The Independent Philanthropy Association of South Africa (IPASA) officially launched the South African Philanthropy Climate Commitment in 2025, marking a pivotal moment for African philanthropy. IPASA Executive Director Louise Driver assesses progress made to date.
Since the launch of the South African Philanthropy Climate Commitment in January this year, how many funders have signed the pledge, and what kind of uptake are you hoping to achieve across the independent philanthropy sector?
We have had 12 IPASA members sign the pledge to date. Signing the pledge is an important milestone in funders’ climate journeys – it requires a deep commitment, board buy-in and, in many cases, strategic realignment. Therefore, the independent foundations we are working with need time to do the groundwork to enable them to sign the pledge. We are striving to have not only IPASA members sign, but also any private funders in South Africa who want to take collaborative climate action. We are hoping COP30 and the South African G20 proceedings will galvanise climate philanthropy in the country.
Beyond the public commitment, what support, learning opportunities or collaborations does the climate pledge offer its signatories?
Beyond the public commitment, the climate pledge offers signatories practical support through IPASA’s context-specific Commitment Implementation Guide, which helps funders apply the pledge’s pillars with relevant advice and resources. IPASA also hosts online climate learning workshops, where signatories and prospective pledgers engage with experts in climate philanthropy. The pledge connects local funders to the global climate philanthropy community, including peer organisations in the Global South and international advisory groups that share insights and experience.
What new developments have you observed from signatories in advancing their climate philanthropy efforts?
IPASA member signatories’ responses have been unique and innovative, including their support for integrating climate considerations into the education system. Two examples include:
- The Oppenheimer Memorial Trust has launched the Climate Justice in Education Project to address the right to education from a climate change perspective, in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair: Education in Law in Africa at the University of Pretoria. This research project aims to ensure that the South African school system is adequately prepared for the impact of climate change.
- The Do More Foundation formed the South African Early Years Climate Action Alliance through a partnership to promote climate action among multisector stakeholders focused on children in the early years and has led an IPASA Dialogue Circle on Climate and the Early Years that developed a comprehensive resource for funders in this sector to integrate climate into their work – Climate Action Entry Points for Funders in the Early Years and ECD: A Practical Guide. The DO MORE FOUNDATION has also developed a concept note for the development of an ECD Climate Resilience Toolkit aimed at equipping ECD centres with the tools to integrate climate resilience into early learning.
What are some of the key challenges independent funders have encountered on this journey, and how are they navigating issues like capacity, strategy alignment and institutional change?
A key challenge for funders has been securing board approval to sign the pledge, often due to trustees’ concerns about additional reporting or due diligence requirements. However, the pledge is not a legal document – it’s a voluntary commitment to progress climate work over time. Some members hesitate to sign if they cannot yet address all the pledge pillars, but we advise them it’s a long, cumulative process – signatories should start with what they can initially implement and achieve.
Are you seeing any promising examples of collaboration – among funders, nonprofits, business, or government – that could be scaled to build broader climate resilience and community-level impact?
We have several examples of our member signatories promoting collaboration in addressing climate change.
- The Grindrod Family Centenary Trust, which started integrating climate into its strategy a few years ago, is now a thought leader on climate and ECD in KZN, providing climate-related information-sharing and networking events for funders, nonprofits and other stakeholders in the province.
- The Southern Africa Trust, another IPASA member that is a pledge signatory, works with communities in resource-rich areas, nonprofits, civil society organisations and human rights defenders to protect their land and livelihoods from the destruction caused by climate change and prevent natural resource depletion for equitable benefit. It supports stakeholder engagements to advocate for policy changes at the national and regional levels.
Looking ahead, what role can South Africa’s philanthropic sector play in advancing climate justice, innovation and a just transition?
A number of philanthropic foundations have been established recently to directly focus on climate justice, for example, the Environmental Justice Fund, an IPASA member and pledge signatory. These foundations channel money from large global foundations to community-based organisations working on the ground to advance climate justice. Other IPASA members and pledge signatories who are focused on these issues, are the Social Change Assistance Trust, Hlanganisa Community Fund and the Southern Africa Trust. Some of the bigger independent foundations are looking at ways in which they can support the Just Energy Transition by providing funding through the JET Project Management Unit. This also presents a good opportunity for private philanthropy to partner with corporate philanthropy in supporting the Just Energy Transition.
LOUISE DRIVER | Executive Director of IPASA | Louise@ipa-sa.org.za | www.ipa-sa.org.za
