We knew that the second Trump administration would bring a slew of challenges for our grantee-partners working on environmental justice and protection. We didn’t expect it to be this bad.

One of the highlights of my job is conducting finalist interviews for the Rachel’s Network Catalyst Award. The award—our signature collective funding effort—supports mid-career women of color working in the environmental movement. Since 2019, we’ve granted over $1.7 million, with Catalyst Awardees driving change in communities across 42 states, Puerto Rico, and DC.

As part of the selection process, I hop on Zoom with the pool of finalists and ask them about their role in the environmental movement, how they persist in their mission, and how Rachel’s Network could support them if they received the award. The answers are always surprising and heartening.

This year’s Catalyst Award interviews made it clear that the devastating federal funding cuts are putting significant strain on the women in our community. While women of color leaders and their organizations are consistently underfunded even in “normal” times, our applicants are facing even greater stress this year, with bigger funding gaps, and more burnout. Not only are leaders scrambling to continue their important work, but they’re also struggling to keep the doors open and the lights on.

One question I ask our finalists is “what do you think your future self will remember about you now?” I watch as candidates take a deep breath, often visibly struggling to answer the prompt. Some chuckle and tell me, “I think my future self will remember me fighting energetically and joyfully.” Others are moved to tears. It seems implausible to them to think of themselves as elders. Still others see their current selves carrying these enormous burdens. “I will remember how resilient I was.”

I’ve learned a lot from these calls and hope that funders will heed the following advice:

Invest in Care and Restoration for Movement Leaders

Fund wellness and rest. Fund retreats. Fund breaks. Fund sabbaticals. These low investment initiatives can have a major impact on the long-term health and sustainability of the environmental movement. Self-care and wellness retreats might seem tangential to the work, but they are vital for leaders who often sacrifice their own wellbeing for the work. A Catalyst Award applicant who attended the Rachel’s Network Inaugural Wellness and Restoration Retreat last year told me she still feels the impact of that retreat and goes back to the learnings from those few days as she tries to stay grounded. If you already fund the Catalyst Award, you already are following this advice. Please consider giving even more in the coming years as the need for care and restoration will only grow.

Fund Long Term

It’s hard to think long-term when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is knocking on your door. More than one interviewee was bought to tears when asked about their long-term vision for the environmental movement. With the rapid-fire attacks on both their communities and environmental protections, most leaders and organizations are in full defense mode. But the movement needs to be thinking long-term, re-strategizing and making plans to re-build the work we know needs to happen. Move beyond the “boom and bust” model of funding, and invest in long- term planning and visioning. Climate change is not a one-year problem. Commit to 3-year, 5-year funding or even 10-year funding cycles for your grantees. And help us do the same with funding the Catalyst Award with pledges for multi-year support.

Have Grace & Patience

Reschedule unnecessary meetings. Keep abreast of what’s going on in your community, especially with ICE raids and funding cuts affecting the most vulnerable. Reexamine your reporting requirements. At a recent funders panel we hosted in Chicago, one foundation officer said she pre-fills draft reports for her grantee partners with information she knows has not changed such as the address and mission statement. Look for places where you can remove the onus of reporting from your partners.

 
Today’s crises are tomorrow’s burnout. The community of grantees Rachel’s Network serves (particularly women of color environmental movement leaders) need more than financial resources. They also need leadership development, support, and care—especially now. While this administration continues to demonstrate that it doesn’t care about movement leaders, we can commit to showing up for them. Consider contributing to the Catalyst Award as part of that commitment.

 
Rachel’s Network Catalyst Program Director Shreya Durvasula fosters collective and individual impact among Catalyst awardees and members and creates grant programs grounded in justice and equity.