Mosaic, a San Francisco-based initiative aimed at developing movement infrastructure to address climate change, has announced $6.4 million in grants to build the infrastructure the environmental movement needs to achieve clean air and water, a safe climate, healthy and just communities for all, and thriving natural systems.

The grants will help strengthen the capacity of activists and networks across the country by supporting new tools, leadership training, connections, and coalition infrastructure. The funds, which will support 47 projects across the United States, more than doubles the $3 million Mosaic awarded last year and boosts its total investments to nearly $11 million in the past 18 months.

This year, the average grant is $135,000, and Mosaic will be the largest funder in 47 percent of the projects, 85 percent of which are BIPOC-led and 87 percent of which are women-led. The selected projects aim to strengthen network and coalition infrastructure; BIPOC and youth leadership development and training; digital and visual communications capacity for frontline communities; shared narratives and tactical communications hubs; powerful, catalytic theories of environmental protection and justice; and support for the participation of constituencies newer to environmental advocacy, which this year include the faith, youth, nursing, and veteran communities.

According to Mosaic, the environmental field has historically lacked a cross-field hub devoted to strengthening its critical movement infrastructure—the shared tools and relationships that connect and empower activists, advocates, organizations. Often overlooked by philanthropy, movement infrastructure is fundamental to the capacity, alignment, and scale of all successful social movements.

“Mosaic is driven by a vision of building a new, more powerful ‘normal’ where organizations are better and more equitably equipped to take on our most important environmental fights together,” said David Beckman, president of Pisces Foundation, which helped develop Mosaic. “When we invest in movement infrastructure, we enhance our connections, capacity, and impact exponentially. It’s an indispensable part of the social change equation.”

For a complete list of grantees, see the Mosaic website.

(Image credit, Mosaic)