Anthem Awards Nonprofit Leader of the Year
Gloria Walton, CEO & President at The Solutions Project is named Anthem Awards’ Sustainability, Environment & Climate, Nonprofit Leader of the Year.
The Anthem Awards recognizes the nonprofit leader of the year as an “outstanding pioneer or innovator leading a team at a non-profit organization focused on behalf of the mission of their organization.”
“This recognition goes beyond me – it’s a testament to the incredible work of the team at The Solutions Project, our grantee partners, and the entire climate justice movement. This award symbolizes the power of intersectional movements for climate, racial, economic, and social justice.
I’m honored to show up and show out, doing our part as a movement accountable funder that resources the most impacted communities. I don’t take this recognition lightly, nor the role I’ve been called into to advance justice in our world,” said Gloria Walton.
Walton is transforming philanthropy to show what’s possible for climate justice when funders show up in solidarity with grassroots organizations who are creating a sustainable and equitable world. She is mobilizing substantial resources for frontline communities and the broader climate justice movement, with a specific focus on historically underinvested Black, Indigenous, and communities of color. Additionally, she aims to elevate climate justice solutions as a prominent topic in mainstream platforms.
Under Walton’s leadership and her governance roles, more than $200M in grants were secured for frontline groups through The Solutions project and the ecosystem funds they administer. She also brought climate justice to major media platforms, including Web Summit, NYTimes Climate Hub, TED Countdown, and the cover of TIME.
“Communities of color at the frontlines of the climate crisis are also at the forefront of leading innovative climate solutions. Together with community organizers, grassroots organizations, and movement leaders worldwide, we’ve catalyzed a pivotal moment where equity and justice are gaining attention from philanthropy, government, media, and industry leaders.
Unfortunately we are witnessing a turn in the landscape – from the Supreme Court anti-affirmative action decision to the funding backlash in the philanthropic sector. Amid the racial uprisings in 2020, there was a flood of promises made in response to the lives lost to police brutality. Some followed through on those promises, but many did not. The regression of support for Black communities and other communities of color is concerning.
Currently, we are experiencing a retrenchment and a contraction of dollars that are moving to Black communities, as well as other communities of color, low income, and working class communities. With so much at stake – an election year with multiple humanitarian crises worldwide – abandoning justice is not an option!
The time is now. Climate justice solutions are changing the world. Let’s stand in solidarity and resource the frontlines like never before!” said Gloria Walton.