Funder Briefing: Democracy’s Immune System Initiative

Climate action does not happen in a political vacuum. As democratic backsliding and rising authoritarianism are increasingly constraining climate progress across much of the world, a central question for climate philanthropy is becoming harder to ignore: what makes climate progress durable?

Grassroots climate justice movements are already doing much of the work. They build collective power, defend civic space, hold institutions accountable, and create alternatives when institutions fail to respond. Funders have an opportunity to support the democratic capacity to implement, defend, and sustain positive climate outcomes.

The CLIMA Fund is organizing a one-hour funder briefing to introduce its new initiative, Democracy’s Immune System: Grassroots climate justice movements as democracy infrastructure. In their latest op-ed for Alliance Magazine, Lindley Mease, CLIMA Fund Director, shares how grassroots climate justice movements are building democratic power themselves instead of waiting for institutions to step in. This funder briefing will continue the conversation and unpack how funders can resource this essential work.

The funder briefing is organized on October 29, 9 am PT | 12 noon ET. We encourage participants to attend live.

We will be joined by Jovanna Garcia Soto (Grassroots International), Mateo Martinez (Global Greengrants Fund), Maylott Mulugeta (Urgent Action Fund for Feminist Activism), Omnia El Omrani (Youth Climate Justice Fund), Zanele Sibanda (Thousand Currents), and Lindley Mease (CLIMA Fund) to share how grassroots climate justice movements are uniquely positioned to protect democracy and build climate resilience.

Register now