2023 Annual Report
Global Greengrants Fund fosters a resilient movement network that weaves together environmental action with social justice issues, placing communities and grassroots movements around the world at the core of our work.
A Letter from Laura García and Dr. Nisha Owen
Dear Friends,
The power of collective action has never been clearer. Grassroots environmental and climate justice movements are rising up globally to create a groundswell of change to protect our shared planet and create a more just world. This year, Global Greengrants Fund celebrates 30 years of championing environmental justice! In 2023, we reached new heights in our grantmaking efforts across our network of advisory boards, partner funds, donor advised funds, and fiscally sponsored partnerships, distributing $18 million via 1,462 grants across 121 countries. We are not only supporting individual projects but also nurturing global movements. Frontline communities are the heart of environmental justice, leading resistance against harmful industries and pioneering sustainable alternatives.
Just like a healthy forest thrives on interconnectedness, so too does our mission to foster a resilient network of solidarity for environmental and social justice, connecting donors, staff, and grassroots movements with the resources needed to thrive. These networks and webs of solidarity that span the globe are how we will collectively build power from the grassroots up; from Indigenous communities halting oil development in the Amazon to African youth shaping climate policies, the collective action we support is advancing environmental justice.
Our Transformative Journey, which began in 2021, has continued to focus on building movement resilience by strengthening our decentralized network of 30 advisory boards, partner funders, and global partners, increasing participation, learning, and sustainability, and expanding resources. We're diversifying our reach to areas often off the funding radar by launching advisory boards in Central Asia (formed in 2023) and Disability Rights and Climate Justice (formed in 2022), and piloting new grantmaking initiatives in Plastics and Zero Waste and Indigenous Rights. Through these initiatives, we are fostering Global South philanthropy and investing in new participatory grantmaking models.
The impacts we have made and the progress we have seen would not have been possible without the incredible efforts of our grantee partners, our donors, and our committed staff. We want to express our deepest gratitude to all those who have supported us in our mission. Your trust in us and in the work of grassroots activists around the world makes a real difference.
Thank you for standing with us in solidarity.
Laura García
President and CEO
Global Greengrants Fund
Dr. Nisha Owen
Executive Director
Global Greengrants Fund UK
Connecting Resources and Movements
Each year, Global Greengrants gives out grants in alliance with a vast network of advisory boards, donors, partner funds, regional partners, and fiscal sponsorship partners. Our grantmaking statistics reflect the work of this entire network.
1,462
Grants
121
Countries
$18M
Total granted
2023 Grantmaking by Issue Area***
A Groundswell of Grassroots Power: Grantee Highlights
Grassroots movements are at the forefront of environmental and climate justice, including leading transitions from extractive agriculture and energy production to regenerative, equitable energy practices that prioritize community and environmental wellbeing. Often, these grassroots groups serve as the seed from which broader socio-environmental justice movements grow. When properly supported from the grassroots level, these movements become the most effective and enduring force against environmental degradation, inequality, and injustice, fostering lasting systemic change in our societies and institutions.
Grantee Highlight
Collective Action Protects Yasuní National Park
In August 2023, the population of Ecuador voted through a national referendum to halt all current and future oil extraction in Yasuní National Park.
Grantee Highlight
The Movement to #StopEACOP
Since 2021, Global Greengrants has funded over a dozen projects to stop construction of the 1,445km East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Tanzania and Uganda.
Grantee Highlight
The First Indigenous Peoples Led Conservation Congress
As part of Alliance for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities for Conservation in Africa (AICA), Global Greengrants grantee partner IMPACT Kenya played a leading role in organizing the First Indigenous Peoples Led Conservation Congress.
Grantee Highlight
Creating Agroecological Alternatives
Agroecology is a core pillar of achieving environmental justice. In 2023, we funded numerous grassroots groups worldwide implementing agroecological solutions.
A Growing, Decentralized Grassroots-Led Advisory Network
Global Greengrants makes grants to grassroots groups in the Global South working at the intersection of human rights and environmental justice. Our model is built around decentralized grassroots-focused grantmaking in which decisions on funding are made through volunteer advisors who are part of the movements they fund.
To deepen the breadth of our grantmaking, we continually assess how we can expand our advisory network to new regions and issue areas. In 2023, we launched two new advisory boards-a Disability Rights and Climate Justice (DRCJ) Advisory Board and a Central Asia Advisory Board-and began piloting both a new Indigenous Peoples board and a Global Plastics and Zero Waste board. These boards ensure that our collective efforts are inclusive and effective in addressing the root causes of environmental injustice.
Building Solidarity: Convenings for Collective Power-Building
At the heart of our approach lies the recognition that solidarity is the bedrock of resilient movements. Our coordinators' retreat, virtual advisor learning circles, and regional convenings serve as powerful platforms for fostering connections between activists and advisors from across the Global South, creating a grassroots-based groundswell of environmental action. These gatherings foster a spirit of shared learning, and an exchange of expertise and mutual support.
Transforming Philanthropy: Weaving an Ecosystem of Justice
Through collaborative initiatives with other funders that disrupt traditional norms, and research, we hold the entire environmental justice ecosystem as interdependent rather than competitive. Our gender and environment program and funder learning community play a pivotal role in advancing a more equitable approach to environmental philanthropy, while our partnership with the CLIMA Fund stands as a testament to the transformative power of collaboration to influence philanthropy to move resources to the grassroots.
Our Transformative Journey
In 2021, Global Greengrants Fund initiated a Transformative Journey, answering a call amidst socio-environmental adversity globally to leverage our extensive network to better serve environmental and climate justice movements. After an initial focus on strengthening organizational culture, structure, processes, and learning, over the past year we've transitioned towards more tangible outcomes that leverage our vast network of environmental and climate justice advocates, built over 30 years.
As we look towards the next year, the key pillars of our Transformative Journey include:
Strengthening the capacity of our advisory network to scale up and deepen its support to grassroots movements. We're successfully expanding and diversifying our advisory boards into new geographies and themes, and strengthening underfunded areas. In 2023, we launched the Central Asia Advisory Board and the Disability Rights and Climate Justice Board, and began piloting an Indigenous Rights Advisory Board and a Global Plastics and Zero Waste Board. We're fostering Global South philanthropy by supporting local environmental justice funds, and enhancing connections across our network, leading to cross-movement learning and investment in movement-building spaces.
Expanding our participatory grantmaking models to enhance the participation of diverse communities, voices, ideas, and information. Building on our 30-year history of decentralized grantmaking, we are investing in and developing an expanded participatory grantmaking model. This expanded model will better support grassroots environmental justice movements by providing rapid response grants, network grants, and grants of varying sizes to grassroots movements. We intend to increase flexibility, improve capacity to absorb funding, support emerging social movements, and foster collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Fostering learning and financial sustainability. We're investing in fostering collective learning among activists, organizations, and philanthropy, in order to build movement resilience and transform philanthropy models. We are also advocating for donors to join us in building long-term financial sustainability for movements.
Increasing the breadth and scope of our funding to movements via grantmaking and accompaniment. We're continuing to expand our support to movements through accompaniment, with a focus on regions where we have established networks. Our goal is to provide crucial support for communities advocating for environmental justice beyond just giving one-off grants.
Our Transformative Journey aims to transform Global Greengrants into a resilient, adaptable, learning community with greater impact. Through that journey, we hope to better respond to emerging challenges, and to foster a more just and sustainable future. As we look ahead, we are excited to continue supporting grassroots movements for environmental justice globally.
2023 Financial Overview
$18.0M
Total Grants Allocated in 2023
$67.2M
Total Assets
$26.5M
Total Expenses in 2023
Expenses
Numbers labeled "overall" include Global Greengrants Fund UK, donor-advised funds (DAFs), regional partner funds, and our fiscal sponsorships, in addition to our general operations and grantmaking. UK data highlight the numbers within that overall umbrella that are specific to Global Greengrants UK.
Financials
For U.S. and European-based operations in fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
For financials from
prior years, visit greengrants.org/financials.
We are grateful for the support of our donors, and for their commitment to the well-being of people and our planet. To view a list of Global Greengrants Fund's donors, please visit: https://www.greengrants.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/2023-GGF-Donor-List.pdf
Together, we are where change takes root.
Thank you to our community of supporters, partners, and allies for your unwavering commitment to protecting our shared planet and creating a more just world.