Funders for Climate Justice

The NCG Funders for Climate Justice Group is a collaboration with Smart Growth California and the League of California Community Foundations. We invite funders who are interested in or are already funding at the intersection of climate justice and resilience to join us and to share and provide input as we collectively learnand take action on critical climate justice challenges and opportunities. Discussion topics in the group will focus on intersectional issues relating to climate justice, as well as philanthropic and community-based practices and trends relevant to northern California’s 48-county region. We also welcome topical and tactical feedback from funders as we improve this group.

Funders for Climate Justice meet four times a year:

• Session 1 | Friday, April 22, 2022: 10:30 am – 12:00 noon
• Session 2 | Friday, July 15, 2022: 10:30 am – 12:00 noon
• Session 3 | Friday, September 16, 2022: 10:30 am – 12:00 noon
• Session 4 | Friday, December 2, 2022: 10:30 am – 12:00 noon

Session 1 | Friday, April 22, 2022

We are at a critical juncture in shaping how people live, work, play in the decades to come. The convergence of increasing intensity and frequency of climate change impacts on communities, significant public funding that is allocated to increasing community-based climate resiliency, and heightened attention on the urgency to take immediate action on climate change, has created tremendous philanthropic engagement opportunitiesin California.

Recently, FSG published a report, Time to Act: How Philanthropy Must Address the Climate Crisis, which presents a set of practical recommendations and vignettes to illustrate how a widerange of funders, varying in size, structure, and expertise, can further their existing missions by supporting effective climate action through grantmaking and investments. The report calls for funders to support frontline communities most affected by the climate crisis to transform economic, political, and social systems toward a more just, regenerative, and livable future. At our inaugural meetingon Earth Day, FSG will share highlights of the report to help prompt our discussions around several key questions:

• Why funding for climate justice is critical at this moment?
• How are funders engaging at the intersection of climate resilience?
• What learning, information, and philanthropic/cross-sector coordination needs are necessary to accelerate grantmaking, investments, and advocacy for climate justice?

Additionally, Northern California Grantmakers, Smart Growth California/Southern California Grantmakers, and the League of California Community Foundations will share their respective climate-related priorities in supporting, engaging, connecting, and coordinating funders. We invite you and your colleagues to participate in this interactive and engaging (virtual) meeting where you will meet your peers and learn from each other so that we can collectively work towards an equitable climate future!