In philanthropy, ‘grassroots’ is often equated with ‘community’ and with ‘small-scale’. Grassroots solutions do come from the community, but they are not often small. And because grassroots solutions come from the people most impacted by the problem they seek to solve, they can be more effective and holistic in the problems they address.
As communities around California, the nation, and the world are facing increasing impacts and threats from the climate crisis, funders have a unique opportunity to invest in movements building locally, nationally, and internationally. The climate crisis demands that "business as usual" stop and transform, and that includes philanthropy.
In this two-part dialogue series, we will unpack the many different forms of grassroots action in confronting the climate crisis, and hear directly from frontline voices on the inroads for -and the hurdles facing -grassroots movements. We will also address the question, “What role does philanthropy play in supporting action towards justice, collective health, and sustainability?”
The CLIMA Fund and guest speakers from grassroots movements will connect the dots across the ecological and social crises, and how grassroots solutions are growing to meet the challenge. This two-part series will help you break down what that means for you and your grant portfolio. Participants will walk away from the series with a deeper understanding of how climate justice movements are advancing change, and how they can practically take action in support. Institutional funders, individual donors, and philanthropic advisors are encouraged to join.
Session 2 will unpack the nitty-gritty of funding grassroots movements and why the climate crisis requires action beyond borders. It will highlight key lessons of how funders1) are sharing or shifting power to their grantee partners, 2) challenges to/mistakes in accompanying social movements and how they have overcome them, and 3) opportunities for working with grassroots movements at this moment. We will also share resources for having conversations with colleagues and peers in philanthropy about climate justice and movement building.
To register for both events, please click the "Register Now" button. Click here to join us for Session 1 >
Speakers
Doria (she/her) is a third-generation resident of Richmond, California, and the Executive Director of Urban Tilth. Raised in a strong church community where her grandfather was the minister, Doria spent weekends and summers on the church’s 350-acre ranch in Fairfield, California. It was on the ATOT ranch where she was taught the power of cooperative economics by her grandfather. At Urban Tilth, she led the charge to develop the organization’s three-acre urban farm in Richmond and relaunched the Farm-to-Table CSA social entrepreneurial venture, which now serves hyper-local and sustainably grown produce to 440 west county families each week. Most recently she co-founded Cooperation Richmond, a not-for-profit cooperative developer and one-stop-shop for the incubation, education, training, mentorship, and capital support for cooperative enterprises in Richmond that build community-controlled wealth by and for low-income communities and communities of color.
Target Audience
This program is open to NCG, SCG, Catalyst members only.
