It’s a tough time to be doing climate work. But the examples provided in this assessment – and more in each fund’s case study appendix – are surface skimming snapshots that show how funding networks are continuing to pave flexible, adaptable pathways for embedding sustainability into local, national, and global cultures.
Main takeaways from this deep dive:
- Regardless of what era the climate field is in, these funding networks know that their north star is to put practitioners together and fund them to visualize the end game, benchmark their progress, ideate, and work on eliminating field obstacles.
- This approach hopscotches jurisdictional and sector barriers, enabling the field to scale faster with or despite political winds. It may not be new, but it is still proving to be incredibly effective.
- Funded projects are consistently asked to think beyond the band-aid to the cure. The networks encourage leaning into risk and give the grantees permission to embrace dynamic messiness, combine tech and people-centered solutions, and to fail forward if necessary. Then, the networks push relevant lessons out for others to apply.
- This has made climate work increasingly accessible to a growing number of communities – especially in the U.S., which is a nation of small towns. A significant portion of regranting funds over the past 5 years have gone to communities that are new to applying the principles of sustainability.
- Being an effective testing and scaling mechanism requires becoming an expert in delivery channels. The feedback loop consistently enables resource access, flexible management of workstreams, and a steady flow of communications tailored to practitioners, funders, and decision-makers to show context, progress, and possibilities.
- The cycle is adjusted in real time. The beat goes on. The field alternately survives and thrives. These funding networks incubate, nurture, and map progress in good times and hard, from a position of strength born from experience. They know what works, and how to get it done. They provide a benchmark for those entering the field, a safe space for those under attack to regroup and troubleshoot, and a place to quietly test, incubate, refine, and make normal cross-cutting culture changing practices.
