The Alianza brings together independent socio-environmental funds from across the global South. Each Fondo del Sur is a nationally or regionally based entity dedicated to providing grants and other forms of support to local grassroots organizations proposing just and sustainable alternatives to protect communities’ rights and ecosystems in different countries and regions of the Global South. All Alianza member Funds were founded by local socio-environmentalists who believe the only way to protect our planet is to make timely resources available to the communities that face the brunt of environmental devastation. Funding the protectors: What we have in common is that these activist funds understand how the most vulnerable populations facing environmental challenges are also the most excluded, have their rights constantly violated, and are mostly invisible to philanthropy. Therefore each group came together inside each country, to create independently run national, and/or regional, level funding structures, each responsible for mobilizing resources from multiple sources, and defining appropriate mechanisms to make sure grants are made directly to grassroots communities. Collective and participatory decision-making structures hold country teams accountable to provide direct strategic grants in local currency to local groups which otherwise would have minimal chances to access any other type of philanthropic resources. Supporting large funders: Local funds also serve as bridge that support larger funders who understand the importance of coordinated grassroots funding to access these local communities in a careful way.
