Texas has experienced more billion-dollar extreme weather events than any other state. Extreme heat is arriving earlier and lasting longer. And these impacts don't fall evenly. Low-income communities and communities of color bear the greatest burden, whether through energy costs they can't afford, neighborhoods without tree cover, or food systems that break down when the weather turns extreme.
2026 Central Texas Climate Action Fund
The Central Texas Climate Action Fund is a volunteer-led, collaborative effort to increase climate philanthropy in our region. We simplify the decision making by selecting and highlighting a cross section of organizations working on climate in Central Texas. Funds raised from the community are aggregated and awarded based on a review process by both climate experts and community members. New donations to the fund will be matched 1:1 by the fund organizers. The total match pool is $100,000, shared across all donations.
For 2026, the fund will award grants to 5 to 10 organizations working across three key areas: Energy and Built Environment, Natural Systems and Land Use, and Community Resilience, Equity, and Education. Each organization is reviewed by a panel of subject matter experts and community stakeholders to ensure funding supports effective, equitable, and locally relevant solutions.
Letters of Interest are due April 10, 2026. Shortlisted nonprofits selected by the review committee will be announced by late April 2026. All donations made between now and May 29 will be distributed to the shortlisted nonprofits in June 2026.
Our Grantmaking
Since launching the Climate Action Fund in 2024 in partnership with Austin Community Foundation, we have raised over $257,000 from more than 60 individual donors and distributed grants to more than 15 organizations working on climate in Central Texas. All funds raised have been fully deployed.
2024 Climate Action Fund Campaign
Our inaugural campaign ran from October through December 2024 as a matching fund, supporting eleven climate-focused nonprofits with grants spanning energy poverty, food rescue, rainforest conservation, youth environmental education, and more.
2025 Grants
With remaining funds from the first campaign, we distributed $96,000 in a second round of grants. At the systems level, we funded the Centre for Public Impact to design and test a climate resilience framework in partnership with the City of Austin, helping departmental leaders stress-test their operations and proactively redesign them for climate resilience. At the community level, in partnership with the Austin Community Foundation Forever Austin Fund, we awarded grants to TreeFolks, Native Prairies Association of Texas, Environment Texas, and Austin Youth River Watch. And recognizing the impact of ongoing federal and state funding cuts on our nonprofit community, we provided additional support to prior grantees Texas Energy Poverty Research Institute, Keep Austin Fed, and EcoRise.
Climate Action Fund Grantees
Collaborative Impact
Network Building
Our collaborative aims to create a vibrant community of climate-focused philanthropists and organizations across Central Texas, facilitating knowledge sharing and strategic partnerships.
Resource Mobilization
Beyond direct funding, we've helped:
Educate donors on the intersectionality of climate change and traditional philanthropic targets
Start the conversation about best practices in climate philanthropy
Amplify the work of local climate organizations
Create a network and build capacity for climate action in our region
Join Us
Join our network of climate-focused philanthropists and change-makers. Join our mailing list to learn more about our active initiatives, local events, and other opportunities to participate in shaping climate action in Central Texas.