Rihanna Commits Millions to US Climate Change Efforts
Rihanna speaks onstage during Rihanna's 4th Annual Diamond Ball benefitting The Clara Lionel Foundation at Cipriani Wall Street on September 13, 2018 in New York City. GETTYIMAGES/ Dimitrios Kambouris
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The superstar singer's foundation is doling out grants to organizations focused on and led by women, youth, Black, Indigenous, people of color and LGBTQIA+ communities.
Superstar Rihanna’s foundation has pledged to donate $15 million to organizations working on climate justice initiatives, including ones with efforts in states and localities nationwide. The pledge was made in partnership last week with former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s #StartSmall initiative.
@ClaraLionelFdn & @Jack’s #StartSmall!
— Rihanna (@rihanna) January 26, 2022
we are partnering with 18 organizations across the U.S. & Caribbean to support the climate justice movement.
these grants support entities focused on & led by women, youth, Black, Indigenous, people of color & LGBTQIA+ communities. pic.twitter.com/PZKmltln8M
The grants will go to organizations focused on and led by women, youth, Black, Indigenous, people of color and LGBTQIA+ communities in the U.S. and Caribbean, according to a foundation press release.
“At the Clara Lionel Foundation, much of the work is rooted in the understanding that climate disasters, which are growing in frequency and intensity, do not impact all communities equally, with communities of color and island nations facing the brunt of climate change. This is why CLF prioritizes both climate resilience and climate justice,” Rihanna wrote in a statement to Complex Magazine.
Some of the U.S. organizations receiving the funds are:
- Black Visions Collective
- The Center for Popular Democracy
- The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund
- Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
- Indigenous Environmental Network
- Native Movement
- NDN Collective
- The Solutions Project
So grateful to be a recipient And congrats to all the partners - such an incredible group working for climate justice. https://t.co/JnnWVQzzag
— The Solutions Project (@100isNow) January 26, 2022
One of the organizations that received the funds, The Climate and Clean Energy Equity Fund, is partnering with other organizations in 13 states: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia (with additional states being added this year) to “create a powerful movement to stop climate change and create an equitable clean energy future.”
According to its website, the organization will accomplish this by:
- Investing in leadership and organizing of diverse communities: Black, Latinx, Indigenous people and communities burdened by climate change.
- Engaging voters in communities throughout nonpartisan civic engagement campaigns.
- Winning climate and clean energy policy solutions that reflect priorities of communities and advance racial economic and environmental justice.
The foundation climate resilience initiative “is focused on addressing multiple dimensions of emergency preparedness while scaling solutions to the problems of climate change.” The projects range from school and health clinic infrastructure to gender-integrated emergency response planning, which serve as models of preparedness, the website says.
The Clara Lionel Foundation was founded in 2012 by singer Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty in honor of her grandparents Clara and Lionel Braithwaite. According to the website, CLF has funded over 150 projects and raised over $80 million.
For more information from the Clara Lionel Foundation’s press release click here.
Andre Claudio is an assistant editor at Route Fifty.
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