Climate Emergency Fund
/OVERVIEW: The Climate Emergency Fund supports climate change and environmental activism through its various campaigns and grants. It makes grants in the U.S. and around the world.
IP TAKE: This is not a traditional climate funder in the sense that it does not support the usual types of projects, like those for land conservation or ecosystem restoration. Instead, it prefers to make grants to groups that utilize attention-getting methods to raise awareness of the climate crisis. Grantseekers unwilling to make headlines by disrupting the status quo via environmental stunt work should look elsewhere.
This funder likes to take risks, so if your work is more mainstream, consider how to align deeply with their mission or look elsewhere for funding. There’s a major emphasis on education and knowledge distribution here, so climate change work that intersects with media or civic engagement work might be better positioned.
CEF funds more than established groups, but also grassroots organizations and smaller outfits, but if you have a larger staff, your organization is unlikely to secure funding here. Luckily, this is a supportive and accessible funder that likes to work closely with it’s grantees.
PROFILE: Established in 2019, the Climate Emergency Fund (CEF) is an activism and philanthropic organization focused on climate change. This organization was a core funder of the Climate Emergency Declaration campaigns and provides a way for donors to support people who are informing the public and putting pressure on lawmakers. CEF aims to “fund activists who tell the truth, demand transformation, disrupt normalcy, organize mass protest, put their bodies on the line and strike from school.” CEF makes grants for various campaigns, including building movement infrastructure, climate emergency campaigning, media climate science and helping activists get more momentum. CEF provides action support, core capacity support and catalytic funding.
Grants for Climate Change, Civic Engagement and Marine and Freshwater
Climate Emergency Fund provides “catalytic funding to emerging groups to recruit, train, and prepare for non-violent civil resistance.” The organizations and projects it supports should recognize “the need for a full-scale mobilization in response” to climate change, “engage in disruptive protest and civil resistance,” and be 501c(3) eligible.
It will not support organizations with a large staff, preferring to fund groups that rely on volunteer activists instead. CEF also will not make grants for projects promoting gradualism, litigation, or land conservation projects. Art installations, music development, and film, video, and theater projects are also ineligible. Essentially, any project that does not advocate for direct, immediate action will not receive funding. For more details about grantmaking requirements, see its Standard Grants page.
Examples of previous grantees and non-violent resistance activities performed by groups CEF has funded include Just Stop Oil’s activists gluing themselves to the frames of iconic paintings in France and breaching the track at the British Grand Prix in the UK, Dernière Rènovation members disrupting the Tour de Fance, and West Virginia Rising’s attempted shut down of the congressional baseball game in D.C.
Important Grant Details:
CEF accepts grant applications via its application portal. CEF grants range from $25,000 to $85,000 and it ‘strongly recommends’ that grant seekers apply for grants of less than $100,000. Potential grantees can find more information about CEFs grantmaking guidelines on its website.
PEOPLE:
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