Leadership From the Front Lines

When philanthropy comes together, we can create shared tools for greater impact. The Climate Justice-Just Transition (CJ-JT) Donor Collaborative is an example of this. In 2021, six philanthropies, including CJRF, worked together to establish the Collaborative with the goals of shifting power to those on the front lines of the climate crisis and increasing philanthropic funding to support just and equitable climate solutions.

The Collaborative has made significant strides since inception, including deepening connections, holding space for intergenerational dialogue, and ensuring funders build their strategies in collaboration with those actually doing work on the ground. Its highlights include:

• Building a comprehensive mapping of CJ and JT efforts in the Global South in the form of the “CJ-JT Compendium.”

• Delivering 21 field-led, high-level events and webinars attended by over 1,600 people, which helped center the justice narrative at summits such as New York Climate Week and the UNFCCC COP.

• Delivering more than $700,000 USD in small scale grants to over 100 Global South CJ-JT activists and movement leaders to attend, participate and weave intersectional movements at COP26 and COP27.

CJRF has channeled funding from IKEA Foundation and Open Society Foundations to the Collaborative, in addition to grants from our core funding pool. With our support, CJ-JT is now expanding its Compendium so that it continues to be an up-to-date resource and serves as a tool to educate foundations and funders. The Collaborative also aims to build on the success of its events and convenings to help shift power and resources in line with the priorities of those on the front lines.