Last year, the Government declared a climate emergency. Philanthropy could be part of the solution but less than 4% of philanthropic funds in Aotearoa, New Zealand are going to environmental causes (RNZ, “Four % is not enough”). The amount donated to climate causes is likely to be much lower – in Australia this is between 0.5 – 2% (PNZ Summit, Jessica Pangyres).
However donors at The Gift Trust are bucking this trend, with around a third of our donations going to environmental causes. We’ve attracted donors who are interested in environmental and climate causes and our team has strong expertise to match their interest. We want to share with you the different types of climate causes you can give to and examples of organisations being supported through The Gift Trust.
Donors are realising that investment in climate advocacy can challenge and change existing policies and power structures, to create systems change. The Carbon Critical Net-Zero Fund is a public facing fund run through The Gift Trust. It supports a range of causes reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including through advocacy, both here in Aotearoa and internationally.
One of these is Generation Zero, a youth-led climate advocacy group. Generation Zero were the first in New Zealand to promote a Zero Carbon Bill, eventually enacted by Government with near-cross-party support in November 2019. Generation Zero are currently seeking support to invest in their national campaigns. Other advocacy-based organisations gathering support from the Carbon Critical Net-Zero Fund include 350 Aotearoa and the international Climate Emergency Fund.
Climate change also has cultural intersections. In particular, it is an issue that will hit our indigenous and Pacific communities the hardest. That is why some of our donors have supported Te Ara Whatu, a rangatahi led indigenous youth movement from the Pacific and Aotearoa, fighting for climate justice. They run wānanga around the country for indigenous youth and involve their youth leaders in international talks.
Another indigenous environmental cause that has been supported through The Gift Trust is RIVER, which stands for “Revitalising Indigenous Values for Earth’s Regeneration”. This international collective spans generations and wide-ranging expertise, promoting indigenous people’s knowledge and systems. RIVER is looking to establish a fund to bring capital into indigenous-led regenerative enterprises.
Finally, business has a key role to play in offering climate solutions and the Sustainable Business Network (SBN) realises this. SBN collaborate with businesses to co-create solutions to some of the biggest problems in New Zealand in the areas of climate, waste and water. They too have been supported through The Gift Trust, with some of our donors supporting their Million Metres Streams Project. This is New Zealand’s only dedicated programme for connecting local waterway restoration projects with large scale funding and resources.
The Million Metres Stream Project is on a mission to restore at least one million metres of waterways across Aotearoa and so far, it’s enabled more than 74,000 metres of waterways to be replanted with over half a million plants and trees. Million Metres is currently working to initiate a programme of nature regeneration and job creation focussed on South Auckland and the Puhinui Stream catchment.
By no means have we referred to all of the good work that is going on in the environmental or climate space in New Zealand. There are thousands of incredible climate causes that are calling for change and need support. With climate change being our most challenging global issue, perhaps it’s time to move the dial and increase Aotearoa’s giving from 4%?
Want to learn more?
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If you’d like to be involved in environmental giving, please get in touch with us.
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You can see a full list of all the environmental charitable causes that we’ve supported here.
Photo credit: Forest and Bird.
