Communities First - A Pilot for Loss and Damage Finance

When the Climate Justice Resilience Fund (CJRF) launched its Communities First Pilot Fund in 2021, it became one of the first initiatives in the world to channel finance specifically for climate-related loss and damage (L&D) directly to local organizations. The goal is simple yet transformative: ensure that those suffering the greatest losses from climate change are the ones who decide how funds are spent.

Loss and damage goes beyond adaptation. It captures the irreversible impacts of climate change—such as destroyed homes, lost livelihoods, or the erosion of cultural heritage—that cannot be prevented or recovered through adaptation measures. These impacts fall hardest on communities who have contributed least to the crisis, and who are least able to absorb the costs. CJRF’s fund demonstrates that L&D finance can be delivered rapidly, equitably, and in ways that restore dignity and agency.

CJRF deploys modest-sized grants through participatory processes that engage women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, people with disabilities, and other marginalized groups. Decision-making rests with local organizations and networks, shifting power away from donor-driven models. Grants are flexible, recognizing that L&D is ongoing and evolves with each new climate shock. They are also rapid, to ensure support arrives at the speed communities need.

Examples of Impact

• Community level: In Malawi, grants supported the relocation and resilient reconstruction of 116 homes destroyed by three consecutive cyclones. In Bangladesh, communities revived a cultural festival that had been suspended after repeated climate losses, restoring a sense of community cohesion and pride.

• Partner level: With CJRF’s backing, the world’s first youth-led L&D grantmaking council was created and made its first grants using a simple online review process, with youth from around the world participating.

• Global level: Lessons from CJRF’s L&D grantmaking fed directly into deliberations of the UNFCCC Transitional Committee, shaping the establishment of the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), and influenced philanthropic and government funders exploring how to operationalize L&D finance.

Lessons Learned

• Community-led funding is possible: Local partners have proven they can identify and implement effective L&D responses when given the means to do so.

• Flexibility is essential: Loss and damage is not ‘one and done.’ Communities face repeated and overlapping events, which demand adaptable funding that can evolve over time.

• Justice requires speed: Waiting years for international processes leaves communities exposed. Rapid, small-scale grants show what can be done immediately while larger systems are still being negotiated.

• Co-benefits multiply: Community-driven L&D responses often strengthen resilience and social cohesion, provide new livelihood options, and address non-economic losses such as cultural identity and mental health.

Looking Ahead

CJRF’s Communities First approach has already disbursed more than 40 grants in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific, channeling over US$ 4 million to partners addressing L&D. Its portfolio is building a growing evidence base to guide governments, philanthropies, and the FRLD. For funders, this is an opportunity to act now: to test innovative approaches, shift power to frontline communities, and prove that justice-centered finance is not only urgent but entirely feasible.