When a heat dome settled over British Columbia in the summer of 2021, it killed hundreds of people in a matter of days. Governments mobilized and headlines piled up, but many of the organizations actually responding on the ground had little capacity to prepare or adapt.  For Vancity Community Foundation’s (VCF), the lesson was clear: climate philanthropy cannot focus only on mitigation or long‑term transition. Equity‑deserving communities need immediate, practical support for climate adaptation and resilience, delivered in ways that reflect how crises actually unfold at the community level. 

Putting Assets to Work for Climate Justice 

VCF’s approach to climate action begins with its assets, with investments managed by Vancity Investment Management (VCIM). VCIM has spent nearly five years aligning capital with climate responsibility through a four‑pillar climate risk strategy: 

• Fossil‑fuel divestment
• Portfolio decarbonization
• Reinvestment in the energy transition
• Active shareholder engagement 

More recently, VCIM has added a biodiversity lens, recognizing that climate risk and nature loss are deeply interconnected. This shift reflects growing awareness that disruptions to ecosystems pose systemic risks to supply chains and financial stability, particularly in a climate‑constrained world. 

This approach treats endowments not as neutral reserves, but as active infrastructure for climate action. At the same time, reinvestment in nature‑based solutions, energy efficiency, low‑carbon energy, circularity, and infrastructure demonstrates that climate‑aligned investing can be both financially sound and mission‑consistent. 

Active shareholder engagement complements this work by pushing companies toward credible net‑zero pathways, rather than relying on divestment alone. 

From Capital Alignment to Community Resilience 

VCF’s investment strategy directly informs its grantmaking. The Climate Justice and Community Resilience Fund pools contributions from multiple donors, including donor‑advised funds, to enable coordinated investments that are larger, longer‑term, and more flexible than traditional project grants. 

This approach served as the catalyst for a co-developing the Climate Resilience Roadmap for Non-profits with Simon Fraser University and nonprofit organizations in Vancouver. Rather than prescribing solutions, the Roadmap helps community organizations identify risks, build preparedness, and plan collectively before emergencies occur. 

Trust as an Operating Principle, Not a Grantmaking Style 

VCF has deliberately re‑examined what accountability looks like in practice. Rather than defaulting to formal reporting cycles, VCF increasingly relies on conversations, relationships, and shared learning, particularly for funds supporting Black and Indigenous communities. 

This shift began with the Youth and Elders Regenerative Fund, which uses trust‑based, intergenerational funding to support community‑defined priorities. Through this, VCF learned that trust cannot be communicated once – it must be practiced repeatedly. 

The result is that reporting is now tailored to context: sometimes a phone call, sometimes a document already prepared for another funder. What matters is that learning flows both ways and that accountability supports community work, rather than constrains it. 

Learning at the Pace of the Work 

At VCF, learning is embedded in organizational rhythm. Staff maintain a “wisdom‑catching” log, capturing insights from community conversations, webinars, and reflective moments. A parallel “significant change” log tracks how trust‑based practices are influencing decisions in real time. 

VCF has also integrated Indigenous reconciliation into governance and operations by bringing Elders and Knowledge Keepers into meetings, developing protocols for respectful engagement, hiring a Director of Indigenous Relations, and holding organization‑wide reconciliation workshops. These steps are treated not as symbolic gestures, but as ongoing responsibilities.