Love Letter to the Hive

Photo credit: Hasain Rasheed Photography

A farewell message from Hive Fund Co-Director Erin Rogers

When I announced in September that, after six years co-directing the Hive Fund, I would be transitioning out at the end of this year, I was humbled by the outpouring of support I received. As my departure approaches, I wanted to share one last note about how much this extended community has meant to me: a love letter to the hive. 

Our intentionally collaborative hive was born out of many conversations among activists and funders who wanted to shake up the systems at the root of the climate crisis. We wanted to put people, in their full selves, at the center of this work in ways that move us toward climate justice and a more representative democracy. I’m very proud that we’ve been able to move more than $120 million to groups doing just that, and have helped unlock more power, innovation, and progress than I could have imagined. 

We deliberately focused on the “hard places” across the US South that many funders had written off — like Texas and Louisiana, the belly of the oil and gas beast; and Georgia and North Carolina, where dirty utilities have a stranglehold on democracy. These four states alone produce nearly a quarter of the country’s climate pollution and export more gas than anywhere else on Earth. Yet groups there were receiving pennies on the dollar compared to climate groups in other parts of the country. 

We prioritized grantee partners in Black, Brown, Indigenous, and low-wealth communities — communities bearing the brunt of polluting industries and systemic disinvestment, and also leading the way toward transformative solutions. By listening deeply to these leaders, we learned a lot about love. The fierce kind of love that fuels you to show up, to be courageous, and to act, even in the face of overwhelming odds. We co-created strategy with these partners fighting for families, health, community, culture, and basic human rights. 

Thanks to more than 60 funding partners, we’ve been able to support more than 150 groups implementing these strategies, many of whom had never gotten a general support grant or a multiyear grant before. With increased stability and capacity, they are stopping dirty energy permits, building community solar on rural farms and in urban neighborhoods, turning out voters for critical local elections, starting and growing green banks, getting global insurance companies to drop policies for polluting projects, and much more. Maybe most importantly, they are making space for joy and building power, community, belonging, love, and a shared belief that we deserve better. 

We deserve better. That is the belief — the knowledge — at the root of our collective power.  

I'm profoundly grateful that together, as part of this big, buzzing hive, we are flexing that power to create a cleaner, more just, caring, and cohesive society — not as a distant possibility, but as a lived reality. 

I cannot share enough gratitude for Melanie Allen, my partner in purpose. Her principled commitment to justice and to the relational infrastructure it takes to get there, her grace and warmth, and her visionary leadership have deeply impacted not only me, but our entire field. Working with our stellar staff, advisory board members, grantee partners, funders, and so many allies as part of this extended hive has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. 

I take comfort knowing the choir keeps singing, even as one voice pauses to take a breath. In the months ahead, I’ll be doing just that — traveling, making art, and being in nature. As I rejoin our movement choir, I’m excited about the ways in which economic justice efforts, power building and democracy work, and the climate justice field continue to evolve and intersect. Thank you to everyone who has generously offered support and ideas for what comes next.

With much love,  

Erin Rogers