International Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change launches with call for nonprofits to sign up

In the run up to November’s COP-26, foundations and other philanthropic organisations are being urged to sign the newly launched International Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change and signal their commitment to act on the climate emergency.

The International Philanthropy Commitment on Climate Change launched in July and is a new initiative hosted by WINGS, which is a network of philanthropy development and support organisations. It calls on philanthropic organisations around the world, regardless of mission, status or geographic location, to come together.

At the core of the Commitment is the belief that all foundations and philanthropic organisations can and should play a role in addressing the climate emergency, with the Commitment aiming to make this a reality. As such it asks foundations and other philanthropic organisations to integrate climate consideration into every part of their operations.

Signatories will share learnings, resources and experiences with their peers, with support from a network of regional champions around the world.

Signing the International Commitment is a four-step process: first organisations must register their interest, and WINGS will then send a link to the application form. Once submitted, WINGS will review it and respond within 4-6 weeks.

Once approved, organisations are listed as a signatory on the website of the International Commitment.

The Commitment was developed by WINGS, with the help of Dafne’s Philanthropy Coalition for Climate and more than 40 philanthropy associations across the globe collectively representing over 22,000 foundations and funders. A dedicated WINGS Climate Task Force made up of over 40 foundation networks and philanthropy support organisations from 21 countries around the world and representing around 22.500 funders is supporting the development and sharing of the Commitment.

Across Europe, a number of national commitments on climate change have also been started, with the new International Commitment running in parallel to those in France, Spain and the UK, which are organised by the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF), the Centre Français des Fonds et Fondations (CFF) and the Asociación Española de Fundaciones (AEF), and a European Philanthropy Coalition for Climate organised by Dafne.

More are to follow, with national associations of donors and foundations in Austria, Finland, Poland and Switzerland also currently exploring how to best set up national funder commitments on climate change.

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