New report shows grassroots climate justice movements are already forging a more just global food and energy future

We analyzed 65 grant reports from 19 of our grassroots partners between 2015 – 2021 to learn how our grassroots movement partners are advancing systemic and policy change to address the climate crisis. Read the briefs now.

How do grassroots movements scale? Why is international solidarity important in confronting the climate crisis? Why fund the grassroots? We synthesized some of the lessons from our online dialogue series about the what, why, and how of supporting grassroots climate action globally.

$10 million, 300+ grants, 5 years. The CLIMA Fund is pleased to share its impact report on its 5-year anniversary of resourcing the grassroots climate justice movements.

This World Food Day, we honor the thousands of grassroots food sovereignty movements challenging the status quo and creating equitable and sustainable food systems. We commit to standing with food sovereignty movements for the long haul and invite other funders to join us.

On August 9th, the CLIMA Fund hosted a global Twitter chat to commemorate the International Day of World’s Indigenous Peoples and ask what the world would look like if Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous-led climate action receive the funding and support they desire.

Katherina Zavala interviews Leocadio Juracán, newly-elected Guatemalan Congressman and general coordinator of Thousand Currents grantee, CCDA.

Funders can join women human rights defenders in their advocacy. This means creating spaces and providing funding and other resources for them to advocate for themselves and their communities, recognizing and valuing their experiences, supporting their leadership development and participation, strengthening their networks and resilience to sustain their movements.

“Another world is indeed possible and we could hear its sometimes joyous and sometimes labored breathing in rural Brazil.” Tarso Ramos reports back from witnessing the resilience and resistance of grassroots communities.

Walls are the not the answer. The real solution doesn’t build walls. It doesn’t jail tired, hungry and frightened men, women and children. It contributes to a better world by restoring the right of the affected people to create their own solutions.

ADEMI uplifts women’s political and economic participation in Guatemala. Read about Katherine Zavala’s visit with them here.

Original post by Chung-Wha Hong and Lydia Simas for Grassroots International on January 25, 2019. Babaçu nut harvesters in the northeast of Brazil have been struggling for free access to the land and forests that provide livelihoods for thousands of rural families. We went to visit a community of babaçu nut harvesters – known as quebradeiras de … Continued

Original UAF and HRFN post detailing how funders can accomplish more by breaking out of silos and working deliberately across issues.

Elizabeth Mpofu talks food sovereignty in Africa

By Gargi Sharma The End of the World as We Know It? International Solidarity in the Climate & COVID-19 Crisis The world is changing rapidly due to climate disruption and the COVID-19 crisis, and that’s not going to stop. But even as fires rage and storms brew, the impact of these changes can still be … Continued

There is a common belief in the philanthropic sector that doing something is better than doing nothing. But what happens when some funders’ efforts to do good end up doing more harm, undercutting effective climate action? Our latest infographic explores these false promises.

With a global pandemic and the ever-looming climate crisis, where can our philanthropic dollars make a difference? In the last couple months, grassroots movements have shown how to meet the immediate needs of communities when governments are failing to, and organize for long-term change in a moment that shows how desperately we need it. To resource grassroots movements, funding intermediaries play a critical role.

Grassroots organizing has been a central strategy of almost every major social and economic transformation in world history—from ending apartheid to the recognition of Indigenous rights to women’s suffrage globally.

Press release: For media inquiries, please contact:Gargi Sharma, gargi@climasolutions.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Mar. 09, 2020 – A new report published by the CLIMA (Climate Leaders in Movement Action) Fund draws on the practical experience of grassroots activists and philanthropists to map the state of the increasing violence against Natural Resource Defenders in Latin America, and … Continued

Urgent Action Fund’s 2015 publication on women human rights and environmental defenders in Indonesia & The Philippines.

CLIMA Fund Partner Digo Bikas Institute sees preparation for a post-carbon economy as an act of climate change mitigation and adaptation for Nepal’s economy.

When environmental activism carries such a heavy price, how can we leverage our position as philanthropists to push for accountability?

The media statement by the KwaZulu-Natal Subsistence Fisher Folk, the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance, and other groups highlights the right of current and future generations to access the ocean and protect their right to food.

By Lindley Mease The CLIMA Fund supports groups that stop and prevent this devastation going forward. The Amazon is burning, Indigenous Peoples are standing up for the forests that have supported life on the entire planet, and youth are taking to the streets globally to demand change. Activists in Brazil and around the world are … Continued

By Lindley Mease, Thousand Currents | Olivia Trabysh, Urgent Action Fund | Allison Davis, Global Greengrants Fund Original post here on October 23, 2018 The SF climate summits exposed the deep rifts at play in the struggle to tackle climate change. How do we think about justice for Indigenous peoples whose resources have been extracted for … Continued

Original post by Lindley Mease on October 18, 2018 The problems associated with climate change are of catastrophic proportion and require diverse, systemic solutions. If these solutions are to ensure this planet is still habitable in 80 years, they will transform how we live and work across the globe. Philanthropy has the opportunity to play … Continued

Original post by Thousand Currents on March 13, 2019 PRESS STATEMENT New report shows overlooked grassroots leaders are already working effectively to cool the planet For media inquiries, please contact:Lindley Mease, (415) 824-8384 Ext. 126, lindley@climasolutions.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  GLOBAL — Today the California Environmental Associates released a new body of evidence that demonstrates that grassroots climate solutions are needed philanthropic investments … Continued

Original post by Rajasvini Bhansali on June 23, 2017 Climate change is a tough subject. It is serious and it is scary. Dig deep – beyond the very real, devastating impacts on communities around the world – and what you find is the reality of global systems of inequality. Legacies of colonial extraction. Concentrations of … Continued

Original post by Thousand Currents on December 07, 2016 History shows us time and again: the vital lever of major social change, from decolonization to civil rights to environmental movements, has been grassroots organizing. Yet, even today, grassroots efforts often remain underfunded and overlooked. This missed opportunity is huge, especially in regards to one of … Continued