About us
EJF is an activist-driven, feminist NGO that provides support to environmental and climate justice organisations in South Africa.
EJF’s vision is that environmental justice prevails in a South Africa where all people enjoy an environment which is not harmful to their health and wellbeing, and the environment is protected for the benefit of present and future generations.
Mission
Our mission is to strengthen the environmental justice movement in South Africa by providing financial, capacity-strengthening and networking support to CBOs and community networks.
The environmental justice movement in South Africa is characterised by inclusivity, solidarity and collaboration.
The community-based organisations in the movement operate sustainably (for more than 5 years), accountably (to their communities and funders), responsively (are able to respond to emerging issues as they arise), can demonstrate impact (by better equipping communities to cope with climate change and other forms of environmental harm) and prioritise the wellbeing of environmental justice activists (so that activism doesn’t have to come at a cost to health or life).
Philanthropy is decolonised, more funders adopt a participatory approach and are prepared to resource grassroots communities.
What we do
Grant-making:
We fund campaigns and projects designed to advance environmental justice. We also assist CBOs to strengthen their organisational capacity, develop their leadership, build their networks and build their sustainability over the long term.
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Accompaniment:
We walk alongside our grantees by providing and facilitating capacity-strengthening support. This can include strengthening skills, expanding areas of knowledge or connecting organisations working on similar struggles in order to promote learning and solidarity.
How we work
EJF is a fund ‘by activists, for activists’. We live out this principle by implementing a form of participatory grant-making in which decisions on who gets support are made by activists from the environmental justice sector. This is because we believe that EJF should be guided by people on the ground with a good understanding of the context in which applicants are operating, and the challenges that they face. It is also part of EJF’s commitment to putting real decision-making power into the hands of community-based activists. New grantees are selected through an annual open call.
