CJRF’s emphasis on the terminology “resource partners” evolved in our 2026 strategic framework. Prior to that, these actors were primarily referred to as “regranters” or “learning partners” in our portfolio. This shift in terminology represents a broadening of who we fund under this category. It also signifies a shift in our understanding of these actors as not only filling a regranting role, but also providing key learning, accompaniment, and advocacy resources to community-led initiatives. This is part of a broader shift at CJRF toward taking an ecosystem approach to our grantmaking and the changes we seek to promote.

Resource partners are independent actors within the climate justice ecosystem that are contributing to the same outcome areas as CJRF. We fund these resource partners for the standalone work they do that is relevant to CJRF’s strategy, as well as for the work they do to accompany and support community-led initiatives, including those that CJRF funds directly. 

Role of Resource Partners in CJRF’s Grantmaking: 

• Resource partners support community-led initiatives and the broader climate justice ecosystem through grantmaking and accompaniment; advocacy in climate spaces, including toward climate funders; and peer-to-peer linking and learning across geographies and scales. 
• Resource partners play an important role in convening and connecting between local, national, and global levels.  
• CJRF views these resource partners as allies in our own funding strategy. 

CJRF Criteria for Selecting Resource Partners:

The following criteria should guide CJRF’s grantmaking to resource partners. Selected resource partners do not have to fit all criteria. CJRF will:

• Fund resource partners who are NGOs, networks, grantmakers, or other entities supporting work at the local, national, regional, or global level in alignment with our strategic framework. 
• Fund resource partners who work directly with community-led initiatives. 
• Prioritize resource partners who have a majority leadership (senior leadership and Board) of individuals from the Global Majority and CJRF’s constituencies of women, youth, and Indigenous Peoples. 
• Prioritize resource partners who fill gaps left by CJRF funding. For example, CJRF makes mid-size grants to formal groups, so we would value partnerships with resource partners who make small grants to informal groups. 
• Prioritize resource partners with strong accompaniment and learning strategies. 
• Prioritize resource partners who have a strong practice on intersectionality and addressing power dynamics. 
• Make exceptions to this criteria list to allow for grants to the chosen resource partner or fiscal sponsor of community-led initiatives that cannot receive direct CJRF funding.

The following redlines exist for CJRF’s grants to resource partners. CJRF will not fund:

Large international NGOs, which are defined as non-governmental organizations working globally across borders, and who: 

• Have annual budgets over $30 million USD
• Have a leadership structure (senior leadership and Board) comprised mainly of Global North representation and/or comprised of people without lived experience of the issues they are aiming to address
• Lack accountability mechanisms to the communities they serve 
• CJRF can make exceptions to this INGO redline in cases where a large INGO is convening a space, opportunity, or network expressly named and valued by CJRF’s partners and which would benefit from direct CJRF support and influence. Exceptions must be agreed to by all decision-makers for a particular process (PGM or Program Officers).
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