Feel Good Friday - Women's Earth Alliance

Today, in honor of Women's History Month, I'm spotlighting Women's Earth Alliance, an organization whose work embodies this year's theme, "Leading the Change: Women Shaping a Sustainable Future.”

Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Berkeley, California, Women's Earth Alliance (WEA) catalyzes women-led, grassroots solutions to protect our environment and strengthen communities from the inside out. Their model is built on a powerful truth: women are disproportionately impacted by climate crises, yet their leadership remains one of the most underfunded forces for environmental change on the planet. This short video gives an overview of the problem and solution.

WEA delivers funding, training, and networks of support to women who are already established community leaders, equipping them to scale their environmental solutions and connect with a global alliance of peers and mentors. Their programs span water access, food and agriculture, conservation, clean energy, and climate justice, working at the intersection of gender, Indigenous, racial, economic, and environmental justice.

Their flagship U.S. Grassroots Accelerator for Women Environmental Leaders  is a year-long program that has supported 88 women leaders across the country, helping them to deepen their strategies, build alliances, and scale solutions for environmental protection and climate resilience. Globally, WEA has a presence in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Indonesia. Sponsored programs range from restoring coral reefs in Indonesia to advancing reforestation in Kenya that sequesters an average of 19 million pounds of carbon per year, while also building women's income through tree nursery micro-enterprises.

WEA has had remarkable impact. In 2024 alone, they trained 6,812 women and girls in environmental solutions across 13 countries, reaching 665,442 people with life-saving climate solutions. Since they began, WEA has trained more than 52,000 women leaders in 31 countries!

If you'd like to support Women's Earth Alliance, there are many ways to do so. You can make a one-time donation, join their Seed Bank as a monthly giver, or amplify their message on social media. Follow WEA on Facebook, Instagram  or LinkedIn and share their stories of women leading the way.

Happy Women's History Month! 🌿

Feel Good Friday - Nadace Partnerství (Partnership Environmental Foundation)

Another Feel Good Friday from the Czech Republic, this time highlighting Nadace Partnerství, the Partnership Environmental Foundation.

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Brno, Nadace Partnerství is the largest environmental foundation in the Czech Republic. The name translates to Partnership Environmental Foundation because their work helps create partnerships between people and nature.

The vision of Nadace Partnerství is seeing the world as “an open society of free people caring for the environment.” To achieve this, they financially support, educate and empower people and communities that manage the effects of the climate crisis.

First, let’s talk about the adaption measures Nadace Partnerství takes to build resilient cities and healthy landscapes. Examples of projects they support in this category include Cyclists Welcome, a website with routes and resources for cyclists traveling in the Czech Republic and Sázime Budoucnost, a group that has planted over 4.3 million trees and won’t stop until they reach 10 million. Nadace Partnerství also holds an annual contest to identify the best solutions to the climate crisis in the Czech Republic and Austria. Award categories are focused on landscapes, residential areas and buildings.

Nadace Partnerství also maintains the Open Garden located in Brno. It provides a place to relax in the middle of the city and learn about the agricultural cycle from farm to table, or as their website says “from soil to fork”. There are also spaces in the garden that the public can rent for meetings and corporate events, or parties, celebrations and weddings.

Since Nadace Partnerství began over 30 years ago they have awarded 4,897 grants that have supported projects in 3,663 communities across the Czech Republic. You can also support this partnership between people and nature. Make a donation to Nadace Partnerství and amplify their message on social media. Like their Facebook page, follow them on Instagram or LinkedIn, and if you understand Czech, subscribe to their YouTube channel.

Feel Good Friday - The Climate Reality Project

With recent news full of stories about destruction from hurricanes and wildfires, and melting sea ice drowning baby penguins, it’s time to highlight another organization working to combat climate change, The Climate Reality Project.

Founded by former U.S. Vice President Al Gore in 2006 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the mission of The Climate Reality Project is “to catalyze a global solution to the climate crisis by making urgent action a necessity across every sector of society.”

They do this by organizing and empowering communities of people who are passionate about the environment and committed to building a sustainable future together. Today there are over 3.5 million climate advocates across 130 U.S. chapters and 11 international branches.

Volunteers in the chapters work together to support Climate Reality initiatives, many of which are focused on getting to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Examples include: reducing fossil fuel emissions, strengthening international cooperation on climate, and calling out greenwashing by companies who share misleading information about their climate responsibility and commitments. Climate Reality is also financing a just transition by pushing governments and development banks to end support for dirty fossil fuel projects while also mobilizing billions in public and private finance to help Global South nations recover after disasters and build resilient clean energy economies.

Additional programs include a campaign to get communities, businesses and schools to commit to using 100% renewable electricity and a leadership corps, which has provided over 45,000 advocates the tools, training, and network needed to make a difference on climate. Since forming, Climate Reality has stopped pipelines, secured climate commitments, empowered communities and affected policy. Watch this 4-minute video to learn more.

If you’re ready to join Climate Reality in the fight for a sustainable, just, and equitable future, become a member of your local chapter or register for an upcoming leadership corps. You can also support them by making a donation and spreading the word on social media. Follow The Climate Reality Project on Facebook and on Instagram @climatereality. 

 

Feel Good Friday - MADRE

The Women’s History Month theme continues and today we highlight the work of MADRE.

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in New York City, MADRE is “an international women's human rights organization and feminist fund” with a mission to “advance women’s human rights by meeting urgent needs in communities and building lasting solutions to the crises women face.”

MADRE works with community partners in Colombia, Guatemala, Iraq, Kenya, Nicaragua and Palestine. They focus on three strategies: grant making, organizational strengthening, and legal advocacy.

Grants fund local, women-led organizations that are meeting immediate needs, such as shelters and health clinics, while also focusing on lasting change. MADRE targets groups that prioritize the leadership of young women and girls, Indigenous women, Afro-descendant women, LGBTIQ people, and people with disabilities.

Community-based partner organizations receive training, advice on funding models, and strategic exchange to strengthen their capabilities. MADRE also helps women leaders advocate for their communities in policymaking spaces by providing legal advocacy and training.

These strategies are applied across the following programs: ending gender violence by equipping women with tools to prevent abuse in war and building clinics and counseling centers;  advancing climate justice through grassroots solutions like building clean water systems and seed bank harvesting; building a just peace by bringing aid to communities, working to address root causes of conflict and involving women in the peace process; and a feminist policy jumpstart which advocates that U.S. policymakers champion gender justice and human rights.

In December, 2019, MADRE Executive Director Yifat Susskind delivered a talk at TED Women encouraging people to think like a mother in order to not get overwhelmed by crises and be able to take action. It’s a philosophy that guides MADRE’s strategy today.  

If you’re interested in taking action to support women leaders around the world, a great way to do so is with a donation to MADRE. You can also help out by amplifying their work on social media. Follow MADRE on Facebook, Twitter @MADREspeaks, and Instagram @madrespeaks. #ThinkLikeAMother

Feel Good Friday - Cool Effect

Recent heatwaves, flooding and fires are a reminder of the toll climate change is taking on the planet. It’s also a great reminder that there are organizations like Cool Effect who are addressing the problem.

Cool Effect began in 1998 as a project to build clean-burning cookstoves in Honduras. Since then, it has grown into a globally recognized non-profit platform whose mission is “to reduce carbon emissions”. 

First, why carbon? Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are warming the planet to an unsustainable level and temperatures will keep rising if we don’t intervene. See this page to find out where the carbon emissions are coming from and what you can do to help. You may not be surprised to see driving cars, flying planes, and eating red meat on the list but have you considered the impact of fashion, food waste and FedEx?

Now that you’re onboard with reducing your carbon emissions, let’s find out how. Cool Effect evaluates carbon projects around the world to ensure they are scientifically and ethically sound as well as financially durable. The projects and pricing are then listed on the website so you can decide which projects you want to support in order to offset your own carbon emissions.

Some examples of current projects include burning methane gas from a landfill in Mauritius to generate electricity; planting trees in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and India to remove carbon the natural way; and installing more clean-burning cookstoves in Honduras. You can find the full list of projects, details and video testimonials here.

The vision of Cool Effect is that their vetting and support of these carbon projects will “give people the power and confidence to band together and reduce the carbon pollution that causes climate change.” 

If you’re ready to join the Cool Effect band, there are many ways to do so. Offset your carbon emissions with support of a specific project, make a general donation, and spread the word on social media. Follow Cool Effect on Facebook at this link, on Twitter @cool_effect and on Instagram @cooleffect_  #CoolEffect #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #CarbonDoneCorrectly