The Climate Intersections Grant Program, supported by the Digital Breakthrough Initiative—a dynamic partnership between Cisco and NetHope—is dedicated to advancing digital solutions for climate adaptation and resilience. This initiative provides funding for collective action climate projects leveraging digital technologies to amplify impact in humanitarian and conservation efforts. We are pleased to unveil the latest recipients of this initiative: SOS Children's Villages, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), and CARE Climate and Resiliency Academy.
“We are excited to welcome our new grantees under the Climate Intersections Program who are all utilizing digital solutions for climate action. In line with our pillar of climate equity, two of the grant projects by SOS Children’s Villages and Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team focus on creating youth champions in climate action. The project by the CARE Climate & Resilience Academy will be instrumental in upskilling Civil Society Organizations especially our Members with tools and skills to adopt climate-smart practices in their operational activities.” Gidraf Wachira, Climate Intersections Lead, NetHope
Empowering Youth Eco-Champions through Digital Innovation
SOS Children's Villages will utilize its grant to empower young individuals with access to digital platforms, skill development opportunities, mentorship, and support networks through its Eco-Champions program. Scheduled from June 2024 to June 2027, this initiative aims to integrate digital solutions into broader interventions, fostering sustainability and impactful climate action led by young activists, particularly focusing on empowering young female leaders.
Open Mapping (OM) Ambassadors for Climate Resilience
In collaboration with World Vision Bangladesh, Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team's Asia-Pacific (AP) Hub will train 20 fellows, with an emphasis on women and youth, as ambassadors for climate technology. Selected from Dhaka’s slum communities, these fellows will engage in a hybrid online and in-person fellowship to enhance climate adaptation efforts. Their capstone projects, using open-mapping technology, will address climate vulnerabilities in Dhaka’s slum areas, leveraging local climate data for advocacy and resilience-building.
“We are grateful to Nethope for a generous grant offered to us. The grant money will enable us to build on our existing Open Mapping Guru program aimed at engaging young people in Bangladesh in the fight against climate change. It will focus on developing youth leadership in climate action, empowering the next generation to become proactive and informed advocates for climate resilience. Through this program, we aim to inspire and equip young leaders with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary to drive meaningful change in their communities and beyond. We are excited about the positive impact this project will have and look forward to seeing the incredible contributions of these young climate champions.” Nama Budhathoki, Ph.D., Regional Director, Asia-Pacific
Becoming a Climate Smart Organization: Promoting Environmental and Climate Responsibility of Civil Society Organizations
The objective of this project is to bolster the capacity of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in climate and environmental responsibility. Recognizing the increasing accountability and transformative potential within CSOs, this initiative will adapt and scale a self-paced online training course. This course, based on existing frameworks developed by Coordination Sud and French NGOs including CARE France, will equip CSO managers and practitioners with essential knowledge and skills to steer their organizations towards climate smart practices.
“As climate change is directly increasing poverty and inequalities and exacerbating humanitarian crises, it is important for any organization to act and reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions. CARE International is truly pleased to be awarded Nethope’s grant and will use this funding to develop and scale-up freely available self-paced online training courses on climate and environmental responsibility. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) often advocate for and support environmental protection and sustainability, but they contribute to climate change through their operational activities, including energy consumption, transportation, waste generation, and office operations. The training courses will equip CSOs with key knowledge, tools, and skills to adopt climate-smart practices and transform into a climate smart organization.” Diana Kaekebeke, CARE Climate & Resilience Academy Coordinator, Interim Director - CARE Climate Justice Center
Previous Winners
In 2023, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Plan International Pilipinas Foundation Inc., and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) were awarded US$40,000 each for their innovative climate initiatives. For more inspiration, learn more about the impactful contributions of WCS here.
NetHope’s New Strategic Plan
NetHope launched its 2024-2030 strategy focusing on bridging the new Digital Divides. A generation ago, the Digital Divide described the gap in access first to computers and then to the internet and essential technologies. Today, organizations face new digital challenges that threaten the advancement of international NGO missions as they grapple with the widening gap between available resources and growing needs. These new challenges—what NetHope calls the new Digital Divides—represent critical gaps in infrastructure, systems, capabilities, and knowledge. Over the next decade, we will lead collective action to bridge the New Digital Divides—skills and leadership, inclusion, protection, transformation and innovation, and climate adaptation and resilience—leveraging our powerful, proven model to advance the global good.
Bridging the New Digital Divides: Digital for Climate Adaptation and Resilience
Climate change is a crisis that underpins many of the challenges and growing needs facing our sector—both in the digital context and beyond. To foster a prepared and resilient NGO sector, we must develop adaptive responses and integrated tools for the coming and current effects of climate change. NetHope will use all of our convening, grantmaking, accelerating, and catalyzing power to scale effective digitally-powered responses to climate-related challenges across our sector, particularly for women, youth, indigenous people, and disenfranchised communities.
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