The mission of the Climate Action Museum is to activate a tipping point on climate mitigation in the Chicago region through education, stimulating critical thought, and to inspire and facilitate direct action. 

Chicago Climate Connect is a recurring, monthly event open to climate-minded folks who want to connect with others in the local Chicagoland community.

The Chicago Community Climate Action Toolkit was created by The Field Museum in collaboration with partner organizations in four Chicago neighborhoods—Pilsen, Forest Glen, South Chicago, and Bronzeville—to develop and carry out local climate action projects.  The toolkit now functions to aid Chicago community members learn about how climate change is impacting the Chicago region and what can be done to help, design and carry out community-led climate action projects that improve local quality of life at the same time, and explore a place-based approach to climate change and models for community-led climate action.

The Chicago Environmental Justice Network (CEJN) works to promote environmental justice and equity in the Chicagoland area by bringing together neighborhood-based grassroots environmental organizations. EJN) is led by frontline, community-based organizations located on the south and west sides of Chicago. Led mostly by women of color, these organizations serve communities that face severe environmental and health disparities due to the close proximity of residential areas near sources of pollution.

The Chicagoland Environmental Network (CEN), a group of more than 240 environmental and natural resource organizations, can get you connected. CEN is a resource for anyone interested in nature or conservation-related activities in northeastern Illinois and surrounding areas. CEN organizations are involved in important work, including habitat restoration; wetland, prairie, and watershed projects; urban gardening; energy conservation; composting, wildlife conservation; and recycling.

The Chicago Wilderness Alliance  is a regional collaborative of hundreds of partner organizations and individuals working to implement landscape-scale approaches to conservation in and around the southern shores of Lake Michigan. They bring leaders, experts, and mid-career and young-career conservation professionals together to share diverse voices and perspectives and to work toward a common vision: creating and protecting a vibrant, accessible region where people and nature thrive. 

Elevated Chicago is a space for collaboration between a diverse group of community members and leaders including Chicago residents, regional nonprofits, activists, city officials, and policymakers. The organization places values on racial equity, climate resilience, public health, and culture in order to create a more sustainable and equitable Chicago. 

For nearly 30 years, Energy Foundation has supported grantees to help educate policymakers and the general public about the benefits of a clean energy economy that benefits everyone. We cultivate networks of diverse allies who work to deliver long-term results, making progress where others have not. Our grantees include business, health, environmental, labor, equity, community, faith, and consumer groups, as well as policy experts, think tanks, universities, and more.

Faith in Place Green Teams are groups of 3 or more people from a House of Worship who provide cooperative leadership to educate, connect, and advocate for healthier communities.  The teams meet regularly to connect your faith community’s spiritual practices and traditions with solutions for climate change and other environmental justice issues. Green Teams educate their members, motivate their faith community to incorporate environmental consciousness into all activities and celebrate accomplishments. Some topics green teams tackle include climate change, energy, environmental advocacy, youth empowerment, flooding prevention, and sustainable food and land use. 

The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation supports innovative and inclusive organizations and programs that advance land conservation across the greater Chicago region, with emphasis on four key themes: protection and stewardship of natural and working lands; climate resiliency; advocacy; and benefits to diverse communities throughout the region.

Greencorps Chicago is the City of Chicago’s green-industry employment program with on-the-job training for individuals with barriers to employment. Greencorps Chicago promotes environmental stewardship and improves the quality of life in Chicago by establishing, maintaining and restoring natural and public spaces that are safe, healthy, and sustainable through hands-on involvement with program participants.

The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition (ICJC) is made up of hundreds of environmental advocacy organizations, businesses, community leaders, consumer advocates, environmental justice groups, and faith-based and student organizations working together to improve public health and the environment, protect consumers, and create equitable, clean jobs across the state.

Illinois Green Alliance is a membership-driven nonprofit that works collaboratively to promote green buildings and sustainable communities for all. The organization’s network of sustainability professionals believes green buildings are important to improving the quality of life for everyone in Illinois. 

Illinois Green’s 2021–2025 strategy sets a plan for making net zero buildings feasible, affordable, and so commonplace that every building in Illinois by 2050 is net zero. By educating professionals, removing barriers, and collaborating with communities, Illinois Green will demonstrate that net zero is the bold solution for every building type.

For more than two decades, the Joyce Foundation has been a leading foundation funder of policy work related to the Great Lakes. They are working to address three of the region’s critical long-term environmental challenges: climate change, the safety and accessibility of the water we drink and the health of the Great Lakes. To respond to these challenges, Joyce will support efforts to put Great Lakes states on a path to achieve just, equitable, carbon-free electric power systems by 2040. We will also seek to ensure all people in the Great Lakes region have clean water from lake to tap by supporting policy to address threats, improve infrastructure, and remedy water disparities in communities of color.