Scherman Foundation: Environmental & Climate Justice Program Grant

Scherman Foundation: Environmental & Climate Justice Program Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Scherman Foundation Inc.
Last Updated: January 16, 2026

Summary

The Scherman Foundation's Environmental & Climate Justice Program focuses on empowering Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities through grassroots organizing to address climate change and promote racial justice. With a regional emphasis on New York City and State, the program funds multi-issue, community-based organizations that advocate for equitable climate solutions. This initiative aims to dismantle systemic inequalities and foster a Just Transition towards sustainable, democratically controlled systems, ensuring that frontline communities lead the way in climate transformation.

Overview

NOTE: A new Letter of Intent is not required for current grantees. The Scherman Foundation accepts Letters of Intent for New Requests. Applicants will generally be advised by June if a LOI has been declined or will be invited to submit a full proposal for consideration. Please note that we primarily support current grantees and make a limited number of new grants each year. Our Mission The Scherman Foundation invests in the economic, political, and cultural transformation necessary for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color to reclaim and build power. Our Strategic Framework We believe that investing in cultural, political, and economic transformation together advances justice to realize our vision. We support organizations working at the intersections of these transformation areas inside our strategic framework. This framework is the foundation of our more specific and evolving program priorities. Economic TransformationOur focus on economic transformation acknowledges that the root causes of economic inequity are linked to white supremacy and racial injustice and that the economic well being of BIPOC individuals and communities is critical for liberation.We support organizations that focus on:Strategies and models that provide BIPOC communities with greater access to capital, assets, and opportunitiesEconomic stability and security for BIPOC individuals and familiesAdvocating for more equitable economic systems through policy reform, institutional changes, and increased transparencyPolitical TransformationWe believe that those who have been excluded must lead the way in dismantling current political structures and creating new, inclusive, and reflective democratic processes.We support organizations that focus on:Work and priorities that are driven by BIPOC communitiesForging multi-racial coalitions working toward racial justiceReforming political structures and processes to make the political system more accessible and accountable to BIPOC communitiesIncreasing the participation of BIPOC communities in democratic processes and decision-making at all levelsCultural TransformationRecognizing the crucial role of culture in advancing justice, we support organizations that harness storytelling, expression, and artistic activism to drive systemic change.Our focus is on collaborative narrative change strategies, innovative storytelling frameworks, and equitable media accessibility.We support organizations that focus on:Public Narrative Change: Combating misinformation and harmful stereotypes through investments in journalism, local news outlets, and nonfiction narrativesArtistic Expression: Supporting the creativity and work of BIPOC artists and communities without imposing agendas or conditions and transforming the field to do the sameArtivism: Using art as a tool for organizing grassroots movements and collective action, including funding on-the-ground storytelling and public art projects General Criteria We consider the following general criteria in our grantmaking process. Organizations that are accountable to or directed by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities.While we prioritize BIPOC leadership, our main focus is on organizations where BIPOC communities have clear influence and decision-making power over the organization's strategy, direction, programmatic work, and finances.Organizations that are intersectional in their work and practices.Intersectionality recognizes that individuals hold multiple identities, shaping their experiences with power.We look for organizations that demonstrate a deep understanding of intersectionality in their mission, programs, and practices; center the voices and experiences of those most affected by multiple forms of oppression; and address the interconnectedness of racial justice with economic status, gender, LGBTQ+, and/or disability justice as well.Organizations that work with others to build movements toward racial justice.Movement-building is the long-term process of organizing and empowering individuals and organizations to collectively work towards systemic change and a shared vision.We look for organizations and coalitions that reflect key characteristics of movement building including an authentic mass base; grassroots leadership; a shared ideology or narrative; broad coalition-building; and strategy to create and sustain structural change beyond specific organizations or campaigns.The Foundation supports organizations focused on organizing and advocacy, while our Arts funding includes a wider range of approaches Environmental & Climate Justice Program Over the next 20 years, and likely beyond, climate chaos will be a primary driver of economic, social, cultural, and political change in the U.S.  But while transformation is inevitable, a Just Transition one that replaces fossil fuel systems that drive racial and economic inequality with structures that are decentralized, equitably distributed, and democratically controlled—will only be achieved through grassroots climate organizing and movement-building that embodies racial justice. Climate change disproportionally harms Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, whether it is adjacency to noxious fossil fuel facilities that drive sky-rocketing asthma rates, the poisoning of Indigenous peoples’ lands, or the ocean inundation of unprotected communities already suffering from climate-driven heat waves. In New York, these harms will be increasingly exacerbated by climate-driven immigration, pitting one historically oppressed group against another. This reality is central to the environmental and climate justice movement. It is also the movement’s strength because frontline communities of color are the natural leaders to build economic, cultural, and political power in the fight to shape climate transformation. Local and state based community organizations and mass-based coalitions embody the intersectionality, first-hand knowledge, and determination rooted in lived experience that informs and drives systemic change. Funding Priorities New York Regional Focus The Foundation will focus its support on New York City and State in order to seek synergies with grantees in its other programs, facilitate deep staff engagement and support of the field, and take advantage of the moment. The state and city are at dramatic climate policy tipping points, positioned to demonstrate that a transition to climate sustainability is inextricably interwoven with the fight for racial justice. Having won historic legal commitments to a Just Transition—the CLCPA, Local Law 97, etc.—our grantees are working to defend those wins and fight for aggressive implementation. In order to leverage regional synergies (and confront regional challenges), the Foundation will continue to fund a limited number of grassroots groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Local Frontline Organizations and Allies The Foundation funds multi-issue, BIPOC, community-based organizations, or coalitions of such groups, with a primary focus on racial justice and climate sustainability, from democratically controlled renewable energy projects and local/state policy to local climate resiliency and green jobs. These groups approach climate through the lens of local needs and concerns of historically oppressed communities. They are not first and foremost focused on emissions reductions (the usual measure of climate strategies) but on intersectional approaches such as asthma and PEAK plant transition; community self-sufficiency and solidarity through renewable energy microgrids and resilient, community-controlled community infrastructure; and the creation of energy efficient housing and green jobs. This complex intersectionality requires the Foundation to vet groups on the viability of their goals and strategies and on the authenticity of their community roots, power building, and accountability. The Foundation provides targeted support for mass transit work. The city and region are uniquely shaped by the benefits and inequities of mass transit. These systems intersect with issues of economic access, health inequities, affordable housing, and, of course, climate. While almost all of the ECJ program’s grantees work at least tangentially on transportation issues, the Foundation funds a core group of grassroots organizing, advocacy, and policy groups and campaigns working exclusively for equitable mass transit. The Foundation also supports a limited number of policy, legal, and technical support organizations allied with, and accountable to, frontline groups and coalitions. National Climate Justice Groups The Foundation will support a limited number of national Climate Justice groups distinguished by the following characteristics: A strong grassroots base in New York BIPOC communities, primarily through affiliationsThe capacity to both support and amplify New York climate justice groupsAn intersectional approach addressing racial, political, and economic justice in addition to climateA cohesive racial justice narrative built with other organizations and community partners

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Organizations must have 501(c)(3) charitable status or a fiscal sponsor with 501(c)(3) status.GeographyThe Foundation will focus its support on New York City and State.The Foundation will continue to fund a limited number of grassroots groups in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Ineligibility

We do not consider:Grants to support specific events or productionsDirect service work unless embedded in a larger organizing and movement building strategyOrganizations primarily working outside of the U.S.