As 2023 comes to an end, we look back at this year’s spotlight partnerships and the vital work our partners do to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice both internally within their own organization and externally in their communities.
Justice Outside advances racial justice and equity in the outdoor and environmental movement. They envision a just world where Black, Indigenous, and Communities of Color experience safety, health, and abundant joy through meaningful relationships with one another and the outdoors. Their programs are focused at the intersection of racial justice and the outdoors to provide individuals, institutions, and communities with resources, training, and support to build a stronger movement that allows more people to thrive.
One of these program is their Outdoor Educators Institute (OEI) training. OEI is, at its core, advocacy for the inclusion and centering of underrepresented populations, especially those that have had historic and systemic barriers to accessing the outdoors. It develops the next generation of culturally relevant outdoor leaders by building competencies and leadership skills in young adults who have encountered hurdles or lacked the resources to work in the outdoors.
To learn more about Justice Outside, visit their spotlight page.
For more than 100 years, the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) protects and enhances this country’s national park system for present and future generations. From empowering communities to influencing Congress, NPCA work with our more than 1.6 members and supporters to strengthen, protect and defend our national parks.
To learn more about NPCA, visit their spotlight page.
At Greenpeace, they are embedding racial justice, advancing equity within their organization, and integrating it in all areas of their work. In 2023, Greenpeace released their second annual Embedding Justice report. The report is a significant milestone for Greenpeace US, as it allowed the organization to realign their diversity objectives and key results across the organization, celebrate their achievements, and identify areas for improvement.
To learn more about Greenpeace, visit their spotlight page.
The Center for Sustainable Communities (CSC) is a non-profit whose aim is to make communities cleaner, healthier, safer, and more climate resilient through equity and environmental justice. It performs its mission primarily through the use of science, technology, engineering, and scientific research to provide effective solutions to mitigate a wide variety of environmental, climate, and social justice issues in our most underserved and under-resourced communities.
CSC’s goal is to build a legacy of equity, resilience, sustainability, and justice programs. One of these programs include Breaking Barriers Workforce Development.
To learn more about Center for Sustainable Communities, visit their spotlight page.
The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is dedicated to building strong, vibrant and resilient communities through the power of parks and recreation. NRPA advances this vision by investing in and championing the work of park and recreation professionals as a catalyst for positive change in service of equity, climate-readiness, and overall health and well-being.
NRPA’s network of more than 60,000 park and recreation professionals and advocates represents public spaces in urban communities, rural settings and everything in between. NRPA champions and supports the field of parks and recreation through professional development, advocacy, grants and programs, research, publications, conferences and more.
To learn more about NRPA, visit their spotlight page.
ClimateWorks Foundation is a global platform for philanthropy to innovate and scale high-impact climate solutions that benefit people and the planet. They deliver global programs and services that equip philanthropy with the knowledge, networks, and solutions to drive climate progress for a more sustainable and equitable future. Since 2008, ClimateWorks has granted over $1.7 billion to more than 750 grantees in over 50 countries. To guide ClimateWorks’ growth as an organization, they developed new justice and equity values, principles, and definitions.
To learn more about ClimateWorks Foundation, visit their spotlight page.
The creation of Conservation Nation was borne out of research through which it became clear that there was a critical, unfilled niche in the conservation space for an organization to employ a combination of funding and education expertise to save wildlife by lifting barriers to create a stronger, more diverse, and more inclusive community of wildlife champions. They offer funding to help save animals and their ecosystems around the world by building a stronger, more diverse wildlife conservation community. Conservation Nation provide conservationists with much-needed small grants, professional development, and networking opportunities to jumpstart their careers and open doors.
To learn more about Conservation Nation, visit their spotlight page.