted by the TSE Foundation in Hong Kong. That event saw approximately 40 leading philanthropists and global thinkers gather to identify what role global philanthropy might play in shaping a transnational world and fostering greater U.S.-China collaboration.
Wide array of organizations and approaches are eligible to win
The Global Friends Prizes will be awarded through an open call competition. Applications are invited from all non-profit, for-profit, and socially-oriented organizations and companies in Greater China and the United States that are deploying tangible activities, technologies, and solutions that empower individuals to limit climate change to well below 2 degrees Celsius. Prizewinners will have demonstrated the ability to prompt individuals’ reductions of carbon emissions, and their activities, technologies, and solutions will have the potential to become widely adopted by society.
Winners will be selected according to several criteria, including the projected aggregate climate impact if the organization’s approach were to be widely adopted, the organization’s determination and resilience, and the extent to which the Prize money would further the organization’s efforts.
Prizes to help prompt increase in philanthropic funding to reduce carbon emissions
“Currently less than two percent of all philanthropic dollars are being spent to directly address climate change,” said Ivan Tse, Chairman and President of TSE Foundation. “The Global Friends Prizes help rectify this situation by supporting innovative organizations in the two most carbon-polluting countries. It is a first step in highlighting effective philanthropic roles and meaningfully increasing funding to help stop climate change.”
The Global Friends Prizes are part of a broader effort, initiated and led by TSE Foundation, to establish a network of philanthropists focused on addressing challenges of a global nature, first and foremost of which is climate change. The Global Friends recognize that solving the climate challenge will require a truly holistic approach that activates diverse stakeholders, creates new narratives around climate action, and dramatically increases philanthropy’s engagement with and response to this particular area.
To learn more and to register or nominate candidates for The Global Friends Prizes, visit http://www.theglobalfriends.org/prizes.
About The Global Friends
Founded by Hong Kong’s TSE Foundation, The Global Friends is a consortium of leading global philanthropists from Greater China and the United States who practice strategic, collaborative philanthropy and who share a commitment to shaping the positive development of human society in today’s transnational world. The group represents the vanguard of 21st century global philanthropy and is united by a shared commitment to building on the momentum of the Paris climate agreement. For more information, visit: http://www.theglobalfriends.org