CJRF held a virtual gala to celebrate the four recipients on November 26. You can watch the recording here.
The Climate Justice Resilience Fund is pleased to announce the four grant recipients from our recent global open call: Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization (MPIDO), Centrum Inisiatif Rakyat Mandiri (CIRMA), Samprity Aid Foundation, and Development of Educational Action Network (DEAN). Each organization will receive a multi-year, flexible $200,000 USD grant under the proposal theme of “Building connections, networks, and collaborative spaces for climate justice and resilience.”
Launched in April 2024, this global open call was the first of an 18-month strategy to deploy $4Million USD via a series of pilots to test participatory grantmaking strategies at CJRF. This pilot tested an applicant collective participatory grantmaking process, in which CJRF invited the applicants to collectively review proposals and decide upon grants. The four grant recipients made it through two voting rounds and were awarded by the other applicants. We started this process with 513 expressions of interest, which turned into 274 groups submitting applications, and 175 joining the voting process. While many organizations were deserving of these funds, the applicants voted on and selected MPIDO, CIRMA, Samprity Aid Foundation, and DEAN to rise to the top. You can read more about the selected projects below.
Photo Courtesy of MPIDO
Since 1996, Mainyoito Pastoralists Integrated Development Organization (MPIDO) has focused on improving the livelihoods and resilience of indigenous communities in Kenya through a bucket of program activities, including land rights, sustainable livelihoods, conflict resolution, natural resource management, and more. In their CJRF-funded project, MPIDO plans to build collective climate action through a program of fostering partnerships, facilitating dialogues, and developing shared advocacy strategies among Indigenous communities in Southern Kenya and Northern Tanzania.
Voters were impressed with the MPIDO proposal, with one saying “their networking strategy is robust, effectively engaging various stakeholders. By incorporating a diverse range of participants, the project not only benefits from collective expertise but also ensures broad support and buy-in from key actors. This multi-stakeholder involvement is key to achieving sustainable, long-term impact and enhances the likelihood of successful implementation.”
Photo Courtesy of CIRMA
Centrum Inisiatif Rakyat Mandiri (CIRMA), created in 2018, is a grassroots organization committed to ending extreme poverty and building resilience in urban slums, peri-urban areas, and rural communities in West Timor, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. Their work focuses on critical areas such as access to clean water and sanitation, climate resilience, risk mitigation, and sustainable agriculture. Under their proposed project, CIRMA will work with smallholder farmers and farmer cooperatives on sustainable farming and resource sharing to build more community resilience in West Timor, Indonesia. CIRMA will also collaborate with other regional stakeholders, including local government entities, civil society organizations, and the private sector to align climate action efforts and advocate for better partnerships and policy changes in the region.
Reviewers praised CIRMA’s proposal for its practicality, scalability, and thorough involvement of the most vulnerable in creating a multi-stakeholder collaborative space. One peer reviewer said CIRMA’s proposal “envisions a strong partnership of actors drawn from different sectors, such as farmers cooperatives, government agencies, civil society and private sector.”
Photo Courtesy of Samprity Aid Foundation
Founded in 2020, Samprity Aid Foundation serves vulnerable populations in Bangladesh through programs focused on education, health and disability, water and sanitation, youth and adolescent engagement, and climate change adaptation. With this $200,000 grant, Samprity Aid Foundation plans to create and strengthen a nationwide network of civil society organizations across all 64 districts of Bangladesh. This network, of which at least 50% of organizations will be led by women, is crucial for fostering a cohesive climate justice movement that prioritizes gender-responsive policies and resilience, ensuring their specific vulnerabilities and needs are addressed in climate action across Bangladesh.
“This concept note demonstrates a strong focus on gender-responsive climate justice, network building, and community empowerment,” according to one voter. “Its comprehensive approach and clear objectives align well with the grant's goals.”
Photo Courtesy of DEAN
Since 2010, the Development of Educational Action Network (DEAN) has built a track record of addressing social issues at the grassroots level, working on issues such as climate change, education, sustainable livelihoods, reproductive health and more. Under this project, DEAN will create the Lake Chad Climate Justice Fellowship, a two-year program to empower 20 young climate activists from the Lake Chad region. These 20 young fellows will be equipped with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities required to advocate for climate justice, address gender-based violence, and mitigate the insecurity caused by climate change in their communities.
“This proposal excels in its comprehensive approach to empowering young climate activists, particularly women, from communities disproportionately affected by climate change,” said one peer reviewer. “It directly addresses key challenges such as gender-based violence and regional insecurity.”
We appreciate all the organizations that applied and participated in this participatory grantmaking process. We will publish a blog in the coming days detailing our process and some initial reflections from this open call. We also invite you to join our newsletter to learn about future participatory grantmaking opportunities at CJRF.