Climate Action Fund

Focus Area: Climate justice, environmental action, and health equity

Program Description

The Climate Action Fund (CAF) invests in collaborative, community-driven solutions that confront climate injustice and build on local strengths. By investing in the people most affected and solutions closest to the ground, the Fund strengthens movements that shape a livable, just future.

Key Focus Areas

• Community organizing to resist extractive industries expansion
• Opposition to unhealthy infrastructure imposition
• Climate-related policy advocacy
• Environmental justice and intersectional approaches
• Climate action connected to health, jobs, and democracy
• Place-based grantmaking strengthening community resilience
• Support for frontline communities affected by environmental harm

Geographic Scope

Current Focus: United States-based (primary)
Historical/Global Context: Continues to view domestic work in global context; historically supported partnerships in Latin America, Africa, and Asia

Specific Communities Served

• Ranchers in Montana
• Farmworkers across the U.S.
• Miners in Appalachia
• Families in major cities (Los Angeles, Boston)

Grantee Types

• Community-based organizations
• Grassroots climate action groups
• Environmental justice organizations
• Frontline community organizations

Historical Context

As an early supporter of the environmental justice movement in the 1990s, NWF funded the anti-toxics movement, leading networks, and the first national People of Color Environmental Summits.