Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation Donates $15M To Environmental Groups

The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation said today it has funded $15 million in grants to organizations implementing environmental conservation projects worldwide. The latest round of funding from DiCaprio’s group comes after the actor-activist executive produced the Netflix documentary Virunga, which followed a group of people who risk their lives to save the last of the world’s mountain gorilla population in Congo amid a civil war and a scramble for the country’s natural resources. The film was nominated for a Feature Documentary Oscar last year, and Virunga National Park is among the recipients of the grants revealed today, which go toward solutions to protect key species and threatened marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and empowering indigenous communities to be the long-term stewards of their natural resources. Since 2010, the foundation has funded more than 70 projects in more than 40 countries.