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Underfunded Yet Unstoppable

Channel Foundation is pleased to share research from Global Greengrants Fund-a former grantee partner, Prospera International Network of Women’s Funds, and the Human Rights Funders Network-where we are a member, reveals both the critical role and severe underfunding of women-led climate and environmental initiatives. The report “Seeds for Harvest: Funding gender, climate, and environmental justice” published on September 26, 2024 provides compelling evidence for increasing support to this crucial intersection. 

“We can’t separate it. Climate happens in spaces that are in dispute; territories that
are in dispute due to forms of appropriation that have not recognized women’s rights
or leadership nor the rights of the Indigenous Peoples living in those territories”.

Key Findings: 

  • Only 1.2% ($50.2M) of $4.1B in human rights funding for 2019 considered gender, climate, and environment 
  • Just 5% of nearly 27,000 grants addressed this intersection 
  • Aid donors spent ten times more on administrative costs ($11.2B) than on women’s rights organizations ($964M) in 2022 
  • Public foundations, particularly women’s funds and environmental funds, provided 91% of grants at this intersection 

Success Stories That Demand Support:

  • International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI) – Through its AYNI Fund, FIMI allocates over 40% of its budget in Peru towards gender and climate initiatives, supporting Indigenous women in land governance and community-led climate resilience projects. Guaraní women in Paraguay have successfully mobilized water recovery efforts, expanding their impact across communities. 
  • Women’s Fund Fiji (WFF) – As the Pacific’s first national feminist fund, WFF uses flexible grants to fund locally-led climate initiatives, including disaster recovery and climate-resilient agriculture. WFF partners with Indigenous women, fostering decision-making roles in resilience projects and strengthening disaster response capacity. 
  • UAF-Africa – Focuses on supporting environmental defenders across Africa, addressing intersecting issues of water and land justice, anti-extraction efforts, and broader socio-economic and reproductive justice. Their eco-feminist vision emphasizes recovery and Indigenous knowledge to maintain harmony with ecosystems. 

The report outlines five crucial recommendations: 

  • Mobilize multi-year, flexible resources for organizations working at gender and climate intersections 
  • Break down funding silos between climate and gender justice 
  • Invest in feminist climate movement infrastructure 
  • Create spaces for cross-movement dialogue and strategy development 
  • Recognize and support Indigenous women’s leadership and traditional knowledge

Channel Foundation recognizes that the climate crisis disproportionately affects women and marginalized communities, yet these same groups are developing innovative solutions with minimal support. We are committed to advancing the report’s recommendations and encourage other foundations to join in supporting this critical work. 

As the report emphasizes, the collaborative ecosystem of feminist, women’s rights, and environmental funds is ready to receive at least $100M annually for gender-just climate action in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The time to act is now. 

Read the full report here and join us in supporting gender-just climate action.