Public News Service – New research revealed how successful small, grassroots organizations working on climate change in the Northwest can be when barriers to accessing funding are removed.
From 2021 to 2025, the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative funded local organizations, led by those most exposed to climate risks like wildfires and drought, enabling them to implement protective and adaptive measures locally.
Zack Thill, research scientist for the Climate Impact Group at the University of Washington, which ran the collaborative, said if big funders like universities and philanthropic organizations want results, the research shows they should let front line communities be in the driver’s seat.
“We try to let organizations be their authentic selves so that they could take the funding and do the critical work that they see needs to be done in their communities,” Thill explained. “Because at the end of the day, they know better than we do what their community needs.”
By removing barriers like narrow definitions of climate resilience, requiring partnerships and complex reporting, Thill pointed out the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative was able to create a competitive application process which was still accessible to small, low-capacity groups. The collaborative was terminated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration earlier this year.
Although its run was short-lived, the collaborative worked with many rural and tribal communities across the Pacific Northwest. It funded a queer and trans organization, which conducted research on how extreme heat, wildfire smoke and drought affects their communities in Washington. The group is now using the research to advocate for change with lawmakers. Another project in rural Oregon tackled nitrate pollution by providing owners of contaminated wells with drinking water, test kits and education.
“This funding unlocked all these different ways that the organization was able to interface better with their community,” Thill observed. “But also engage with relevant agencies and stakeholders that do a lot of the decision-making on these issues.”
After completing projects, Thill added he was surprised groups came back to the collaborative with more ideas for collaboration beyond funding. He felt it was a result of taking the time to build trust.
“That might be just sitting down, listening to them, and trying to understand what their needs are and providing that to them before you start saying things like, ‘Let’s start a project together,’” Thill emphasized.
written by Isobel Charle – Producer