Music superstar and cosmetics entrepreneur Rihanna‘s Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) recently committed $15 million to eighteen organizations working on climate change justice across the U.S. and Caribbean in partnership with #StartSmall, Twitter founder Jack Dorsey‘s philanthropic initiative.
The grants from the Barbados native’s foundation will support entities focused on and led by women, youth, Black, Indigenous, people of color and LGBTQIA+ communities.
Climate disasters, which are growing in frequency and intensity, do not impact all communities equally. Under-resourced countries, communities of color, and island nations are facing the brunt. To combat this inequity, funders like CLF are building partnerships with organizations, acknowledging their deep understanding of what is necessary to achieve climate justice in their own communities.
We are proud to commit $15 million to 18 organizations working intersectionality on climate justice across the U.S. and Caribbean in collaboration with @Jack’s #StartSmall. Meet our #climatejustice partners: pic.twitter.com/DH9li0kOra
— Clara Lionel Fdn (@ClaraLionelFdn) January 25, 2022
The announcement of this multi-million dollar donation comes barely two months after Rihanna was named a National Hero in Barbados. In the recent past, Ms. Fenty has donated $11 million to social justice organizations and gifted 4,000 tablets to youth in her native country to address the digital divide during the pandemic.
The entities supported by CLF’s latest philanthropic outlay are listed below:
Serving as the first global hub for Black feminist philanthropy and led by activists from across the African and Caribbean diaspora, the Black Feminist Fund (BFF) significantly increases the resources available to Black feminist movements globally, contributing to strengthening their sustainability and resilience and supporting Black women’s claim and access to resources, including land, food, water, shelter, work and income.
Black Visions Collective is a Black-led, Queer and Trans centering organization whose mission is to organize powerful, connected, Black communities and dismantle systems of violence. Black Visions Collective is led by the guiding belief that all Black people deserve autonomy, that safety is community-led, and we are in the right relationship within our ecosystems.
Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN)
CYEN is dedicated to improving the quality of life of Caribbean young people by facilitating their personal development and full involvement in environment and sustainable development. CYEN’s work spans addressing youth unemployment, enriching climate resiliency, water resource management, notably their “Stay Alive and Thrive” Climate Action campaign to raise public awareness about the urgent need to mitigate and adapt to climate change across the Caribbean and around the globe.
Center for Popular Democracy (CPD)
The Center of Popular Democracy (CPD) champions equity, opportunity and a dynamic democracy in partnership with high-impact base-building organizations, organizing alliances, and progressive unions. CPD strengthens communities’ capacity to envision and win an innovative pro-worker, pro-immigrant, racial and economic justice agenda.
CPD also runs an Organizing for Environmental Justice Campaign, driving action at the scale and rate needed to address the climate crisis.
Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund
The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund (Equity Fund) is building power to stop climate change and create an equitable clean energy future through a strategic multi-state initiative that invests in the leadership and organizing of BIPOC communities, engaging voters through nonpartisan civic engagement campaigns; and winning climate and clean energy policy solutions that reflect the priorities of communities and advance racial, economic, and environmental justice.
Climate Justice Alliance (CJA) formed in 2013 to create a new center of gravity in the climate movement by uniting frontline communities and organizations into a formidable force. CJA centers around creating a “Just Transition” away from extractive systems of production, consumption and political oppression, and developing resilient, regenerative and equitable economies. The Just Transition places race, gender and class at the center of the solutions equation in order to establish systems change that truly gives back to our communities in a sustainable way.
Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (The Center)
The Deep South Center for Environment Justice, also known as “The Center,” monitors environmental hazards in neighborhoods and develops strategic advocacy for policies and decisions that prevent and remedy unsafe environmental conditions. The Center also hosts the annual HBCU Climate Change Conference in New Orleans to raise awareness about the disproportionate impact of climate change on vulnerable and marginalized communities as well as prepare HBCU students to become experts and advocates on issues related to environmental and climate justice.
GirlsCARE is a feminist climate activist movement that aims to create a space that empowers young women to advocate for gender justice in climate action and safeguard the economic, social and environmental rights of women in adaptation and resilience-building efforts nationally.
Helen’s Daughters was born in 2016 out of a call for proposals from the UN Women’s Empower Women Champions for Change Program with the belief that there was a need to support rural women with the use of adaptive agricultural techniques, capacity-building and improved market access. The foundation has grown to support all the individual components of climate justice with a focus on supporting women in agriculture, and building these women’s ability to support themselves through sustainable farming practices including their flagship project, the Rural Women’s Academy, which connects rural women to affordable,
HEY Campaign (The Ashley Lashley Foundation)
The HEY (Healthy and Environmentally-friendly Youth) Campaign works towards bringing children and youth voices to the core of the climate change movement, with a core focus on child health. The HEY Campaign aims to create a generation of young people committed to adopting lifestyles that are both healthy and environmentally friendly, and leading global advocacy efforts to build inclusive societies where priority is given to life and dignity, not just economic growth.
Hive Fund for Gender and Climate Justice
The Hive Fund for Climate and Gender Justice raises funds and makes grants to organizations led by BIPOC-led organizations that have historically lacked access to funding and are essential to making progress in addressing intersecting climate, gender, and racial justice crises in the U.S. A majority of Hive funding is awarded to groups in the South, where pollution levels are higher and philanthropic funding levels are lower than elsewhere in the country.
Indigenous Environmental Network
IEN builds the capacity of Indigenous communities and tribal governments to develop mechanisms to protect sacred sites, land, water, air, natural resources, health of both people and all living things, and to build economically sustainable communities. IEN accomplishes this by maintaining an informational clearinghouse, organizing campaigns, direct actions, and public awareness, building the capacity of community and tribes to address environmental justice issues, developing policy initiatives, and building alliances among Indigenous communities and allies.
Integrated Health Outreach (IHO) strives to develop and implement sustainable, cost-effective, and accessible programs to facilitate community, ecological and social-emotional well-being. IHO’s work prioritizes sustainable agriculture for rural communities with a focus on creating climate smart sustainable livelihoods for women. They combine capacity-building, protection of the environment, mental health, and look for projects for women’s engagement that support this holistic approach.
Movement for Black Lives (M4BL)
The Movement for Black Lives (MB4L) is an ecosystem of individuals and organizations creating a shared vision and policy agenda to win rights, recognition, and resources for Black people to live healthy and fruitful lives, having impacts well beyond the Black community. MB4L embodies an intersectional approach to social justice and systems change, spanning five areas: Policy Demands, Organizing & Base Building, Electoral Justice Project, The Rising Majority, and Culture & Resource
Native Movement supports grassroots-led projects that align with their vision, that dismantle oppressive systems for all, and that endeavor to ensure social justice, Indigenous Peoples’ rights, and the rights of Mother Earth. They work to push toward a post-oil economy, and an Indigenized Regenerative Economy in Alaska by working with numerous local and state-wide organizations, groups, and individuals to build solutions rooted in an Indigenized worldview, toward healthy, sustainable, & just communities for all. Native Movement also creates a platform for Alaska Native people to pursue storytelling projects on climate justice issues through a filmmakers intensive program.
NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building and narrative change, they are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms. NDN climate justice campaigns support those Indigenous and frontline communities who are leading the way in defending their land, water, and air from contamination, and their people from exploitation and violence.
The Caribbean Climate Justice Project
The Caribbean Climate Justice Project seeks to raise awareness and educate broadly on the threats to communities across the Caribbean caused by climate change, and catalyze action on the necessary responses at the household, community, national and regional levels. The Caribbean Climate Justice Project’s work spans over 20 countries, educating communities about the disproportionate impacts of climate change, advocating for systems change on a global scale, and networking to connect Caribbean communities and abroad to optimize impact and promote knowledge and resource sharing.
The Solutions Project supports climate changemakers, innovators, and solutionaires at the grassroots level by awarding grants to support grassroots innovation, elevating their storytelling and leadership capacity to increase awareness and their own impact, and connecting them with influential leaders to expand their breadth of work and potential for life changing solutions. They aim to address gender and racial inequities in media coverage and in philanthropy, especially related to climate change and the fight towards climate justice. Since 2015, they have distributed more than $8.5M in grants to 100+ grantees, mostly led by women.
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