Collective Abundance strives for a just and reparative redistribution of wealth to promote collective empowerment among those tackling the root causes of the climate crisis and its repercussions. The collective addresses the difficult barriers faced by grassroots climate justice organisers in Europe when seeking access to philanthropic funding. They pursue three interconnected strands of work in an attempt to overcome these obstacles.
On the one hand, they are implementing a participatory regranting fund of €5 million within the next 5 years. The distribution of these no-strings-attached funds is decided upon by a community of grassroots groups backed by Collective Abundance. The funds are used to support the ongoing work and collective empowerment of grassroots and frontline groups. On the other hand, the collective aims to alter the dynamic between funders and grantees, and establish a culture of accessible funding and increased mutual accountability. Hence, they collaborate with funders to create innovative participatory funding practices, leading to a more just distribution of wealth and tangible changes within philanthropy culture and ultimately aiming to transform the relationship between climate funders and grassroots organisations. Additionally, Collective Abundance wants to provide a counterweight to the mainstream European climate movement by uniting grantees from their participatory regranting fund, as well as other allies to establish an organised grassroots-led force.
Collective Abundance is an iniative that grew out of a participatory process facilitated by Leap Collective. With support from the Robert Bosch Stiftung, Leap brought together a group of climate justice actors from around Europe aiming to develop a space for experimentation between activists and funders. As part of this initiative, they had the chance to explore what is most needed to push for a transformative climate justice agenda in Europe. For one year, the group carried out extensive research and mapping of more than 100 European climate justice groups and now continues its work under the name Collective Abundance.
