Azolla Ventures aggregates tax-exempt philanthropic capital from foundations and donors and invests it through a VC-style fund structure to back very high-risk climate startups that mainstream investors won't touch, using explicit impact-driven criteria including potential to reduce at least 0.5 gigaton of CO₂e by 2050 and lack of alternative funding options. The fund operates a dual-sleeve capital model where philanthropic capital funds companies initially and conventional VC capital continues backing them as solutions de-risk, with successful investments returning tax-exempt dollars that must be re-granted to other charitable causes rather than traditional one-time grants.