The Climatics, a people-powered philanthropy fund that pools small donations to support climate action, has backed initiatives focused on ethical finance, iwi-led climate resilience, fossil fuel phase-out and community climate action.

The latest funding round follows the success of the platform's inaugural campaign, which exceeded its $100,000 fundraising goal and distributed $34,000 to three climate-focused organisations.

This year’s recipients are Mindful Money, which is launching a new project; Pou Take Āhuarangi, which is establishing a rangatahi adaptation community of practice; 350 Aotearoa, which is developing a National Energy Strategy; and Coal Action Network Aotearoa, which is preparing a Jobs After Coal report examining pathways for workers and communities affected by the transition away from coal.

The funding round has a target of $100,000 and closes on 8 July. If that target is reached, Mindful Money, Pou Take Āhuarangi and 350 Aotearoa will each receive $30,000, while Coal Action Network Aotearoa will receive $10,000 to support its project.

Climatics co-founder Pip Wheaton said the funding round was designed to support a range of organisations tackling different aspects of the climate challenge.

“We're making a portfolio bet on a healthy ecosystem – metaphorically speaking: a diversity of organisations working simultaneously, creating conditions for change that no single intervention could produce,” she told Carbon News.

Wheaton said the organisations may appear unrelated at first glance, but all are working to change the underlying conditions that drive climate change.

“For example, Mindful Money is supporting everyday New Zealanders to move their investments away from fossil fuels while 350 Aotearoa is building people power around a national energy strategy. While that's happening, Coal Action Network Aotearoa is showing what jobs-after-coal actually looks like, so those impacted by the transition aren't left behind.

“Meanwhile, Pou Take Āhuarangi is having hundreds of conversations with whānau about what climate resilience means for their futures. They're pieces of the same puzzle.”

Climate groups feel funding squeeze

Wheaton said many climate organisations are feeling the effects of reduced government support, with funding pressures emerging as a common theme among applicants.

“Looking at the financials of the 24 organisations that applied this round, and at the dozens more we considered in our first round, the contraction of government funding is stark.

“There were organisations whose entire work programmes had to shutter from one month to the next; where staff were let go and contracts not continued," she said.

“Of the eleven interviews we conducted, ten brought up how stretched they were this year. They’re used to operating on lean budgets but they all commented that this year is even harder. 

“Philanthropy cannot, and should not, be a replacement for government funding. But if we want a resilient civil society, keeping organisations viable through a period of such contraction has a value that goes beyond any specific program or campaign outputs.” 

Climate philanthropy 'significantly underfunded'

Co-founder MJ Bethell said the latest funding round reflected the strength of community support for climate action, despite the ongoing cost-of-living squeeze.

“At a time when many across Aotearoa are feeling the strain of the cost of living, it is truly inspiring to see people still doing what they can – donating what they can, and turning up for the environment. 

“Now, more than ever, it is critical that we are strategic with how we invest these donations and make sure every dollar goes toward high-impact change.”

Wheaton told Carbon News climate philanthropy remains significantly underfunded despite strong public concern about climate change. She pointed to recent Fundsorter data showing that while 8.1% of funders identify climate as a priority, just 1.02% of grant funding reaches climate-focused organisations.

“The Climatics was created to help bridge that gap and we welcome both large and small donors to our community with an intention to help make giving to climate feel more accessible,” she said.

“An important quality we want to nurture in the organisations we fund (and ideally in the sector as a whole) is the capacity to be agile in a fast changing context, funding them in a way they can respond to opportunities, apply learning and pivot their activities in response to external forces. 

“We recognise their reality of navigating a context that is moving faster than any strategy can account for. Because of this, the majority of our grants are ‘flexible’ or ‘unrestricted’.”

Wheaton said donor support had exceeded expectations, with more than 80 people contributing over $175,000 since The Climatics launched less than a year ago.

She said the response suggests there is strong public appetite to support climate action, but that many New Zealanders have lacked a clear and trusted way to direct their giving. 

“New Zealanders who want to give meaningfully to climate action haven't always had a clear, trusted home for that impulse. Less than 2% of philanthropic funding in New Zealand goes to climate causes so the gap between public concern and directed giving is real, and The Climatics can help to close that gap.

“There’s more climate work happening in Aotearoa than most people are aware of: last year we mapped well over 100 not-for-profit organisations focused on climate change. There’s a huge diversity of approaches and angles. Navigating those organisations and working out where to give isn’t straightforward.”

She said donors ranged from climate professionals to first-time climate philanthropists, attracted by a model that directs all donations to expert-selected organisations working on long-term systemic change.

Backing systemic change

Wheaton said Climatics focuses its funding on initiatives that can drive systemic change rather than direct project delivery. 

She said growing evidence shows approaches targeting the underlying drivers of emissions can deliver greater impact per dollar spent.

To achieve this, the fund backs organisations working across four "people power" levers: elevating the story, building the movement, transforming politics, and supporting Māori-led climate action.

Recipients are selected through an assessment process that considers how closely their work aligns with The Climatics' four focus areas and overall purpose, the strength of their theory of change, the scale of their potential climate impact, the strategic opportunity presented by supporting them at the current time, their organisational capacity to deliver, and whether the expected impact represents good value for money.

To be eligible, organisations must also have an annual revenue of less than $1 million and undertake work that meets the charitable purpose requirements of the Charities Act.

Wheaton said this year’s round had 24 expressions of interest, of which eleven were interviewed, eight were considered by the curation team, and four were funded.

The current funding round remains open until 8 July.