2026 Action Learning Lab on
Climate & Environmental Philanthropy
A nine-month global learning journey
to experiment with new ways of resourcing community-led climate action
Philanthropy Dialoguesand WINGS invite you to apply to join the 2026 Action Learning Lab, a collaborative space where actors across the philanthropic ecosystem experiment together with new approaches to power, trust, and resourcing.
This Lab is designed for organisations already navigating real questions about how to support community-led climate and environmental action in more equitable and effective ways.
The Action Learning Lab is guided by one central question:
For communities to exercise greater leadership and agency, what evolutions in philanthropic practice, resourcing, and ways of working are necessary?
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Apply to join the Lab by Friday 17th April 2026
If you have any questions
write to us at
philanthropydialogues@gmail.com
Why this Lab
Within the philanthropic ecosystem, decision-making power and control over resources often remain far removed from the communities most affected.
“We believe that strengthening community-led climate action requires not only new tools, but new relationships and new ways of practicing philanthropy together.”
Rather than discussing this question in theory, we invite you to explore it by giving space to the real experiments and institutional dilemmas you are currently navigating.
What is the Action Learning Lab?
The Lab provides a safe-to-fail and brave learning space where organisations can reflect on these challenges together, receive ecosystem feedback and learning accompaniment, and strengthen their ability to lead meaningful change.
In this nine-month collaborative learning journey, we bring together 18 actors across Latin America, Africa, and Asia, including:
- Grassroots organisations and movements
- Locally-led philanthropic intermediaries
- Funders and philanthropic actors
Participants bring live experiments or institutional dilemmas related to:
- resource flows
- decision-making power
- accountability
- relationships between funders, intermediaries, and communities.
What you will experience
The Lab is structured as a nine-month process. It includes a global opening gathering, one regional cohort meeting, six triad learning accompaniment sessions, a regional harvesting session, and a final global reflection gathering.
The triads form the core of the experience. Each triad includes one community-rooted movement, one locally led partner carrying out intermediary functions, and one funder. These sessions create an intimate space for participants to workshop real organizational challenges and receive feedback from peers who sit in different positions within the ecosystem.
Between sessions, participants are encouraged to bring insights back into their organizations and teams so they can refine their experiments, address dilemmas, and test new ways of working.
Who this Lab is for
This Lab is designed for organisations that are already experimenting with change.
Participants may include:
- A locally-led organisation navigating growth while maintaining community roots
- A local fund experimenting with participatory grantmaking
- A funder shifting internal culture toward trust-based practice
- A locally-led organisation carrying out intermediary functions and redefining its role between movements and philanthropy
- A representative from a collective or social movement that is looking to shift more resources into the wider local ecosystem
Participants do not need perfect models or ready solutions.
Instead, they bring:
- curiosity and openness to learn
- real questions and tensions
- willingness to take risks and learn from failure
- commitment to exploring power, relationships, and institutional change.
Commitment
Participants will participate in ten online sessions, and commit approximately 4–5 hours per month, from May 2026 to January 2027.
Each participating organisation designates:
- One primary participant directly engaged in the experiment or dilemma
- One internal sounding board to support learning integration within the organisation
To support equitable participation:
- Grassroots and other locally-led partners will receive a solidarity stipend of x in recognition of their time, labor, and contribution
- Partners with greater institutional resources are warmly invited to participate in the spirit of solidarity by making a voluntary contribution to the program. These contributions help sustain the Lab and support broader, more equitable participation across the cohort.
Key Dates & Timeline
The 2026 Action Learning Lab runs from May 2026 to January 2027.
Information Webinar – Monday, 13th April 2026 at 13:00 UTC
Application deadline – Friday,17th April 2026 at 17:00 UTC
Participant selection & onboarding – Thursday, 30th April 2026
First Global Gathering (Lab Opening) – Thursday, May 7th 2026 – 13:00 to 15.00 UTC
First Regional Gathering – Tuesday, May 26th 2026 – Time TBD by each region
Triad learning sessions
June – November 2026
Six small-group sessions where participants work through real experiments and dilemmas. Dates and time to be determined by each triad.
Second Regional Gathering – Monday, 7th December 2026, Time TBD by each region
Closing Global Gathering: Final reflection and harvesting – Thursday, January 21st 2027 – 13:00 – 15.00 UTC
Beyond the cohort
The Action Learning Lab is embedded within a broader ecosystem of learning. Insights from the Lab will be shared through:
- stories and reflections
- in-depth case studies
- connections with the WINGS regional and global Movement Funding Ecosystem Community of Practice.
These communities reach over 250 philanthropic actors globally directly, and 100,000 people through their wider networks, helping Lab insights travel beyond the cohort and inform wider shifts in philanthropic practice.