Climate change is a threat to the very future of humanity. Its consequences grow more apparent even as many ignore both the evidence before their eyes and the scientific consensus that calls on all of us to act. In 2016 the world community reached an agreement in Paris that set targets for greenhouse gas reductions to limit global temperature rise to less than two degrees Celsius. The United States government turned its back on that accord for four years, rejoined in early 2021, and withdrew again in 2025. In response to the interruption, many states, cities, businesses and foundations—including The George Gund Foundation—asserted their commitment to the Paris goals and took action to help achieve them. Even if the Paris targets are achieved, however, human activity already has triggered a chain of damaging climate change and environmental degradation. Adaptation to these consequences is a growing need, and it is increasingly apparent that those who suffer first and foremost will disproportionately be people of color who live in more vulnerable locations and the poor who have fewer resources to adapt. Collective action across all sectors is required to meet these challenges.

Inequality is a worldwide issue and its American dimensions pose grave societal questions. Can the American dream of upward mobility survive in an economy that distributes benefits so unequally? How does the concentration of wealth at the top affect our capacity for justice and the effectiveness of our politics? Can we finally overcome the deep-rooted racial aspect of inequality that is so conspicuous in America, repair the enduring damage of slavery and undo the countless actions, decisions and policies throughout our country’s history that have embedded racial inequity into nearly all societal systems? Cleveland has its own distinct version of this history and the racial dimension of inequality is present in nearly every community issue. Likewise, issues of justice for women, the LGBTQI community, people who are disabled, immigrants, refugees and others have become more prominent in recent years. The George Gund Foundation supports targeted groups as public discussion increasingly highlights them, and especially when they are attacked with language that is xenophobic and coarse.

The effectiveness of government and the democratic processes that give it legitimacy have been eroded by both foreign and domestic attacks. These include international interference with our elections, state-by-state efforts to restrict voting under the guise of preventing fraud, general apathy that has depressed voting turnout and the corrosive effect on our politics of vast amounts of money from secret sources. These distortions call into question both the government’s willingness and ability to tackle issues such as racial inequality and climate change. And the corrosion of democracy extends beyond the walls of government. Free and robust media, already unsettled by changing technology and business models, have been under unprecedented assault, damaging our country’s ability to reach the shared understanding of issues so necessary to a functioning democracy. This lack of common ground has contributed to a broader decline of social cohesion and public participation in many aspects of community life. We support renewed civic engagement and democracy because they are essential to moving forward.