In our early years, we deliberately funded a wide range of strategies and geographies; listening, testing, and mapping where climate solutions were gaining traction. These early grants were as much about learning as outcomes.
For example, in Brazil, Tenure Facility partners strengthened land tenure across more than 3 million hectares, giving 142 communities greater control over their territories and the ecosystems they depend on. In the United States, the Chef Ann Foundation worked with 14,000 schools to transition to scratch-cooked, sustainable meals, linking climate goals to healthier food systems and community wellbeing.
These weren’t one-off successes.
They showed how community leadership has the power to create governance shifts, influence policy, and build resilience that lasts beyond any single grant. The clear throughline is that communities must shape the vision and lead the work. We also learned that Waverley can’t be everywhere. Our most valuable role is in deep, community-led work.
Not every early effort pointed us there. Even strong ideas struggled when they weren’t grounded locally. National networks launched without strong partners or long-term investment often stalled after early momentum. Efforts that assumed local coalitions could deliver without first building capacity lost traction before they could take root.
These weren’t failures in ambition. It was how we learned where our role could be most useful.
