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Battery Powered is The Battery's giving program. Think of it as a membership within a membership. Through it, members find and fund people and projects with a serious chance of making society stronger.

Beyond being a place to eat, drink and socialize, The Battery Founders Michael and Xochi Birch envisioned a community that could express generosity and commitment. Battery Powered is a giving program that is bringing members together to do just that. By supporting organizations and learning from frontline experts, The Battery community can do more together than would be ever be possible alone.

Battery Powered brings members in touch with leaders and experts on the front lines of today’s toughest issues. With each theme, the program provides ways to develop an in-depth understanding of the key challenges through in-person events with experts and organizations, online resources, member roundtables and field trips. Funds are committed to organizations that have been nominated and selected by members and have passed our assessment review.

Themes are the topic areas that we will focus on each year. We explore themes that address a mix of local and global issues. Each theme is framed by a question that helps us to prioritize our research, invite experts and nominate the organizations that are most relevant to the issues. By approaching each theme with a question, we’re recognizing that we don’t know all the answers and are looking for the wisdom of those working on these issues day in and day out. This helps us understand the context and find our opportunity to engage. We currently take on two themes a year. Themes are nominated and voted on by the full Battery Powered membership; our High Voltage members then finalize the slate for the year.

Organizations are nominated by members of Battery Powered and invited to submit proposals. If proposals meet the necessary criteria, our philanthropy team will conduct a full assessment of their project, including program, financial and leadership review. These assessments are available online for members only. Experts who provide their insights on a theme are also invited to nominate organizations. Once each theme, members review the proposals as a peer group and vote on the organizations they wish to fund.

The Battery founders, Michael and Xochi Birch, have committed to funding baseline operations for the program, while working towards a sustainable model that ensures program longevity. 90% of annual donations go directly to organizations and 10% towards program operations.

All members of The Battery are invited to join Battery Powered. We have four membership levels based on financial contribution: High Voltage, Battery Connected, Battery Powered and Ignited. Members commit up front for the year, which then fund selected organizations twice a year.

You can join Battery Powered through our website

If you have additional questions, you can always contact us at [email protected] or click here

The pilot theme opened in September 2014. For the most recent program activities, visit our homepage

The Battery Foundation — the 501(c)(3) public charity behind Battery Powered — is proud to maintain financial transparency and uphold our platinum standard by posting all of our annual 990 Forms on Guidestar. Below we will list out our last four years of forms. Should you care to review our audited financial statements, please email your request to Battery Powered .

• IRS Form 990 for Fiscal Year 2019-2020
• IRS Form 990 for Fiscal Year 2020-2021
• IRS Form 990 for Fiscal Year 2021-2022
• IRS Form 990 for Fiscal Year 2022-2023

Battery Powered requires a one-year commitment from the time you join. You'll have the option to renew your membership at the same time each year.

If you have made an error in making your donation, we will honor requests for a refund that are made within 10 days of the donation. If an allocation event has occurred between the time of the donation and the request for refund, the unallocated portion of your donation will be refunded. To request a refund please send an email to [email protected] or click here

Refunds are returned using the original method of payment. If you made your donation by credit card, your refund will be credited to that same credit card.

The Battery Foundation's funds, including all contributions made by Battery Powered members, are overseen by The Battery's finance and legal teams. Annual reports and financial statements are available upon request. When you choose to give, you acknowledge that The Battery Foundation has the authority to use and distribute contributions responsibly, in a manner consistent with its legal exemptions as a public charity. The philanthropy team will work with the Foundation to document funding status online and in print. We aim to provide transparent and rigorous management of all contributions and to support successful grantee engagements. As needed, we will fully disclose all funds granted to foreign organizations at The Battery Foundation's discretion.

The Battery Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity. Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Not at this time. However, there will be opportunities for non-Battery Powered members to attend certain Battery Powered events.

Battery Powered is a program of The Battery Foundation. Program management, including proposal assessments and operations, is run by an in house team of experts. Our team conducts the research and due diligence underpinning each theme, vets organizations and projects and brings top experts to guide our learning. This work was transitioned to the in house team in June 2016 after three years of excellent support from Amplifier Strategies.

Battery Powered members can suggest a theme by emailing [email protected] or click here

Once a theme is selected, there is an open call for member-submitted nominations of experts and organizations. At this time, every Battery Powered member can recommend two experts and two organizations via our website.

Battery Powered members always receive the first invite and are welcome to bring a limited number of guests to our Expert and Organization Nights, as well as our volunteer days. Allocation Week activities and Impact Dinners are reserved for active Battery Powered members only.