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One donation, double the impact towards strengthening climate action in your local community.

The number of Carbon Literate learners and organisations is growing rapidly, reaching a critical mass in many locations. It’s time to join up these efforts, so that Carbon Literate learners can work together locally towards shared goals. This Earth Day, we need your help to launch Carbon Literate Localities!

Please consider donating to our Big Give Green Match Fund campaign, where for one week only from the 22nd – 29th April, all donations to support our new Carbon Literate Localities initiative will be doubled by our generous match funder, The Big Give Trust.

The challenge

Climate change is a global issue that requires a local solution. Local climate action needs to happen everywhere, all at once, if we have a hope of changing the tide on the climate crisis. We know that our local actions can add up to create a groundswell of unstoppable change. But this can only happen if our Carbon Literate councils, businesses, schools, universities, healthcare providers and community groups are all working together, within a given locality.

Joining the dots

While many organisations are doing incredible work internally, they can lack a joined-up approach with other local organisations delivering Carbon Literacy We need to join up Carbon Literate individuals and organisations within their given localities, so that we can trigger positive and sustained societal shifts locally. We want to see Carbon Literate districts, boroughs, cities, and even counties – until everyone is speaking the same language on climate and able to work collaboratively towards shared goals, so that nobody feels left behind in regional ambitions for climate action.

Demand is alive and growing

This initiative is a response to strong community-driven demand to connect all those who are currently certified as Carbon Literate within a given locality, to bring the public, private and third sectors together, and to develop communities of practice; working across sectors towards shared climate action goals. This project will enable Carbon Literate organisations and individuals to work together in defined ‘Carbon Literate Localities’, so that the whole may be greater than the sum of its parts.

Already, at least 10 areas have expressed interest in working towards Carbon Literate Locality status. Coordinated by Manchester City Council, Manchester is aiming to become the first Carbon Literate City, with a target to certify 15% of those that live, work and study in Manchester as Carbon Literate by 2027. Greater Manchester is the first Local Authority to commit to a similar goal. Through these pioneering initiatives, we will be able to create a replicable blueprint for the future, and we anticipate that more Carbon Literate Localities will emerge in response to local demand.

Wondering what a Carbon Literate Locality might look like? Hear from some pioneering organisations in Manchester.

Where will the funding go?

Through this campaign, we aim to raise a total of £5,000 from public donations, with £5,000 of match funding through our match funding champion, The Big Give Trust.

This funding will go directly towards our three aims:

1. Establish local networks of Carbon Literate organisations across the public, private, and community sectors, so that they may all work together towards shared goals.
2. Refine and launch our Carbon Literate Localities Standard, as a replicable blueprint for the future of local climate action.
3. Build awareness and galvanise enthusiasm so that more locations sign up to work to become a Carbon Literate Locality!

Save the Date

With only seven days to make a donation that will have double the impact, we encourage you to save the date of the Green Match Fund, so you have the best opportunity to support our campaign.

All donations made between midday on the 22nd and 29th April will be doubled. Find out more about our campaign and donate here.

Have a question? Get in touch at giving@carbonliteracy.com.

Interested in finding out more about other ways to support or partner with us? Schedule a call with Toby, our Partnerships Officer.

Be featured in a Donor Spotlight!

If you would like to make a donation, please let us know your intentions ahead of the campaign, as we would like to spotlight your story during the campaign and use it as an opportunity to encourage others to follow your lead! Our Donor Spotlights help promote your brand and give visibility to your generosity and commitment to local climate action this Earth Day, to an engaged business and community audience on social media. Let us know as soon as possible, as we will feature the first three people or organisations to get in touch!

In particular, we are keen to work with organisations who have signed up to 1% for the Planet. Could you consider donating some of that pledged 1% to our Big Give Green Match Fund, and have your corporate donation doubled, at no additional cost to yourself? If your business is interested in finding out more about donating to the Carbon Literacy Trust as part of 1% for the Planet, please let us know and we would love to have a conversation with you.

Benefits on offer:

• Be a founding donor to our Carbon Literate Localities initiative and leave a legacy of climate impact in your local area!
• Option to ringfence your funding to go specifically towards funding CL for local community groups, grassroots sports clubs or schools in your local area.
• A personalised Donor Spotlight across our social media channels to celebrate your commitment to environmental giving this Earth Day.
• Get more out of your 1% for the Planet pledged commitments – Double the impact, for the same cost to your business.
• A donor media pack, including a shareable graphic and copy for you to use to promote your donation across your individual or organisational channels – identifying you as a a Carbon Literate Locality founding donor and showcasing your commitment to climate action this Earth Day.

We are also always happy to discuss longer-term partnership opportunities, such as sponsorship or joining our Partner Scheme.