2026 Impact Report
185 chapters. 46 countries. One year.
Six years ago, Climate Cardinals began with a Google Form and a simple belief: the language you speak should not determine whether you can protect your home. Our 2026 Impact Report shows how far that belief reached this year, and what we learned on the way.
Out now
The year in numbers
Inside the report
Four parts, from why language is a climate barrier to how we spend every dollar.
Part one
Our Foundation
A letter from our leadership, why Climate Cardinals exists, our mission and values, 2026 at a glance, and our program dashboard.
Part two
Our Programs
Translations, Chapters, the Fellowship and the Innovation Lab, with chapter spotlights from Nepal to Peru.
Part three
Thought Leadership
Our white papers on language access and climate philanthropy, the convenings where we brought them, and this year's recognition.
Part four
Operations & Growth
Our team, finances, how we measure and govern ourselves, independence, what did not work, 2027, and our key documents.
Where our chapters work
185 chapters in 46 countries. Here are four of them.
“After joining Climate Cardinals, I can describe myself as a good leader. Not an excellent leader, but a trying-my-best-to-be-good leader.”
What did not work
We publish what broke alongside what worked, so other youth-led organizations and nonprofits can skip the hard way.
Read all our lessons in the report → See our Fellowship screening code on GitHub →We outgrew our own goals
Fellowship applications reached 6,629 against a target of 1,000, so we built an AI-assisted pre-evaluation and published it on GitHub. Years of volunteer-led growth left gaps in our baseline data; reliable metrics are a priority for 2027.
Translation delays
Our move to Phrase took longer than planned and kept us short of our 1 million-word goal. We built capacity for 2.5 million words a year, the technical issues are fixed, and translator recruitment is reopening.
Our funding is concentrated
Two major funders account for most of our budget. In 2027, we aim to widen our base of multi-year grantmakers and move stipended roles into paid part-time positions.
Our focus for 2027: implementation.
We are raising $3.5 million over three years to fund our programs, competitive pay and benefits, and our independence, and have raised $850,000 so far. Because we have standardized our work, $1.2 million a year will ensure language barriers do not stand in the way of local resilience.
- Reach 200 active, verified chapters and grant to chapters every quarter
- Grow translation toward 2.5 million words a year on our new platform
- Publish two new white papers and grow the Impact Collective to 10 members
- Complete our independence by June 2027
runs one chapter for a year
supports one fellow, stipend included
translates one word at full capacity