Grassroots-Accountable Organizations Will Move Millions to Grassroots-Led Climate Solutions
A few things we know for sure: grassroots-led climate solutions cool the planet and are ready for investment now; collective governance at the local level is a winning strategy; and there is no shortage of capital to address the interconnected crises of climate change and an extractive, exploitative economy that brought the planet to this point.
December 2021
Bezos Earth Fund Can & Must Do Better by BIPOC-Led Environmental Justice Groups
Philanthropy and government, alike, must DIRECTLY support local solutions and narratives that come from those who have endured environmental racism and have lived on the frontlines of the climate crisis for decades. We continue to invite the Earth Fund to prioritize resourcing and scaling up those frontline-led solutions that ensure jobs, justice, climate, and care are centered, while working to reduce emissions at source through a Just Transition.
September 2021
BEA Grassroots Caucus Calls for Environmental Funding Accountability
Letter to the National Resource Defense Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS)
For seven months, we have shared our concerns, asked for action, and patiently waited for you to come to the table and take action in line with the values you subscribe to as participants in Building Equity and Alignment for Environmental Justice (BEA). We feel you have not done so in an equitable manner. We are deeply disappointed in your lackluster response to calls for the fair distribution of Earth Fund dollars.
August 2021
Letter from Climate Justice Alliance to ClimateWorks Foundation
As a national alliance of frontline community-led climate justice organizations, we welcome efforts in the philanthropic community to integrate an equity lens into your grantmaking at the intersection of racial justice and climate justice. We are alarmed, therefore, to see promising initiatives, such as ClimateWorks Foundation’s “2050 Today” virtual event, undermine visions of equity through exclusion of frontline voices. We call on you to partner with frontline communities to co-design what funding equity at the intersection of racial justice and climate justice looks like.
February 2021
Bezos’ Earth Fund is an Unnatural Disaster
An Avalanche of Inequity and Injustice to the Frontlines Does Nothing to Curb Climate Change, while Real Solutions Remain Unfunded
December 2020
An Open Letter from BIPOC Leaders in Food & Agriculture to Food Systems Funders
You’ve articulated your commitment to equity and to racial healing and we appreciate that. Now, it’s time to put words into action, and put your money where your mouth is.
July 2020
Funders for Just and Equitable Climate Solutions
What can we do to seize the urgency of this moment; invest in the wisdom, solutions, and organizing power of frontline communities; and make real steps toward sustainable racial, economic, and environmental justice?
updated March 2020
An Open Letter Demanding Respect and Solidarity
from Gulf Coast grassroots to national “big green” organizations and funders
July 2016
A Movement Without Letters
How funders can listen better, step back, and walk alongside grassroots leadership.
August 2016
Open Letter to 1Sky from the Grassroots
The equation of power in our movement, just as in our country, must be inverted: The leadership is coming from the grassroots everyday.
October 2010
SouthWest Organizing Project (SWOP) Letter to the National Wildlife Federation
Although environmental organizations calling themselves the “Group of Ten” often claim to represent our interests, in observing your activities it has become clear to us that your organizations play an equal role in the disruption of our communities.
March 1990
