“When a complex system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to shift the entire system to a higher order.” —Ilya Prigogine
Dear Global Greengrants Community,
Last week, as the new Trump administration was taking office just across the border in the United States, a few colleagues and I were gathered in Tepoztlán, Mexico, for a strategic planning session with the CLIMA Fund—a collaborative of global climate justice funders crucial in mobilizing philanthropic support to environmental movements in the Global South. It has been hard not to worry about the daunting responsibilities and enormous energy required to face 2025. The challenges we face are profound and immediate, and they underscore the importance of our work: supporting grassroots-led solutions and movements worldwide who are defending the rights of people, lands, and natural resources. However, as we were gathering in person beneath the magnetic Tepozteco mountains of Mexico, their ancient presence served as a reminder of nature’s enduring wisdom. The power of movements and importance of connection emerged beyond the unsettled feelings, and I left emboldened by the critical role that Global Greengrants Fund and our partners have in supporting movements, and a call to approach the coming year with empathy and active solidarity.
The United States’ severance of federal aid, slew of Executive Orders and recent withdrawal from key international bodies—including the World Health Organization and Paris Climate Accords—presents new obstacles for the environmental justice movements we support as they work to hold the line. In particular, the pursuit of justice and rights for migrants, LGBTQ2+ people, Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, in the United States and globally, will become even more crucial. Amid this political context, it is also disheartening to observe parts of philanthropy retreat in lockstep, choosing institutional survival over our core mission and purpose. While the impacts of this political turn are not fully realized, the years ahead will require ongoing commitment, creativity, and collective action.
I recently found inspiration reading about orca whales. These remarkable creatures have thrived on Earth for over six million years (compared to our brief 200,000 years) by mastering the art of community survival. They have an intelligence beyond our understanding, with more advanced vocalization and echolocation capacities, and a highly developed brain structure that provides them with a deep sense of self-awareness, co-operative problem-solving, and empathy—qualities that remind us how collective organizing and mutual support are essential for overcoming adversity.
Greengrants’ community of environmental activists continue to create stories of success rooted in a shared humanity, in contexts where injustice has long prevailed, demonstrating the extraordinary potential to tilt systems of power towards justice.
In Kenya, our grantee partners are building drought resilience through creating communal water catchment systems, providing water for both local communities and thirsty elephants. In Indonesia, the Mama Aleta Fund, supported by Global Greengrants, helps Indigenous communities to protect their sacred lands from mining exploitation. In a region where people view the forest as an extension of their bodies, Mama Aleta has successfully organized hundreds of people to resist marble mining expansion on their sacred mountain. Collective action and solidarity are powerful forces for change.
Movements outlast government administrations, as evidenced by the many Global Greengrants advisors and grantee partners from around the world who have navigated turbulent, unjust political landscapes for decades, while simultaneously building power that pushes for accountability and justice.
As we collectively move towards an uncertain future, I’m buoyed by the fact that our greatest strength lies in our relationships and political trust. We have difficult years ahead; I hope that this message is not misinterpreted as a distraction from our challenging reality or invitation to sit with false hope. Instead, this is a call to rekindle our imaginations—to remember that broadening our perspective reveals new ways to face challenges. The grantee partners we support have been and will continue to deepen connections and momentum to build power and possibility. And Global Greengrants will continue to stand in solidarity and partnership with them.
Thank you for being part of this community. Together, we can find our way through.
In solidarity,
Laura García
President and CEO