Who knows your community best? You, the people who live and work there, who see its daily successes and are intimately aware of its most pressing needs. And this includes environmental needs.
Where is more green space necessary? Is the air you’re breathing clear? How is your waste managed? Do you have suitable fresh food and drinking water? What is the state of your local creeks and streams?
And also, who are your local politicians and decision makers? Who manages your local parks? Did they run for election? Did you vote for them? Would you do it again?
Even if you don’t have the answers to all these questions right now, chances are you could probably figure them out fairly quickly.
And that is how the game changes.
Local people and organizations know local issues and where and how change is needed. They know local elected officials and policymakers, and they have the ability to instigate change, whether that’s through elections, program development, education and advocacy, or even education decision making about what local goods and services to support.
Regardless of what is happening at the federal level of our government, we can still make serious environmental progress through local efforts.
An Acre of Biodiversity Is Not the Same Everywhere
When supporting local environmental solutions, it’s critical that we not paint with broad brush strokes. Not every community is going to fit the same mold, and the wants and needs of one community are not necessarily going to be what’s right for another. In other words, “an acre of biodiversity is not the same everywhere.” This idea stems from the global target of conserving 30% of the world’s biodiverse lands and waters by 2030, and the fact that we need to think about this goal within the context of place.
For example, preserving one acre of biodiverse land on a small island can have more significance—and is often more difficult—than preserving this same amount of land on a continent. Why? Because the area of an island is smaller by nature and, as a result, the ratio of land saved to total area is much higher. That one acre of improved biodiversity can have farther reaching impacts in terms of ecosystem health, food system health, and community wellbeing. So, should this achievement be measured the same by national and international standards as preserving one acre of biodiversity on a continent?
At the end of the day, context matters, and in order to truly support local grassroots organizations, there needs to be flexibility in terms of measuring success in which the context of the location is considered. And this flexibility needs to include funding. (More on that shortly!)
Funding and the Importance of Trust Based Philanthropy
Today, funding for nonprofits often comes with a lot of asterisks. Funders, including individual donors, often want to tell organizations how and where they can use the money provided rather than allowing nonprofits to make determinations based on their own expertise. And while it’s certainly not a bad thing to want your money to go to support specific project work that has tangible results you can see, nonprofits greatly benefit from unrestricted support which not only helps to advance important project work but also supports the necessary organizational infrastructure that enables the project work to take place.
Trust-based philanthropy reimagines the role of the funder as a collaborator, joining nonprofits in making a positive difference in the communities they serve.
To most effectively support local organizations, we need to help build capacity—and that means supporting overhead costs through unrestricted general operating support. It might not be the most glamorous use of funds, but it can absolutely be the most impactful in helping to build momentum and agency for frontline groups and projects. After all, it all comes back to the same core concept: local people know local needs. We need to listen to local leaders and activists, investing where the greatest amount of change can occur, and trusting local organizations with the funds and resources to achieve their missions. Only then will we be able to truly see progress toward a healthier environment.
