News
A Call for Immediate Philanthropic Action to Fund Frontline Climate Organizations in California
The federal government is continuing to divest and deregulate climate and environmental justice initiatives. Philanthropic and statewide government funders have a critical role in deepening its investment in resilience ensuring frontline communities are able to withstand the impacts of a changing climate with steadfast environmental justice funding.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin said earlier this week that he had terminated billions of dollars in grants issued under the Inflation Reduction Act. The canceled funding includes the majority of the $20 billion allocated from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), which was intended to support clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities. This decision has sparked legal challenges from grant recipients, with federal judges questioning the EPA’s justifications for the cancellations. Beyond terminating the funding, the FBI has announced criminal investigations into the coalition organizations who received GGRF contract awards, including Coalition for Green Capital, Habitat for Humanity, and Appalachian Community Capital.
Zeldin announced that the agency will also consider a slate of deregulation actions. Most would require legislative action and face numerous legal challenges. The agency released details of the 31 actions it will pursue, including reversing the 2009 greenhouse gas endangerment finding that is the key legal basis for actions to address climate change. Zeldin also directed the closure of all EPA environmental justice offices, including the national environmental justice office and ten regional offices in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle.
On March 8, Climate United sued the Environmental Protection Agency for illegally withholding grant dollars awarded from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, created as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022. Before the money was withheld, Climate United was in charge of administering $6.97 billion for clean energy projects in underserved communities.
Implications for Funders
Earlier this year, Philanthropy California and Nonprofit Finance Fund released Resourcing Resilience – a call to action for philanthropy and the state of California to deepen its investment in communities’ capacity to access reliable, sustainable funding for their work preparing for disasters and adapting to climate change.
The report was written during a time when billions of federal dollars were flowing to communities as a result of legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the CHIPs and Science Act. As we see most of these funding programs completely frozen or being outright cancelled, and the criminalization of awarded applicants, we urge philanthropy and the state not to pull back their funding dedicated to developing project pipelines, building community capacity, aligning funding stacks, and investing in community power to demand community benefits. This moment in time is critical in preparing frontline communities to withstand the impacts of a changing climate.
The Philanthropy California CEOs laid out the case in the Foreword of the report:
“Our collective future depends on acting boldly and collaboratively. By strategically investing in resilience and evaluating and addressing the obstacles to funding, we can transform how communities confront the challenges of climate change. This will lay the groundwork for a more equitable and resilient future for all not just in the near term, but for generations to come.”
While federal funding is drastically shifting, the recommendations, priorities and practice outlined in the report hold true. Protecting progress and continuing the momentum built over the last four years, investing in community wealth and wellbeing, prioritizing cross-sector partnerships — provide an outline for funders to navigate the next four years. While the Federal Administration is rolling back funding and environmental protections through deregulation and elimination of agencies, the work toward a just transition and environmental justice is steadfast in California.
In this moment, funders across California must:
- Provide rapid response support and funding to organizations fighting to protect awarded grant dollars from the federal government, including general operating support to organizations who rely on this funding to pay staff.
- Offer community partners flexible, multi-year funding to ensure that they have the necessary protections in place as they keep the work moving under a combative policy environment.
- Leverage political power and connections to uplift the importance of these programs to state legislators and members of the California Congressional Delegation.
- Double down on investments in community capacity through programs such as BOOST, Greenlining the Block, and the Community Economic Mobilization Initiative
- Join funder networks to leverage collective voice and action within philanthropy. NCG’s emerging Philanthropy and Public Funding Working Group (contact Kirin Kumar) SCG’s Environmental Funders Group and Catalyst of San Diego and Imperial Counties’ Climate Funders Group.
Contact
- Kirin Kumar | Director, Climate and Disaster Resilience | Northern California Grantmakers
- Katie Oran | Manager, Climate and Disaster Resilience | Northern California Grantmakers
- Lily Bui, PhD | Manager, Climate and Disaster Resilience | SoCal Grantmakers
- Megan Thomas | CEO & President | Catalyst of San Diego & Imperial Counties
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