2021 Environmental Justice Partner
Led by Gloria Walton and co-founded by the actor Mark Ruffalo, The Solutions Project provides funding and communications support to over 75 grassroots organizations across the country, most of which are led by women of color. Nearly 20 of our grantees are based in New York alone.
We believe that the climate crisis is the epic challenge of our lives. We see possibility even amidst tragedy. We envision a world that doesn’t depend on extraction and exploitation. We know that a future that works for all must, by definition, be created by all of us. The Solutions Project amplifies the energy and ideas of the many, to find diverse answers to the climate crisis – and realize a future created by us all.
In February 2021, we held the first-ever Black Climate Week, an initiative we launched in part to draw attention to the under-representation of climate justice leaders of color at Climate Week NYC.
Yes, this can be seen as a call-out. And yes, we know that most big organizations and media platforms don’t amplify a diversity of voices.
However, Climate Week NYC saw it as a call-in, for themselves and the larger field of companies, foundations, and NGOs who are making new commitments to opportunities for people of color and women to tell their stories. Climate Week took action to do better, to get this done, too.
Our first ever Climate Week NYC partnership was a major success.
The Solutions Project was the Environmental Justice partner of Climate Week NYC and we brought some much-needed light to the lineup by uplifting the frontline innovations in climate solutions that exist right now in communities across the nation. Imagine what’s possible when industry, government, and philanthropy heavyweights support these innovations at the scale needed!
We had the privilege to represent our organization and provide a platform for our grantees and other partners in several events throughout the week. Gems and mics were dropped. If you didn’t have a chance to pop in, know that they are all available in full at the links provided below.
Check out the events The Solutions Project participated in or hosted!
In partnership with The Uproot Project and Solutions Journalism Network, offered an “off-the-record” discussion across a range of newsrooms covering environment, racial justice, gender, the economy and culture. Top journalists — all women of color, ahem — offered insights into the challenges and experiences of reporting on justice-centered climate solutions.
The Opening Ceremony, included our President + CEO Gloria Walton who called for change really needed and already underway in frontline communities of color leading the charge for a just and robust transition to a net-zero economy (and well beyond as Gloria boldly stated).
Our event with corporate partner Seventh Generation, NY Leads on Climate Justice Policy showcased the powerful — and winning — policy leadership of our grantee partners ALIGN, NY Renews, PUSH Buffalo, and UPROSE. They not only designed, campaigned for and won the strongest climate bill in the country, but their policy innovations inspired the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative and is now being followed by a campaign to pass the NY Climate and Community Investment Act in 2022.
Finally, we hosted Climate Justice Technology Solutions – Stories from the Frontlines with a new corporate ally, Verizon, and featuring Native Renewables, Soulardarity, and New Alpha Community Development Corporations, all in communities already deploying some of the most innovative technology solutions ready for scale. If you are a donor excited about technology as a tool for climate justice, all three of these grantee partners are ready to scale.
The fight for environmental justice doesn’t end after Climate Week NYC. Here are several ways to get involved and take action. Let’s Create The Future!
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @100isNow.
Use the hashtags: #LetsCreateTheFuture #GettingitDone #ClimateWeekNYC #TheSolutionsProject #BlackClimateWeek to amplify the stories and voices of environmental justice leaders.
These are our grantees participating in Climate Week NYC events.
A longstanding alliance of labor and community organizations united for a just and sustainable New York. ALIGN works at the intersection of economy, environment, and equity to make a change and build a movement.
BCDI is a community-led effort to build an equitable, sustainable, and democratic local economy that creates wealth and ownership for low-income people of color—what we call economic democracy.
The Good Life Garden is a collaborative effort by neighbors to create a multi-purpose, intergenerational green space serving the community through agriculture, education, arts, and healthy living.
Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) is a grassroots organization that serves, engages, and empowers low- and moderate-income residents of the LES/Loisaida, specifically people of color, through direct services, public education, and community organizing.
NY Renews is a coalition of over 200 environmental, justice, faith, labor, and community groups, and the force behind the nation’s most progressive climate law.
THE POINT Community Development Corporation is dedicated to youth development and the cultural and economic revitalization of the Hunts Point section of the South Bronx.
UPROSE promotes sustainability and resiliency in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood through community organizing, education, indigenous and youth leadership development, and cultural/artistic expression.
Soulardarity is building a brighter future in Highland Park with education, organizing, and people-powered clean energy.
New Alpha Community Development Corporation works alongside coalitions of other climate justice organizations, working together to overcome create solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems
Native Renewables is addressing energy access challenges by providing solar options to Native communities.
PUSH Buffalo mobilizes residents to create strong neighborhoods with quality, affordable housing; to expand local hiring opportunities; and to advance economic and environmental justice in Buffalo.
NY Environmental Justice Alliance is a citywide membership network linking grassroots organizations from low-income neighborhoods and communities of color in their struggle for environmental justice.
Your support drives effective, creative, and equitable climate change solutions. You can donate on our website.
Our funders are the backbone of our grantmaking. Their support gets translated directly into grassroots, boots-on-the-ground action to deliver community-based solutions to people on the frontlines of climate change. To learn more about becoming a funder, contact us directly.
The media can be a useful tool in amplifying the voices of those often ignored. We work with media to not only share the story of The Solutions Project but also our grantees. If you’re a journalist or creator who would like to learn more about our story sources, email us.