Rihanna’s Clara Lionel Foundation has committed to donating $15 million to those fighting for climate justice in the U.S. and the Caribbean, in partnership with Jack Dorsey’s #StartSmall initiative. The initiative is a public fund initially launched for global COVID-19 relief.
“At the Clara Lionel Foundation, much of the work is rooted in the understanding that climate disasters, which are growing in frequency and intensity, do not impact all communities equally, with communities of color and island nations facing the brunt of climate change. This is why CLF prioritizes both climate resilience and climate justice work across the U.S. and Caribbean,” Rihanna stated in a press release.
Justine Lucas, Executive Director of the Clara Lionel Foundation, added, “CLF believes strongly that funders must build partnerships with organizations and acknowledge their deep understanding of what is necessary to achieve climate justice in their own communities.” Groups benefitting from the funds “are focused on and led by women, youth, Black, Indigenous, LGBTQIA+ and people of color to accelerate climate justice for those at greatest risk.”
The 18 organizations that have been approved for this round of funding are the Black Feminist Fund, Black Visions Collective, Caribbean Youth Environment Network (CYEN), Center for Popular Democracy (CPD), Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, Climate Justice Alliance, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, GirlsCARE, Helen’s Daughters, HEY Campaign (The Ashley Lashley Foundation), Hive Fund for Gender and Climate Justice, Indigenous Environmental Network, Integrated Health Outreach, Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), Native Movement, NDN Collective, The Caribbean Climate Justice Project, and The Solutions Project.