As a funder, you are in a unique position to encourage and advocate for climate action and awareness throughout your personal, business, political and public networks.
Everyone can positively influence the people around them when it comes to protecting the planet. Working from within your own sphere of influence can have profound ripple effects that effect change more broadly.
Outlined below are some places you may like to start.
You don’t need to be an expert on climate science to talk to people in your life about why you care about the safety of our climate. However, if you would like some support to boost your confidence, these organisations and resources can help:
- Climate Council’s Climate Conversation Guides
- Climate for Change has an excellent guide and training opportunities
A seat at the table
Are you a shareholder, Board Director or Chairperson for any businesses, organisations or for-purpose organisations? Having a seat at the table means you can push for change from within and encourage these organisations and their people to take climate action.
Political influence
Do you have personal or professional relationships with local, state/territory or federal members of Parliament? What about future and past representatives? Reaching out and talking with policymakers about climate change, why it’s a concern of yours and your climate funding ambitions is a powerful message to send to those with political power who make important policy decisions.
Join the AEGN’s advocacy program to help develop your skills and confidence to champion change in your spheres of influence.
Friends and family
Talk with your friends and family members about why you are interested in acting on climate change, what you have learned so far and why it’s important for you. Is climate change a concern for them too?
Host a dinner or lunch at your home to spark conversation and inspire your friends and family to get climate active. You could invite a climate expert to give a talk and/or raise money for an environmental organisation or campaign.
Grow climate funding
Many Australians care about climate change, but don’t realise that they can help protect people and our planet from worsening warming. Who do you know that has the capacity to give? Can you encourage them to join you in funding climate change issues or attend an event with you? If everyone encouraged just one more person to act, we would immediately double the funding available to climate action — what an impact that would have!
Media engagement
Sharing your personal story and explaining why you care about climate change is one of the most powerful ways you can inspire other funders to give to the environment and climate action. As a funder you can share your personal climate funding story by:
- writing and publishing opinion pieces in local, state and national newspapers and publications;
- signing open letters and public petitions calling for climate and environmental action;
- saying yes to interview opportunities; speaking at and moderating public events; and
- undergoing media training to learn how to best communicate across different media channels.
Checklist
Use this checklist to take practical steps to harness your influence and turbo charge your contribution to climate action in Australia.
- Engage your contacts in business or for-purpose organisations to discuss climate change.
- Contact any politicians or policymakers you know to discuss climate change.
- Join the AEGN’s advocacy program to use your influence.
- Talk with your friends and family about why climate change is a concern for you.
- Think about who you could approach to fund action on climate change within your friendship group, family and broader connections.
- Consider sharing your story through the media — the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network and Philanthropy Australia can help you.