A nationwide coalition of more than 40 community foundations has launched the Community Foundation Climate Collaborative, a coordinated effort aimed at helping local communities secure funding and more effectively respond to climate change.

Through the initiative, the coalition—which was established in May by the New York Community Trust (NYCT), and the Pittsburgh, Denver, and Marin community foundations—aims to leverage community foundations’ knowledge of local issues and long-standing relationships with nonprofit organizations to help direct federal, state, and private funding dedicated to climate projects across the country. The initiative will prioritize offering guidance and support to marginalized communities, which often bear the brunt of climate-related impacts but lack adequate resources and expertise to consistently secure governmental and philanthropic funding. Recently added members of the coalition include the Adirondack Foundation in Lake Placid, New York; Cleveland Foundation; and the community foundations for Broward County, Greater Buffalo, Greater New Haven, Nantucket, and Northern Virginia.

“When viewed from a global perspective, addressing climate change can be daunting,” said NYCT president Amy Freitag. “Yet we know through our work that actions taken on the local level can have a multiplying effect that can lead to systemic change. That’s the potential we are looking to harness through the Climate Collaborative.”

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