The EPIC Air Quality Fund aims to significantly expand access to air quality data to 1 billion people by 2030. Since its launch in July 2024, made possible by a $1.5 million gift from Open Philanthropy, the Fund has received a surge of demand from local actors across the world who, with funding, could bring basic air quality infrastructure to their countries and have a national-level impact on pollution.
Today, the EPIC Air Quality Fund announced a $1.2 million gift from Alpha Epsilon, a grant-making organization focused on partnering with funds that make meaningful impact.
“We are incredibly grateful to partner with the EPIC Air Quality Fund, as we see particulate matter air pollution as a great threat to human health today. We are beyond excited to support the excellent Fund team in their ambitious goals,” says Anna McKelvey, co-founder and steward of Alpha Epsilon.
Through this gift, the EPIC Air Quality Fund will be able to roughly double the number of awardees from its first call for proposals, where 75 percent of applicants are from countries EPIC has previously identified as “higher priority” for support, given the countries’ particulate pollution levels and limited existing data and resources. It will also help provide ongoing financial support to organizations that are able to successfully meet the basic criteria underlying the EPIC Air Quality Fund: making data openly and freely available and using it to drive national-level impacts — a crucial ingredient for unlocking the full potential of public air quality data, and ultimately leading to cleaner air.
“The surge of applications we have received from change-makers and experts around the world signals a capacity — and demand for — more investment in this talent pool to close these basic air quality information gaps in the places where this data is needed most,” says Christa Hasenkopf, director of EPIC’s Clean Air Program. “We are delighted to expand our efforts in partnership with Alpha Epsilon, whose generous gift will strengthen and advance the EPIC Air Quality Fund’s mission.”
Interested in contributing to the EPIC Air Quality Fund? Reach out to Christa Hasenkopf: chasenkopf@uchicago.edu.