Fellowships Address Barriers for People of Color in the Climate Field | Cross-post
The Funders Network is committed to sharing the stories and strategies of our members, partners and others in the philanthropic sector working to create more sustainable, prosperous and equitable communities.
Today, we’re sharing a recent blog post by Barr Foundation's Emily Sidla, climate program manager, and Rory Neuner, senior learning officer.
BY Emily Sidla and Rory Neuner, Barr Foundation
At the heart of Barr’s Climate program is the belief that achieving our ambitious climate goals requires building an inclusive, multi-racial, and equity-centered movement. How do we make this a reality? One key approach is to expand career pathways in the climate field. People of color face systemic barriers to entering and advancing in the field, and remain under-represented. According to the 2023 Green 2.0 Report, people of color account for only 38% of full-time staff and 31.5% of individuals responsible for leading* non-profit climate and environmental organizations.
In recent years, we’ve invested in new approaches to building a more diverse cadre of leaders within the climate movement. One of our strategies is supporting fellowships and leadership development programs that create pathways for people of color to enter and advance in the field. We’ve identified a gap in substantive, longer-term programs focused on early career development and leadership growth for young professionals. Since 2021, Barr’s Climate Program has funded three early career fellowship programs in the Northeast: the RAY fellowship, the Racial Equity in Policy and Planning Fellowship (REPP), and the Young Climate Leaders of Color/Young Black Climate Leaders programs. These programs recruit individuals committed to the values of equity and inclusion, offering access to mentorship, in-person and virtual retreats, peer gatherings, professional development, networking opportunities and skill building sessions. To date, 16 fellows have been supported with Barr funding.
Three years in, we sought to better understand the experiences of both the fellows and the staff running the fellowship programs. To achieve this, we partnered with the consulting firm Public Profit on a learning and evaluation project. Our goal was to listen to the fellows and the staff, and identify opportunities for greater impact. We gathered data through surveys and focus groups with the fellows, as well as focus groups with program staff. Participation was entirely voluntary—our aim was to gather as much feedback as possible without imposing an additional burden on participants. We were encouraged to see that 80% chose to opt in, including to the more time-intensive focus groups.
What We Heard
The evaluation highlighted three key findings:
1. The barriers to entering the climate and environment field are substantial.
When asked about the barriers they faced before their fellowships, fellows reported a steep climb into the field, confirming our assumptions and providing greater clarity on where to focus our efforts. Fellows identified several top barriers:
- The most common challenge was a lack of personal connections within the climate and environmental field, with 67% of fellows citing this issue. Additionally, 60% reported lacking contacts who could guide them on how to enter and succeed in the field.
- A second major barrier was financial: Sixty percent of fellows noted that wages in climate and environmental roles were lower than comparable positions in other industries. Furthermore, many jobs/internships were unpaid or paid inadequately, considering the skills and experience required. High living costs in locations where jobs/internships are available also made these opportunities financially inaccessible (60%). Difficulty finding and applying for jobs/internships was another common challenge (60%).
- A third area of concern was workplace culture. Fellows described feeling discouraged by environments where they didn’t see others with similar personal backgrounds or experiences (53%), where organizational values didn’t align with their own (60%), or where they felt isolated or unwelcome (40%).
2. These programs made a meaningful difference in alleviating some of those barriers.
Most fellows reported that the relationship-building and networking opportunities provided by their fellowship programs exceeded their expectations. We were pleased to learn about the overall positive impacts and appreciated the fellows’ thoughtful reflections on areas for improvement. Fellows shared that the chance to form deeper relationships and expand their peer and alumni networks was particularly valuable. Many also noted that the programs helped to alleviate some of the financial barriers and improved feelings of morale and belonging in the workplace.
3. There’s a need for even more connections.
Building connections and networks within the climate and environmental field was top priority for fellows. They expressed a desire for more opportunities to connect with others in their programs and to form relationships with local leaders in the field. Fellows indicated they would be more likely to recommend their programs to peers if there were additional chances for networking and learning from experienced professionals. Both fellows and program staff suggested that Barr could play an important role as a convener, by hosting networking events and facilitating connections.
Next Steps for Barr: Meaning Making from Feedback
The feedback we received from the surveys and focus groups illustrates the positive impact these fellowships have had in supporting early-career leaders in the climate and environmental field. It also underscores the value of inclusive listening—engaging those closest to the work, such as the fellows – as a powerful way for funders to inform and shape future actions. Beyond funding programs like these, we heard that Barr can play an important role as a convener, helping to connect individuals in the field who are working to advance climate solutions. In response, we’re planning targeted steps to expand the Climate Program’s role in organizing convenings and networking, particularly for young and emerging leaders of color.
While the magnitude of the barriers to entering the field is discouraging, these findings bring enormous value by lifting up the top barriers and showing us and others in the field what should be prioritized. They also reinforce the importance of the organizing, policy advocacy, and movement building work supported by our Clean Energy, Mobility, and Climate Resilience strategies which aim to drive long-term, systemic progress and reduce barriers.
At Barr, we remain committed to racial equity, recognizing that we all play a part in building a diverse, inclusive, and just climate movement. First and foremost, we thank the fellows who participated in this evaluation—your honest feedback has been invaluable, and we are proud of your leadership and vision. We also appreciate the program staff for enriching our learning process. To funders and climate organizations, we can all do better by listening more closely to those impacted by our work and using these insights to make more informed and equitable decisions. We hope this work inspires others to support leadership fellowships and address barriers in the field, fostering a truly inclusive and multicultural environment through thoughtful policies, practices, and workplace culture. For those already funding these efforts, we look forward to sharing insights and collaborating to deepen our collective impact.
➡️To read the original post and access the full summary of the Barr Foundation's evaluation findings, click here.
"Boston and Woburn" by donovan_terry is licensed under CC BY-NC
We Stand Boldly in Our Commitments: Election reflections & resources from TFN's Dion Cartwright
BY Dion Cartwright, TFN President & CEO
We are only four days away from a high-stakes presidential election, with more than 60 million ballots already cast by early and mail-in voting.
The outcome may come down to a razor-thin margin and we may not know the final results for days or even weeks after Election Day, if polls and pundits are to be believed.
Uncertainty can be a heavy weight to bear, even for optimistic folks like myself.
I am certain about this, though: Philanthropy, at its best and boldest, has a moral mandate to unlock the resources that will move us closer to racial, environmental and economic justice – regardless of who is in office.
As we head into the final stretch of this presidential election, I wanted to share these reflections and resources with TFN’s community of funders, partners and allies.
The Road Ahead
TFN is committed to helping our members and the broader philanthropic sector navigate the post-election landscape.
Over the past year, we’ve been unpacking political impacts on our work, including partisan efforts that threaten historic levels of climate investment and concerted efforts to roll back decades of progress on social justice issues.
Looking forward, our funder-led working groups will be holding peer learning calls and funder briefings to process the impact a new administration will have on our communities and climate. We are creating space at our 25th Anniversary Conference in Baltimore to further share insights and strategies.
TFN is co-sponsoring two post-election webinars organized by the Center for Disaster Philanthropy and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees. Smart Growth California, a TFN initiative, is also partnering with SoCal Grantmakers for a hybrid virtual/in-person convening later this month to explore the impact election results could have on the environment.
Support Those Doing the Work
As the head of a network focused on creating more sustainable, prosperous and just communities, I know that we’ll have a steeper hill to climb depending on who sits in the Oval Office.
But I also know that our journey toward justice began long before this election cycle, and will continue long after.
And the hate-filled rhetoric targeting immigrants, trans kids, women of color and other marginalized groups?
While those disgusting comments and so-called “jokes” have been trumpeted and celebrated by candidates up and down the ballot, they aren’t just confined to the campaign trail.
Those harmful words can be heard on our social media feeds, in our kids’ classrooms, at our places of work and worship. Maybe even across our own kitchen tables.
They’re not new to those of us who have been hearing them our whole lives – just louder.
That’s why it’s important to acknowledge and support those working toward meaningful change, from grassroots movement leaders to bold voices in philanthropy calling out injustices in the sector.
We see you and stand by you.
And to those foundations that are considering pulling back on their equity commitments, or paring down their internal equity practices: I encourage you to reconsider, and implore you not to sacrifice our shared struggle in the name of political pragmatism or fear. Stand boldly with us in our commitments.
Our Commitment to Racial Equity
TFN will continue to center racial equity in all that we do. We remain steadfast in our belief that we cannot address the escalating climate crisis, widening wealth gap or stark inequities in healthcare access – among other critical issues – without addressing systemic racial injustice.
We are ten toes down for diversity, equity and inclusion, regardless of the pushback from those who want to undermine or water down these values.
What We Ask of You
- VOTE! If you didn’t make it to early voting, please show up on Nov. 5. It’s an honor and a duty that many of our ancestors fought for.
- Prepare for post-election action. Support grassroots organizations that are ready to respond to challenges facing marginalized and racialized communities. Host conversations with grantees and partners on the election's impact. Fund legal services and strategies to help inform policy and advocacy efforts, and support narrative change by uplifting the stories of those most impacted.
- Support advocacy efforts that defend the rights of immigrants, the LGBTQIA+ community and those fighting for reproductive justice. There are many worthy organizations, but I’ll lift up fellow philanthropy serving networks such as Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Funders for LGBTQ Issues and Funders for Reproductive Equity.
- Flex your own advocacy muscles. There are opportunities to impact policies at the local, state and federal level beyond presidential elections. TFN has worked with Alliance for Justice’s Bolder Advocacy to provide resources to our network. Their website has additional resources for foundations looking to advance their missions through policy advocacy.
- Invest in equity-focused professional development for your team, your board – and yourself. Philanthropy needs leaders who have the understanding and skills to embed equity into their programmatic, grantmaking and community engagement practices. TFN’s cross-cutting approach to racial equity informs our internal and external practices, including our working groups, virtual learning opportunities and in-person events. Please reach out to me or Vice President of Programs and Partnerships Ann Fowler Wallace if you’d like to learn more.
- Let us know what you’re doing. If your organization has an election-related statement, resource or learning opportunity, send it our way. Please reach out to TFN Senior Communications Director Tere Figueras Negrete to be considered for our round-up of post-election resources.
And finally, I encourage each of you in the coming days to set aside time for something – or someone – that brings you joy.
Like Audre Lorde wrote: Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.
Be well and take care.
Rocking Baltimore pride — and my early voting sticker.
Additional Resources
Imagining 2025: What’s next for disaster philanthropy?
Nov. 14 | 1-2 p.m. ET
Webinar
This Center for Disaster Philanthropy webinar is co-sponsored by TFN, Alliance Magazine, Philanthropy New York and United Philanthropy Forum.
The Election and Its Impact on The Environment
Nov. 15 | 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m. PT
Hybrid virtual/in-person
This SoCal Grantmakers event is presented in partnership with Smart Growth California, a TFN initiative.
The 2024 Election and the Path Ahead
Nov. 19 | 12:30-2 p.m. ET
Webinar
This webinar is organized by Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees and is co-sponsored by TFN, Philanthropy New York, Council of New Jersey Grantmakers, Forefront, and Funders Together to End Homelessness.
Decision '24 Post-Election Briefing: Debrief + Sector Outlook
Nov. 20 | 12- 1:15 p.m. ET
Webinar
To help PSOs and their foundation members make sense of it all, join United Philanthropy Forum for our special Decision ’24 Post-Election Webinar, where we will analyze the results, discuss potential policy shifts, and look ahead to what’s on the horizon for the coming year.
This Much We Know
Blog Post | Barr Foundation
President and Trustee Jim Canales on how the Barr Foundation will meet this moment.
For an updated list of post-election statements, resources and events, click here.
Featured photo by Ronile | CC BY-NC-SA
Next 100 Years Challenge Update: Importance of Heat Data Collection | Cross Post
The Funders Network is committed to sharing the stories and strategies of our members, partners and others in the philanthropic sector working to create more sustainable, prosperous and equitable communities.
Today, we’re sharing a recent blog post from Isabel Barrios of the Greater New Orleans Foundation and a member of TFN's Board of Directors.
BY Isabel Barrios, Senior Program Officer, Greater New Orleans Foundation
When was the last time you were at a playground or a bus stop on a hot day? As it turns out, depending on the materials used and availability of shade nearby, these places can be dangerously hot and unsafe on hot days. Jason Neville, Executive Director of the Lafitte Greenway Partnership (formerly Friends of Lafitte Greenway,) recently discovered a nearly 50̊ temperature difference between a sun-exposed playground surface (127̊ ) and a nearby shaded grassy spot (80̊ ) with a user-friendly Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) camera.
On Saturday, September 28, the Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Next 100 Years Challenge participants were hosted by the Lafitte Greenway Partnership for a heat data collection training at the Sojourner Truth Center in Mid-City. Trainers, Janice Barnes and Leo Temko of Climate Adaptation Partners, focused on the hazard that heat presents for communities and how to use heat data to make outdoor spaces safer. Participants learned about why it is important to address heat, how to collect heat data using FLIR cameras, and how to use the data collected to create cooler spaces. After some practice, participants teamed up and took the FLIR cameras outside for a test run.
The Foundation launched the Next 100 Years Challenge in celebration of our centennial year to inspire great ideas for resilient infrastructure projects, including nature-based solutions, that will reduce the threat from storms and other disasters and which can attract federal and state funds for their construction.
➡️Read Isabel's full post to learn more about this event and GNOF's $1.2 million in awards for projects focused on community-centered and cost-effective infrastructure improvements.
Lafitte Greenway Partnership for a heat data collection training at the Sojourner Truth Center.
Photo credits: Greater New Orleans Foundation.
Going PLACES: Conflicting histories — and a future worth fighting for — in Denver
BY Patrick Moreno-Covington, PLACES Fellow and Program Officer, Rockwell Fund
During TFN's PLACES Fellowship, we understand that when we go on a site visit, Fellows are in for new experiences where we learn from and alongside dynamic funders, community organizers and nonprofit leaders who offer their own expertise about their communities. We pair what we thought we once knew with new information, context and possible application.
As I planned for our trip to Denver I was apprehensive about engaging with a city where I have my own conflicting history.
Going to college in Colorado Springs, Denver represented the big, dynamic city — an urban center of culture in the outdoorsy dream that is the rest of the state. In the summer of 2010, I was selected for a summer internship at a Denver-based think tank.
My experience that summer proved to be influential and instructive. While I learned a lot about the Colorado legislature and the expectations of nonprofit employees, it was the time biking around the city and attending concerts that proved to be the most influential. Despite the city’s quaint neighborhoods and well-appointed parks, certainly a friendly playground for bike rides and social outings, something did not feel right. While my roommates and college friends still had aspirations of a post-college life, I left Denver feeling like an outsider — that the city was not meant for me.
One thing about PLACES that I value is the importance placed on understanding the history and context of each site visit. As a former history student, connecting to the stories of these places and the stories that communities share about themselves can often be equally revealing.
Local guide and activist Celeste Martinez led PLACES Fellows on a tour of History Colorado during their Denver site visit. Photo credit: Patrick Moreno-Covington
On a visit to the History Colorado center — escorted by local guide and activist Celeste Martinez — we saw how the dual nature of place can be utilized by audiences. While History Colorado featured voices outside of the mainstream, including the rise of Latino activism in the state, the central narrative featured in the museum was one of pioneering, European descendants who moved to Colorado. They came in the hopes of striking it rich during the state’s gold rush but instead settled on the eastern plains. While the narrative acknowledged the presence of Indigenous people in the area, the centering of white settlers as intrepid pioneers who formed Denver into a thriving city reiterates a sanitized narrative free from the violence of colonialism. The descendants of Colorado’s white settlers and the later newcomers to the state would leave History Colorado’s main exhibit feeling part of a proud legacy of development.
That narrative stood in stark contrast to an exhibit just on the next floor that detailed the horrifying events of the Sand Creek Massacre. Using multimedia storytelling written and designed by contemporary and historic Cheyenne and Arapaho members, the exhibit told the story of how abrogated treaties between Indigenous tribes and the United States, fears of white settlers, and troops stationed to fight in the Civil War led to a massacre of an estimated 230 people, the majority of whom were women, children and the elderly.
The massacre accelerated the dispossession of Cheyenne and Arapaho people from their ancestral and sacred lands of Colorado’s eastern plains and ushered in a new era of unfettered white settlement that was celebrated just one floor below. The exhibit detailed not only the long-lasting pain of the violent massacre but also the hope, promise and ongoing connection that Cheyenne and Arapaho people continue to have to Sandy Creek.
The contradiction of these two histories’ connection to one place was emblematic of the rest of our visit to Denver.
This contradiction was present in speaking with Renee M. Chacon, a Flipina/Xicana who is also Diné, the Indigenous people native to the region. She works as an activist and healer, and is the co-founder of Womxn from the Mountain. Renee also sits on the city council of Commerce City, a few miles north of Denver. She led PLACES Fellows on a Diné healing exercise before introducing us to Commerce City — her home and the site of much of her organizing and activism. Commerce City is home to 1,400 companies, including the largest oil refinery in the Rocky Mountain region. She noted the longstanding fights between her majority Latinx neighbors and the heavy industry that has failed to be held accountable for polluting the community’s water and air.
We heard valuable lessons about her experience organizing at local and state levels. But beyond that, Renee’s passion and commitment to fighting for land that has so often poisoned her and her family reminded me of the Cheyenne and Arapaho voices committed to forging a future despite historic and ongoing injustices.
I once again left Denver to return home to Houston with many lessons learned and a commitment to use my experiences to make my community a stronger place. The timing of the Denver trip and my deep reflections on place couldn’t have been more relevant.
Image of Houston's Kashmere Gardens neighborhood. Photo credit: Patrick Moreno-Covington
My organization, Rockwell Fund, is undergoing a strategic redesign that will focus on a specific neighborhood here in Houston rather than funding across Houston’s health, housing and education sectors. After extensive research, including conversations with grasstops and grassroots leaders, our foundation has decided to partner with residents in Houston’s Kashmere Gardens neighborhood to invest a minimum of $20 million over the next 10 years.
As I continued to learn and connect with organizations working on the ground in Kashmere, I kept returning to my time in Denver and the conversations with Renee, Celeste and my PLACES Fellows. For so long, Kashmere Gardens residents have been stigmatized and the neighborhood demonized as violent, unsafe and low-income. Those stigmas became a self-fulfilling prophecy as legacies of segregation, redlining and disinvestment had devastating impacts on the neighborhood. Heavy industry has resulted in numerous adverse health effects. Climate change has exacerbated natural disasters, further threatening already vulnerable residents — who were then systematically denied relief by state government. The people of Kashmere Gardens, just like the descendants of Sand Creek and the residents of Commerce City, have plenty of reasons to feel conflicted over the place they call home — and understand that its future is worth fighting for.
At PLACES we get to learn and grow together through discussions about how place and the stories tied to those places impact our work in philanthropy. Our time in Denver reminded me that the connections to our homes can be challenging and at times traumatic. But it also showed that in order for us to do this work, we have to craft a new, reimagined future with an honest foundation in our history.
PLACES Fellows enjoy a meal together during their Denver site visit. Photo credit: Patrick Moreno-Covington
About the Author
Patrick Moreno-Covington is a 2024 PLACES Fellow. He works as a program officer at the Rockwell Fund, a private foundation serving the Greater Houston area.
Featured image at top: 'The Sand Creek Massacre,' a painting on elk hide by Northern Arapaho artist Eugene J. Ridgely, Sr. (Eagle Robe), 1994. The artwork is on display at History Colorado in Denver.
Broad Intersections: Water, Transportation & Daily Life Along New Orleans' Lafitte Greenway
When I’m biking home from work on the Lafitte Greenway bike path, I’m grateful for the lighted path that separates me from automobiles and allows me to roll safely. On days when I’m enjoying a ride in the rain, I’m also grateful that the stormwater – rather than causing floods that obstruct my ride – is intentionally stored and filtered in the adjacent green stormwater infrastructure before being slowly released into the traditional drainage system.
At other points, the ride isn’t so smooth.
A faulty spot in the underground water system has created a pothole in the road. A recently repaved street is under construction again because the water (or any other) utility needs to fix something below the surface – but didn’t manage to do it while the street was torn up. A green infrastructure project to reduce neighborhood flooding is stalled because the contractor only had enough workers to focus on prepping the ground for a nearby building… maybe it’s even a transit hub. A street reconstruction project is so narrowly funded the project can’t also improve the drainage or add trees… the list could go on, but I’m having too much fun on the ride.
Dan Favre helped organize a bike tour focused on sustainability and equity, including a ride along the Lafitte Greenway, as part of TFN's 2023 Annual Conference in New Orleans. Photo credit: Martha Roskowski
Back on the Greenway, I’m also grateful for the new pedestrian/bike bridges that allow me to safely cross over the canal – part of that important drainage system – that runs adjacent to the trail. On hot days, I’m grateful for the trees that keep me cooler on the ride (and help soak up that rain!)
From the asphalt and pipes to the nature-based solutions and trees, transportation and water infrastructure deeply intertwine to create an experience of place. As we collectively build infrastructure and other systems that enable greater freedom, justice and equity, let’s create a framework that allows the deep focus needed to make specific changes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dan Favre is the director of environmental programs at the Greater New Orleans Foundation. He serves on the steering committees for both TFN's Urban Water Funders working group and Mobility and Access Collaborative. Dan was one of the co-chairs of TFN's 2023 Annual Conference: Ignite Action, which took place in New Orleans. He also sat on the planning committee for the March 2024 Spring Convening of several TFN working groups in Austin.
⇒ GO DEEPER:
Are you curious to learn more about the intersecting issues of water and transit? Register for Common Ground: A Two-part Learning Series with TFN's Urban Water Funders and Mobility and Access Collaborative, at 1 p.m. ET Oct. 8 and Oct. 22. Following our Spring Convening in Austin (which you can read about here), funders from the Urban Water Funders working group and Mobility and Access Collaborative walked away noting similar challenges and opportunities across these areas. Join us for a two-part conversation in which we first unpack all the places where water and transportation intersect.
We'll also explore how our TFN working groups might better learn and align our work for sustainable and equitable infrastructure that better serves communities.
Save the Date: We're headed to Baltimore for TFN's 25th Anniversary Conference!
BY TFN Staff
We're headed to Charm City for TFN's 25th Anniversary Conference: Be Bold Together!
Be sure to save the date to join us March 17-19, 2025 in Baltimore for a thought-provoking and action-oriented gathering that will bring together place-based, regional and national funders.
Join us to deepen your learning, share strategies, and broaden your professional networks.
TFN's 25th Anniversary theme — Be Bold Together — reflects our belief that leaders in philanthropy can and should embrace courageous action and meaningful collaboration that will help unlock environmental, economic and racial justice.
We'll amplify the powerful and creative work that is making an impact on people, places and policies.
We'll make space for frank conversations about the shortcomings and challenges we face as a sector.
We'll take time to center joy — and celebrate the progress and the possibilities of creating a more equitable future, together.
And, like at every TFN conference, we'll have ample opportunities for you to connect, recharge and socialize with fellow funders.
Registration will launch in the winter with discounted rates for members, early bird, and group registrations.
But if you'd like to get a jump on lodging, please visit our 25th Anniversary: Be Bold Together event page for more information. (We'll be staying at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel, located on the Inner Harbor, the city's historic seaport.)
Stay Tuned
Stay tuned for more details on speakers, sessions and other 25th Anniversary Conference highlights in the coming weeks. We'll share updates on our conference event page, as well as on our LinkedIn and Instagram — so be sure to follow us on social!
Thank You!
We want to extend a huge thank you to our 25th Anniversary Conference Co-chairs and Planning Committee, who met with us for two days this summer.
Their support and insight is essential to helping us craft a learning agenda that is interdisciplinary, cross-cutting and aligned with TFN’s Strategic & Racial Equity Frameworks.
25th Anniversary Conference Co-chairs
- Thomasina (Tomi) Hiers, Annie E. Casey Foundation
- Danista E. Hunte, Maryland Philanthropy Network
- Kacey Wetzel, Chesapeake Bay Trust
Planning Committee
- Isabel Barrios, Greater New Orleans Foundation
- Jacqueline Caldwell, TouchPoint Baltimore
- Erin Coryell, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies
- Kaying Hang, The Center at Sierra Health Foundation
- Elisabeth Hyleck, Maryland Philanthropy Network
- Elizabeth Love, Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation
- Surabhi Pandit, Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan
- Sally Ray, Center for Disaster Philanthropy
- Nathaniel Smith, Partnership for Southern Equity
- Sheena Solomon, The Gifford Foundation
- Scot Spencer, Annie E. Casey Foundation
- Karla Twedt-Ball, Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation
We hope to see you in Baltimore! If you're unsure about your organization's membership status, please reach out to Navita Persaud, director of member services, at navita@fundersnetwork.org.
→Want to learn more about this issue? Join HEFN, NFG and TFN for a funder-only webinar, Finishing the Job: Philanthropy’s Role in Safeguarding Historic Investments in Equity, Health and Climate, on Aug. 22 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. ET. Click here for more information.
BY Dion Cartwright, President & CEO, The Funders Network | Ansje Miller, Executive Director, Health and Environmental Funders Network | Manisha Vaze, Vice President of Programs, Neighborhood Funders Group
The single largest public investment in our lifetime to improve America’s infrastructure and climate resilience is underway. Nearly $500 billion has already been awarded to states, Tribes, territories, and local governments across the U.S. to improve roads, bridges, and water systems and develop clean energy projects.
All told, $1.8 trillion in grants, tax credits, and other financial assistance will be available in the coming years through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act – all part of the Biden administration’s promise to deliver the most ambitious environmental justice and workforce development agenda in our nation’s history.
These funds present a once-in-a-generation opportunity to inject much-needed resources into frontline communities, namely low-wealth communities and communities of color already grappling with the impacts of pollution, failing infrastructure, limited access to sustainable careers, and an escalating climate crisis.
But growing political polarization around climate investments and a potential change in administrations puts these funds at grave risk. Meanwhile, actually getting federal dollars into the hands of those best positioned to understand and address these needs – the grassroots organizations led by people who live and work in historically and systemically disinvested communities – is easier said than done.
Barriers to Access
The irony is that due to the way that government grant programs have been historically run, those best positioned to do meaningful work with these funds often lack the capacity and resources to qualify or even apply for federal grants, a notoriously labyrinthine process that can flummox even the most seasoned professional grant writer.
Most often, federal grants go to corporate entities and larger NGOs that have already built organizational capacity to access funding but do not always have the best connection and understanding of the community’s needs and interests. This threatens the ability of these funds to achieve the equity goals of these programs and implement infrastructure, economic, and workforce development projects in alignment with the needs of the communities they are intended to serve.
With these challenges and threats mounting, it’s more urgent than ever for philanthropy to come together and supercharge grassroots groups’ capacity to access funds and get projects going.
Use Your Collective Power
As the leaders of philanthropy-supporting organizations committed to encouraging and empowering our members to center racial and economic justice and community-led climate and environmental health solutions in their grantmaking, we believe that funders are uniquely positioned to help move much-needed resources to places and people short-changed by historic disinvestment and systemic injustice.
Funders, including place-based community and regional foundations, need to move with urgency and purpose and use their collective power to help community-led groups build the organizational muscle needed to access federal dollars and get projects going.
That support can show up in myriad ways, and there are promising examples across the country of funders stepping up efforts to help overcome barriers to unlocking federal funding. A report released last week by Invest in Our Future found that a group of 33 funders — including several members of our respective networks — had provided more than $230 million to help nonprofits and communities with projects related to the Inflation Reduction Act.
We are heartened that so many funders are heeding the call. Over the past several months, we’ve convened virtual and in-person gatherings with hundreds of philanthropic, grassroots, and government leaders from around the U.S. to share what they are doing, learning, and need from each other to unlock funds and move projects forward.
These exchanges have revealed a number of best practices philanthropy can follow to play a collective and decisive role in not only distributing federal dollars to frontline communities, but also making sure infrastructure and climate projects are designed equitably from start to finish.
Here are five recommendations that rise to the top:
1. Boost the operating muscle of grassroots groups
The influx of federal funding opportunities and flurry of developing projects requires a special level of organizational capacity that few NGOs have, let alone smaller, grassroots organizations.
Philanthropies can help boost community-based organizations’ (CBOs) ability to access funding and get projects off the ground by providing financial support to hire grant writers, paying for accounting services and tools, covering staff travel costs to attend agency meetings, providing general operating funds, and more.
Funders and funder-supported initiatives helping boost CBO capacity include Heinz Endowments’s new Southwest Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Hub, California-based funder collaborative Community Economic Mobility Initiative, the Justice40 Accelerator, Just Transition Fund’s Federal Access Center, the Heartland Fund’s Resource Rural project, and Environmental Protection Network, which harnesses the expertise of former EPA career staff and political appointees to provide pro bono technical assistance to community groups seeking and implementing federal funds.
2. Create connections, open doors
Funders have connections with other grantors and government agencies that smaller grassroots organizations might not. Likewise, government agencies need to hear and learn more from organizations working directly with frontline communities.
Philanthropic organizations can help open doors and provide opportunities for CBOs, funders, and government officials to form new and stronger relationships and improve coordination around federal funding opportunities.
Funders working to create connections include Communities First Fund, which hosted three regional convenings last fall in partnership with our organizations to connect CBOs with regional funders and agency officials to explore ways they can work together to unlock federal funds and get projects moving, and Merck Family Fund and Barr Foundation, which are hosting similar convenings in New England states.
3. Expand funding horizons and strategies
While this funding opportunity is time-limited, philanthropy should hold a long view.
For frontline communities to see the full benefits of federal funding, investments — both federal and philanthropic — must be made to span generations, not administrations. To unleash true community potential, funders should break away from merely funding issues and projects, and start to provide bigger, holistic, and multi-year grants, unrestricted funding, wealth and asset-building grants, debt capital support, bridge funding, and other strategic and long-term support.
Funders taking an expansive view include Barr Foundation, which shifted how its climate program awards funds to providing general operating support, eased its application and reporting requirements and is intentionally moving grants to organizations led by Black, Indigenous, or other people of color. Other examples include McKnight Foundation, which is helping create green banks in the Midwest to finance clean energy projects, and Invest Appalachia and Appalachian Solar Finance Fund, which are helping CBOs take advantage of generous federal tax credits for community solar projects by providing low-to-zero interest loans until credits come through.
4. Support accountability work
With billions in federal climate and infrastructure dollars going out the door, all eyes will be on the federal agencies, state, local, and Tribal governments, companies, and NGOs responsible for distributing and receiving funds and implementing projects.
Scrutiny is necessary to uphold and go beyond the Administration’s Justice40 commitment and ensure all programs designed to benefit frontline communities deliver what they promised, and projects that only serve to entrench polluting industries are avoided.
Funders can support organizations that hold government agencies and corporations accountable and fight false climate solutions that threaten community health. Funders can also defend good projects and partnerships by providing audit, legal, media outreach, and other support when needed.
5. Raise your voice
With threats to federal funding mounting and scrutiny over investments growing, now is the time for funders to use their voice, power, and influence to advocate for the equitable allocation and implementation of federal investments and amplify stories of impact from the communities they support.
The time to put these practices in motion is now.
Working together, and in collaboration with CBOs and government agencies, philanthropy can help ensure investments and projects go where they are needed most to create a healthy, sustainable, and secure future for all and prove – without a shadow of a doubt – that committing public funds to improve conditions for frontline communities is an effective model for future federal investment.
About the Authors
Dion Cartwright is the President and CEO of The Funders Network, which leverages philanthropy’s unique potential to help create communities and regions that are sustainable, prosperous, and just for all people. TFN works with funders to understand and address racism, economic inequality, and the imbalance of power — while engendering community-driven solutions and amplifying the expertise and experiences of those communities who are least heard.
Ansje Miller is the Executive Director of the Health and Environmental Funders Network – the place funders go to connect, collaborate, and learn about environmental health and justice issues facing frontline communities and how they can take collective action to make a greater impact in their giving. It is the only funders network focused exclusively on environmental health and justice and their intersection with other critical issues facing frontline communities.
Manisha Vaze is the Vice President of Programs at Neighborhood Funders Group, whose mission is to organize philanthropy so that Black, Indigenous, and people of color and low-income communities thrive. NFG is a place for meaning-making in philanthropy, offering funders a political home, and a place to connect, organize, strategize, and take action.
Going PLACES: What Does It Mean to be Remembered?
BY Jarryd Bethea, PLACES Fellow and Senior Research Associate, Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative
The time I spent during our recent PLACES Fellowship site visit in Cleveland demanded that I abandon the assumptions I arrived with: It's just another city in the Midwest.
Leaving those assumptions behind meant that I could become better acquainted with Cleveland, practice community with the residents who are fervently working to shape the city’s outcomes and open myself to the lessons ready to be taught.
I want to begin by acknowledging that the land we were in community with (which is now settled as Cleveland, Ohio) belongs to the Mississauga, Kaskaskia, and the Erie Native American people.
I have always regarded land acknowledgments as progressive, seemingly the first step of a reparative approach. Cynthia Connolly of the Lake Erie Native American Council provided a timely reminder that a land acknowledgment will never suffice in place of the full context and support of her people. The termination era from the 1950s-1960s is characterized as the period where the U.S. government acted to assimilate Native Americans into western society within the United States. The Bureau of Indian Affairs offered incentives such as jobs and economic security to those willing to relocate to urban cores.
Cleveland was among these originally designated cities.
Unfortunately, many of the promised benefits were not realized. Despite the broken trust and false offerings made to the Indigenous peoples, a resilient and interconnected community in Northeast Ohio began to thrive.
There are many stories and histories of shared relationships between Indigenous and Black communities of Ohio — one of which is St. John’s Episcopal Church.
This church held gatherings for Indigenous folks, providing a space for them to congregate and mobilize during the termination era. St. John’s is also known to have been one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad for enslaved Blacks seeking respite from the country’s injustices.
This grounds me in the reminder that Indigenous peoples and Black Americans in this country share an extensive number of experiences, including their mistreatment and displacement. This reminder is humbling — and humility remains a core tenet of learning.
PLACES Fellow Jarryd Bethea and other members of the 2024 PLACES Cohort gathered in Cleveland in May.
As a policy practitioner at the intersection of economic development and community advocacy, my work centers on wealth-building practices that emphasize the collective power of Black communities across the South.
Much of the disruption and displacement of Black communities in Atlanta — the primary geographic area for my work — is due in part to extraction and the desire to create something new. This is not dissimilar to the plight of America’s Indigenous communities, who have also borne the violence of erasure rooted in racism. I look to our Indigenous brothers and sisters for lessons in fighting to maintain our whole identities, stories, culture and communities against American settler colonialism.
Erasure as a tool of oppression is still settling with me as a foundational truth of white supremacy and I continue to sit with the ways it will manifest.
As the country’s policy landscape experiences a retrenchment — evidenced by the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the ruling on the Fearless Fund, and the passing of restrictive legislation whose impact and legacy of harm cannot be understated when discussing marginalized identities — it is increasingly important that we mobilize ourselves, tell our stories and embody the forms of joy we engage in. Cleveland is a city that has set an example for all three.
Let me share just a few of the folks we met in Cleveland and how they embody the above call to action:
The work of Jazmin Long and Tonae Bolton at Birthing Beautiful Communities is a lionhearted act of care that embraces mothers from expectancy to well after the baby has arrived. Born out of the need for better maternal care for Black mothers, they have scaled their organization to actively support between 250 and 300 clients.
Pairing their practice with research and advocacy, the organization is striving to make a difference in Ohio’s healthcare system. While the work may be difficult, Jazmin still made time to center joy during an impromptu karaoke session with our PLACES cohort.
We met with the Partnership for Equitable and Resilient Communities (PERC), a collaborative of funders, city officials, and community organizers working to advance equitable development in Cleveland, utilizing public and private dollars in service of Black, Latino/a/x, and Indigenous communities. It was inspiring to see a group so cohesive and supportive of one another — offering the reminder that developing deep relationships rooted in care is a prerequisite for impactful work.
And finally, Rid-All Green Partnership. Located in a part of Cleveland known as the Forbidden Triangle, this community space was a longtime site of illegal dumping, disinvestment and neglect. It has now been transformed into a 15-acre urban farm that encompasses a community kitchen and offers environmental programs while tackling food insecurity. The radical repurposing of this space has yielded a valuable and joy-filled asset to the community.
The PLACES Fellows visited the Rid-All Green Partnership, which turned an empty and forgotten piece of land in Cleveland’s Kinsman Neighborhood into an urban farm.
My PLACES site visit shared many similarities with my current work supporting local policy. Most of all, there was an emphasis on the need for Black and Indigenous residents to access self-determination and decide for themselves how they would like to see their communities change.
Admittedly, Cleveland is changing in a very different way than Atlanta, as it is considered a city in decline. Once home to almost one million residents, it now has a population of only 360,000.
However, Kaela Geschke with Trust for Public Land believes that Cleveland may become a climate refugee city in the future due to rising global temperatures and the city’s idyllic positioning near fresh water and mild temperatures. This migration and its impact on the city’s economic development remains to be seen.
My time in Cleveland was replete with witnessing acts of service that left me with the desire to learn more and do more. For now, I believe it remains essential that we underscore self-determination in community outcomes to debase erasure as a tool of racism.
About the Author
Jarryd Bethea is a member of TFN’s 2024 Fellowship Cohort and a senior research associate at the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative.
Featured image: The 2024 PLACES Fellows gathered in Cleveland for the third site visit of their fellowship year.
Meet the New Partners for Places Grantees: Five Communities + Five Community-led Sustainability Projects
BY TFN Staff
Fix a flood-prone pedestrian path so neighbors can safely walk home. Provide climate-emergency training for people living in prefabricated houses. Create a resilience plan to ensure one of the oldest Chinatowns in the country remains safe and vibrant for generations to come.
These are just a few of the projects that will be supported by the latest round of Partners for Places grants, which help fund efforts to create more equitable and resilient communities across the U.S.
In all, five U.S. communities will receive more than $1.3 million in Partners for Places matching grants to support sustainability efforts that bring together local governments, place-based funders, and frontline community groups.
The five communities receiving this latest round of Partners for Places grants are: Boston, Mass.; Boulder, Colo.; Bridgeport, Conn.; Oakland, Calif.; and San Francisco, Calif.
Successful Partners for Places projects advance much-needed climate planning and sustainable solutions in communities both large and small.
With the support of matching local funders, these projects also help build bridges between city officials and the communities that bear the brunt of environmental injustice but are often left out of decision-making processes.
Meet the new Grantees!
How will these Partners for Places grants help local sustainability efforts?
In Boston, the grants will support the community outreach and planning required to transform a one-acre vacant lot in East Boston into a vibrant agricultural and educational community center. The funds will also support efforts to improve a pedestrian greenway prone to severe flooding that submerges the path, rendering it impassable and depriving residents of safe passage through their neighborhood.
Bridgeport will use its Partners for Places funds to build community resilience through collaborative environmental education, including the co-creation of a climate resilience curriculum that can be used by community leaders throughout the city. Their goals include building trust and understanding between frontline community residents and local decision-makers, and to ultimately establish a training program where community leaders can share knowledge and empower their fellow residents to participate in climate-related policymaking.
In California, Partners for Places will support efforts to create thriving and climate-resilient urban areas that provide cultural and social resources for Indigenous and immigrant communities.
In Oakland, the grants will support the co-creation of a resilience plan for the city’s Chinatown, one of the oldest Chinatowns in the U.S. The project centers on developing the leadership of community members to advocate for local priorities that advance equitable climate and community resilience strategies. The grant will also help ensure that critical services and social connections remain intact while a local community center is converted into a resilience hub.
In San Francisco, Partners for Places will support efforts to develop a green cultural zone in the city’s Mission District, a plan that aims to transform more than a mile of sidewalks, streets, buildings and storefronts into a thriving, greened, biodiverse neighborhood community. The concept is part of a larger initiative to create a home of urban belonging in the heart of San Francisco where the city’s Native peoples can connect with services, with nature, with each other, and with their cultures.
In Boulder, the funds will strengthen partnerships with local governments and center the experience, wisdom, and voices of frontline community members. Efforts supported by these funds will include community-led preparedness training for climate emergencies, with a focus on manufactured home parks; ensuring impacted residents are educated and empowered to advocate for equitable cleanup of toxic coal ash; and supporting a grassroots group of Latina leaders working to address the impacts of climate change and improve the social and economic wellbeing of the community.
The Boulder project advances the work of the local Climate Justice Collaborative, created with the support of an earlier Partners for Places grant — one of the many examples of how these local relationships can lay the groundwork for even more action and collaboration at the grassroots level.
About Partners for Places
Partners for Places, led by The Funders Network (TFN) in partnership with the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN), will provide $718,000 in funding to these five communities through the grant program. With contributions from local matching funders, a total of $1,308,000 will be committed to fund sustainability projects in these selected communities. This grant cycle includes a total of $223,000 in Partners for Places grants and local matching funds awarded to the green stormwater infrastructure project in Boston.
To date, Partners for Places has awarded nearly $12 million across North America in this successful matching grant program, leading to more than $23 million in investments.
The matching grant program brings national funder investors together with place-based funders to support equitable, sustainable climate action and green stormwater infrastructure projects. The program is currently supported by The JPB Foundation, The Kendeda Fund, The Kresge Foundation, and the Pisces Foundation. One or more local foundations are required to provide at least a 50% matching grant.
Matching Funders and Community Partners
The latest Partners for Places grant recipients, matching funders and frontline community-led groups are:
- Boston, Mass. ($118,000): To support community outreach and planning to improve stormwater infrastructure on a flood-prone pedestrian pathway and transform vacant lot in East Boston into a vibrant agricultural and educational community center. Frontline community group: Eastie Farm. Matching funders: The Boston Foundation and Heinemann Foundation ($105,000).
- City and County of Boulder, Colo. ($150,000): To strengthen partnerships with local governments and center the experience, wisdom, and voices of frontline community members to foster collaboration and equitable climate action projects. Frontline community group: Community-Led Preparedness Training for Climate Emergencies (CPT). Matching funder: Philanthropiece Foundation ($170,000).
- Bridgeport, Conn. ($150,000): To empower an environmental justice community with education on climate change, enhancing informed decision-making and self-advocacy for residents. The Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs will coordinate collaboration along with the city’s sustainability manager. Frontline community group: PT Partners. Matching funders: Barr Foundation and William Caspar Graustein Foundation ($90,000).
- Oakland, Calif. ($150,000): To co-create a Rooted and Resilient Oakland Chinatown Plan, in collaboration with the city's Sustainability and Resilience Division, centering its frontline anchor community to advance strategies for climate/community resilience for generations to come. Frontline community groups: Asian Pacific Environmental Network and Friends of Lincoln Square Park. Matching funder: The California Endowment ($75,000).
- San Francisco, Calif. ($150,000): To promote environmental justice and build an ecologically sustainable and supportive community for American Indians, Alaska Natives and Latino/a/es in San Francisco’s Mission District. Frontline community group: Friendship House’s Village SF Initiative. Matching funder: Future Allies ($150,000).
Partners for Places FAQ's
→ Where is Partners for Places making an impact?
Read previous grant announcements and explore the Partners for Places Grantee Map here.
→ Where can I learn about completed Partners for Places projects?
Visit the Partners for Places Idea Bank to explore what grantees are doing, learning and sharing.
→ When is the next round of Partners for Places matching grants?
Partners for Places will open a new round of funding in winter 2025.
For more information about Partners for Places, please reach out to Ashley Quintana, ashley@fundersnetwork.org.
How are TFN board members selected? Read our Board of Directors FAQ's
BY TFN STAFF
TFN members recently elected a new slate of candidates to serve on the network's Board of Directors. An engaged and active board that represents the depth and diversity of our membership is critical to our mission-driven work, which centers on cultivating courageous philanthropic leaders who are engaged, emboldened and equipped to bring about a just society.
Curious to learn more about how candidates for TFN's Board of Directors are selected and elected?
Below are some frequently asked questions about this process.
How many members are on the full TFN Board of Directors?
The 2024-2026 election brings the total number of board members to 15.
Who gets to vote in TFN Board of Directors elections?
TFN's Board of Directors met in January to approve the slate of candidates. TFN member organizations in good standing received electronic ballots to cast their votes, which were due in April. Each member organization is entitled to one vote, with electronic ballots sent to the primary contact listed on TFN's membership roster.
The board also elects its officers at the January meeting.
How are prospective board members identified and recruited?
The board’s Organizational Development Committee oversees the
nomination process for directors and officers. Their goal is to identify a strong pool of candidates, and ensure the overall board composition reflects a diversity of backgrounds and experiences.
TFN also strives to cultivate a board that is reflective of the types of grantmaking institutions that make up our membership, from institutions with national and regional reach to place-based community foundations.
Factors for consideration include a candidate's: ctors for consideration include a candidate's:
- Level of engagement and leadership across TFN, such as participation in the PLACES Fellowship, working groups, or other programs
- Availability and willingness to devote time to board duties
- Issue/content areas of expertise
- Race and ethnicity
- Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression
- Type and asset size of their grantmaking institution
- Geographic location
- Ability to exercise sound judgement
Candidates are selected based on their unique capabilities and perspectives that will enhance the board’s effectiveness as a governing body.
➡️More information about the nomination process and criteria is available in the Election Information Guide.
How can I volunteer for TFN leadership opportunities?
TFN offers a wealth of volunteer leadership opportunities that not only give you a chance to support TFN and our broader mission, but also expand your own professional networks. These opportunities include serving on our board, as well as designing learning sessions, event planning committees and programmatic steering and advisory committees. If you or a member of your team is looking to deepen your engagement with our community of funders and partners, don't hesitate to reach out to our team at membership@fundersnetwork.org.