Terry Odendahl, President and CEO of Global Greengrants Fund, has announced she will be retiring in 2020, after over a decade of service. Terry will stay until a successor is found, ensuring a smooth transition to new leadership.
The Board of Directors of Global Greengrants warmly thanks Terry for her magnificent contribution to the organization and for her decade of proud leadership. We also thank Terry for giving significant notice about her plans to retire, allowing us ample time to find a suitable replacement. We plan to appoint a new CEO at the conclusion of a comprehensive executive search process that will be conducted in 2019.
Terry has been the head of Global Greengrants since January 2009. Her contributions to the organization have been substantial. Under Terry’s leadership, grantmaking has increased, with Global Greengrants now awarding over 900 grants annually in over 100 countries, all in support of local activists working tirelessly for a future in which everyone can live with dignity and in harmony with the environment. Terry has honored the founding mission and values of Global Greengrants, as well as the original grantmaking model, whilst fostering and encouraging the organization to move in new directions.
With Terry’s guidance, the organization has devoted more time and effort to funding women working to protect the environment, launching a Women’s Environmental Action program. Now, over 60 percent of Global Greengrants’ grantmaking dollars support women and the environment, and Global Greengrants has been recognized as one of the top funders working at this intersection. Even more significant is the field-building role which Terry has played, and the research and written reports Global Greengrants has published around the funding gap for women and environment. Terry has led the call for philanthropy to become aware of the lack of resources in this crucial area and to redirect dollars in support of women working in their local communities to protect the environment.
In 2015, under Terry’s leadership, Global Greengrants launched a European sister organization. Global Greengrants Fund UK/Europe provides supporters in Europe with the opportunity to invest in local change in the Global South, using the same grantmaking model and infrastructure as the U.S.-based global organization. By the time Terry retires, this new venture expects to be raising more than $1 million per annum to support the global family of environmental activists connected through Global Greengrants Fund.
Nnimmo Bassey, Co-Chair of the Global Greengrants Fund Board, writes:
Terry Odendahl has given dedicated leadership to the Global Greengrants Fund for over a decade. We have benefitted from her knowledge and wisdom, as well as her passion and activism. We thank Terry for all that she has given us, and wish her well as she moves into a new phase of her life.
Global Greengrants is both unique and amazing, and is well placed to support those tackling the major environmental justice issues of our time, all around the world. We are starting the search process, and we are confident that we will find another exceptional leader to take us forward into a new era.
To read Terry’s letter about her retirement, click here.