To solve the climate crisis

We need funders to change the way they do business.

Top philanthropies are giving only a tiny fraction

Just 1.3% — of their U.S. climate dollars to the Black, indigenous, and people of color-led environmental justice groups who are doing the most to fight climate change.

Credit: The New School (in collaboration with Building Equity and Alignment)

We call on the top 40 climate funders in the country to take the Climate Funders Justice Pledge and commit to:

1

Transparent reporting of their grants

2

Increasing funding of BIPOC-led power building groups to at least 30% within two years

Mission & Vision

Donors of Color Network’s Climate Funders Justice Pledge shifts the center of gravity in philanthropy towards racial and economic justice, challenging the nation’s largest climate funders to commit publicly to greater transparency and to give at least 30% of their climate funding to BIPOC-led power building groups – groups that are on the frontlines of the climate crisis and are consistently winning the fights that matter most.

These organizations have delivered the movement’s biggest victories: shutting down oil pipelines, stopping new gas plants, raising revenue to fund clean energy construction and jobs, and winning billions in funding for underserved communities in state climate legislation. Yet despite their outsized impact and overwhelming energy for critical climate action, BIPOC-led groups see significantly less funding than their white counterparts.

Still, they make every dollar count, fighting not just for environmental protection but for a deeper democracy where communities have real power over critical resources for collective survival – their air, their water, their land.

The mainstream climate movement misses this intersection: that if we want to solve the climate problem, we have to solve the democracy problem – and vice versa.

And it’s the BIPOC power-building groups that understand how to organize around this inherent connection. With a clear and firsthand understanding of climate and racial injustice, they can assess the interplay of climate interventions and foster the solidarity needed to activate equitable solutions where both people and planet flourish.

So now is the time for funders to act. Fuel the boldness and genius of BIPOC-led power-building organizations by taking the pledge today.

4

Years of CFJP

36

Funders Pledged

$135 M

in Funding Directed to BIPOC Groups

THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT’S BIG PROBLEM, NARRATED BY ROSARIO DAWSON.

“There are areas where even the best-intentioned among us need guidance and vocabulary and the combination of hearts, minds, and data all together.”

– Liz mckeon, ikea foundation

Take the pledge

STEP ONE:

Click the button below to complete the pledge form.

Take the Pledge

STEP TWO:

We believe in the importance of transparency in grantmaking. If you are not already, within two months of signing, please upload last two year of grants data to the longstanding Candid eReporter portal — trusted and used by many foundations — and continue to report annually.

STEP Three:

Within three months of taking the pledge, calculate and provide to the Donors of Color what percentage of your organization’s U.S. environmental/climate funding over the last two years has gone to organizations run by, serving, and building power in communities of color in the U.S. — those where the majority of the board and senior staff are Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC) and where there is an expressed commitment to serving BIPOC communities — and continue to report annually. This will be highlighted on our “Who’s Pledged” page so that we can better understand where the top funders are as a collective.

STEP four:

Within two years of taking the pledge, direct at least 30% of all U.S. climate giving to groups run by, serving, and building power in communities of color in the U.S.

“We recognize the historic underinvestment in front-line organizations working toward environmental justice. The problem-solving responsibility must include people representative of these communities and must also be set and governed by them. Kresge is proud to be one of the first philanthropies to commit to the Climate Funders Justice Pledge, and we encourage our colleagues to join us.”

— Rip Rapson, President and CEO of The Kresge Foundation