Theory of Change:
If grassroots leaders and community organisers are equipped with small-scale, rapid-deployment funding and the skills to design, implement, and adapt interventions using justice-oriented methodologies, then they will be able to respond more effectively to local climate risks, leverage community knowledge, and prototype innovative solutions.

Because the grants are decentralised, they empower diverse actors to lead context-specific responses that are more responsive and accountable to local priorities.

Because they are incremental, they create space for learning-by-doing, enabling adaptation and improvement over time.
Because they are embedded in training and peer learning, they will not only produce immediate adaptive actions but also strengthen long-term institutional capacity and leadership in climate governance.

Ultimately, this approach supports a distributed network of capable, connected, and resourced changemakers who can collectively advance Africa’s just adaptation agenda, while challenging centralised, top-down models that often overlook the realities of those most affected by climate change.

Our Participatory Grant-making Approach

This programme is rooted in the belief that those closest to climate challenges are best placed to design the solutions. Grants will be awarded through a participatory process involving community representatives, past grantees, and peer organisations in decision-making panels. The process will:

• Co-create funding priorities with communities at the start of each funding cycle.

• Use transparent and accessible application processes, offering application support in multiple languages and formats.

• Incorporate feedback loops so applicants understand selection decisions and can strengthen future proposals.

• Prioritise learning and adaptation over compliance, encouraging grantees to adjust activities as conditions change.

• Foster peer-to-peer accountability by creating spaces for grantees to review each other’s progress and share lessons.