Over time, CJRF has expanded its grantmaking, strengthened learning and accompaniment, and critically examined its own structures. This has included transitioning to participatory governance, experimenting with new grantmaking approaches, and centering accountability to the communities most affected by the climate crisis.
CJRF remains focused on honing its ability to resource frontline leadership in ways that help shift systems to achieve resilience and justice for the long term.
Our Evolution: A Timeline
Creation of the Fund
CJRF launched in 2016, when the Oak Foundation made a six-year, $20 million USD grant to the New Venture Fund. At the time, few in philanthropy saw climate change as a human rights or social justice issue. CJRF aimed to bring people, their rights, and their lived experience to the center of the climate funding agenda.
Early Grantmaking
CJRF began its grantmaking in 2017, supporting early partners working on climate justice, community rights, and resilience. Early grants included organizations such as the Alaska Institute for Justice (AIJ) working on tribal governance in the context of climate-induced relocation, and IMPACT Kenya and the PARAN Alliance advancing community land rights. By the end of 2019, CJRF made 42 grants totaling $13.77 million USD across eight countries.
Midterm Review
In 2020, an independent mid-term portfolio review described CJRF as “compelling and innovative,” noting early signs of impact and strong potential for long-term change. Following the review and feedback we received from partners, we began a participatory design process to shift power, not only in what we fund, but in how we make funding decisions.
Loss and Damage
At the 2021 United Nation’s climate talks (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland became the first wealthy country to explicitly address some of the gravest injustices that climate change is causing, partnering with CJRF to deploy an initial £1 million GBP toward addressing climate-induced loss and damage in vulnerable communities. While CJRF had funded loss and damage projects before, this now became a major new program area.
$7M Unrestricted Grant
CJRF received a $7 million USD flexible grant from groundbreaking philanthropist MacKenzie Scott in support of our second phase. The flexibility of this funding allowed us to conduct a participatory re-design process and launch our governance transition.
Phase 1 Review
During its initial six-year phase (2016–2022), CJRF made $21.1 million USD in major grants to build multi-year partnerships with 44 organizations in eight different countries. Building on the learning from this phase and grounded in feedback from partners, CJRF deepened its commitment to systems change and to participatory processes.
Board Power Shift
In November 2022, CJRF took a major step in its transformation by appointing a new board. Authority transitioned from our funders to a board composed of activists and practitioners from around the globe. This aligned CJRF’s governance with its belief that those closest to the work should hold decision-making power.
Testing Participatory Grantmaking
CJRF implemented an 18-month strategy that deployed $4.3 million USD by test-driving several participatory grantmaking approaches. These included a global open call with peer selection, network-driven grantmaking, and a portfolio shaped through collaborative systems mapping.
10-Year Anniversary and Strategic Renewal
As CJRF marks its 10-year anniversary, we are advancing a new strategy designed to deepen our niche and grow our impact. We look forward to the next ten years!