Last summer, we were thrilled to onboard three undergraduate interns, who spent their time with us learning about the work we do at LIL, engaging with our grant partners, and helping to facilitate actionable impact for our inaugural cohort. Upon the conclusion of their internship, we asked them to reflect on their experiences and what it meant to them, focusing on their time spent at the 2024 Annual Retreat. We believe these testimonials capture the LIL spirit, offering a meaningful glimpse into our program and highlighting our commitment to passing on our core values to the next generation. 

Oregon Public Broadcasting
Jessie Sears, 2025

LIL Grant Partner Rios to Rivers in Action:
A feature on their Paddle Tribal Waters program

To these kayakers, the descent is about so much more than whitewater sports.

“Kayaking is a very cool part of this, but the first descent isn’t about the kayaks,” said 16-year-old Hoopa tribal member and Paddle Tribal Waters participant Julian Rogers. “It’s about the century-long battle that my people have been fighting and is the start of a new beginning.”

To our LIL community,

As we approach the close of 2024, I want to take a moment to reflect on what we have accomplished together and to express my heartfelt gratitude for the unwavering support of our mission.

It’s hard to imagine that we just received our 501c3 status earlier this year, hitting the ground running. Here are some highlights of our significant milestones this year:

- Created an advising curriculum program that best serves the needs of our valued grant partners
- Hired our initial staff of coaching and support professionals, including a business fellow selected from a list of finalists from UVM’s SI-MBA program

As the Levine Impact Lab rolls into its final stages of selecting applicants for the 2025 cohort, it is important to take a step back and look at how far we have come… as well as how much further we plan to go.

A few years ago, Peter Levine saw the need for nonprofit entrepreneurs to be supplied with the same suite of resources that tech startups are provided through venture capital relationships.

Because… why shouldn’t they be?

Through a partnership between the Sustainable Innovation MBA (SI-MBA) program at the University of Vermont and the Levine Impact Lab (LIL), I had the opportunity to intern with LIL as a financial and business management consultant. The Levine Impact Lab is a foundation that provides funding, advising, and coaching services to grassroots nonprofit organizations focused on social and environmental issues, helping them with strategic planning and growth.

Philanthropy Daily
Maria D'Anselmi, 2024

A grant from Levine Impact Lab is helping Southside Blooms expand its work bringing hope and healing to places plagued by violence and poverty.

Neither Peter Levine nor his brother Gary had nonprofit experience when they ventured into philanthropy. However, their partnership with Southside Blooms is just one example of how their 20+ years of experience in venture capital have helped the groups they fund in more than just financial ways.

Inside Philanthropy
Wendy Paris, 2024

Peter Levine, a venture capitalist, partnered with climber Alex Honnold to launch the Levine Impact Lab (LIL) in 2023, providing funding and venture-capital-style support to grassroots climate-focused nonprofits. The Lab, which blends philanthropy with a startup incubator model, also draws on Levine’s VC network to offer mentorship and resources, driving significant growth and impact for its grantees.

In June 2023, the Levine Impact Lab's inaugural cohort met in person for the first time. Over the course of the week, eight visionary leaders came together to share their experiences as movement-builders in the nonprofit space, discuss shared pain-points as they seek to scale, and envision a path towards expanded impacts.

Business Insider
Julie Bort, 2022

After recovering from a cancer battle, Peter Levine, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, has shifted his business focus towards philanthropy. He launched the Levine Impact Lab in partnership with the Honnold Foundation, bringing Silicon Valley startup expertise to non-profits, especially those working in the environmental justice and sustainability fields. The initiative provides training and resources to selected non-profits, with plans to expand in the next few years.

Fast Company
Peter Levine, 2022

Peter Levine and Alex Honnold have launched the Levine Impact Lab to bring Silicon Valley's venture capital model to grassroots climate-focused nonprofits. The Lab provides selected organizations with funding, mentorship, and resources to help them scale their impact, particularly in marginalized communities. The initiative aims to create an open-source framework to support nonprofits globally, with a focus on addressing energy inequities and driving meaningful climate action.