The Climate Democracy Initiative (CDI) is a Colorado based 501(c)(3)

nonprofit founded on an urgent truth: climate change is an environmental

crisis and a governance challenge. Nationwide, communities are navigating

rapid environmental, economic, and political change without sufficient

resources, representation, or institutional trust. CDI exists to address this

gap by supporting communities to reclaim decision-making power,

strengthen civic infrastructure, and build cross-generational leadership

capacity for sustainable futures.

Launched in 2022, CDI is guided by an engaged Board of Directors, an

active Senior Fellows cohort of five subject matter experts, an Advisory

Council that provides strategic guidance, and a full-time staff of four.

CDI advances its mission through collaborative community practice,

education, and narrative development. Its Community Visioning program

partners with rural, under-resourced, and environmental justice

communities to elevate local voices, align diverse stakeholders, and inform

economic development with locally generated climate solutions. This work

has engaged seven rural counties in Colorado and partnered internationally

with community-based organizations in Canada.

Through its K–12 youth leadership and educator support program,

ECLIPSE, CDI aligns civic education to locally relevant projects and

community partnerships, expanding youth leadership and cross-

generational collaboration. Most recently, the program supported

Colorado’s Pueblo District 60 and statewide homeschool collaboratives

through teacher training, student project activation, and community

ecosystem mapping.

In parallel, CDI strengthens the broader climate democracy ecosystem by

documenting local lessons, elevating community stories, participating in

national policy conversations, and sharing replicable practices that build

trust and democratic participation in community-led ways.