The Donors of Color Network (DOCN) has announced that signatories to its Climate Funders Justice Pledge are making substantial progress toward achieving—and in several cases surpassing—the pledge’s baseline goals of improving climate change funding for BIPOC-led (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) justice groups.

The pledge comprises two parts: an initial commitment to make a foundation’s climate-related grants transparent, and an additional pledge to direct at least 30 percent of that funding within two years to organizations that are run by, serving, and building power for communities of color and have majority-POC boards and senior staff as well as a justice lens. According to DOCN, currently only 1.3 percent of U.S.-based climate change funding is directed to BIPOC groups.

Signatories to the pledge that have surpassed the 30 percent goal include the Bullitt, Chorus, JPB, Kresge, Nathan Cummings, Northlight, Pisces, Schmidt Family, and Surdna foundations; the Christensen, David Rockefeller, and Rockefeller Brothers (RBF) funds; and the Ceres Trust and Solidaire Network.

The David Rockefeller Fund more than doubled its percentage of climate-related funding directed to BIPOC organizations, to 36.62 percent in 2021-22 from 17 percent in 2019-20. The Ceres Trust eclipsed the pledge goal, increasing its share to 65.9 percent up from 35 percent, as did the Cummings Foundation (76.6 percent, up from 47 percent). Other foundations, while not achieving the 30 percent benchmark, also made substantial progress, including the Barr Foundation (22.8 percent, up from 10 percent) and the Heising-Simons Foundation (11.6 percent, up from 5.93 percent).

“Philanthropy has not adequately resourced all of the players that the climate movement needs,” said RBF president Stephen Heintz. “The RBF is aiming to do everything in our power to help build a movement that can effectively address the largest threat facing humanity—that effort has to include leaders and communities of color.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/FG Trade)