Climate change is affecting people in real ways every day. Extreme weather, high heat, air pollution and floods are impacting our health and well-being more and more each day. While we are all affected, risks are greater for low-wealth communities and communities of color.

Stemming from the belief that climate change is one of the greatest threats to our nation’s health, prosperity, and safety, Kresge’s Environment and Health Programs collaborated to create the Climate Change, Health & Equity (CCHE) initiative in 2019. While CCHE was the foundation’s first formal initiative, this effort was built upon years of work at the intersection of climate change and public health.

The initial phase of the CCHE initiative from 2019 to 2024 was structured around three key strategies: supporting community advocacy, building capacity in health systems and activating health practitioners. 

The second phase of Kresge’s Climate Change, Health & Equity Initiative, launched in 2025, builds on its initial five-year, $30 million effort to address climate change and protect people’s health. 

CCHE aims to strengthen a unified movement for climate justice and health equity by advancing community-driven solutions and national movements through a network of community-based organizations, health institutions, public health departments and health practitioners. 

With an expanded focus on Kresge’s priority cities – Detroit, Fresno, Memphis and New Orleans – in partnership with Kresge’s American Cities, Arts & Culture and Detroit programs, the current initiative also elevates cultural and creative strategies as key tools in advancing community-driven solutions.

CCHE currently includes two strategies that are designed to reinforce each other. Together, these complementary strategies create a powerful framework that honors community leadership while leveraging the expertise and influence of national organizations to drive transformative change.

Community-Based Solutions: We advance place-based, community-driven climate solutions to improve climate, health and equity outcomes for low-wealth communities and communities of color. This approach focuses on amplifying community voices in climate action and strengthening the leadership and power of community-based advocates to advance climate interventions at the local, regional and state levels.

National Movement Building: We mobilize national health institutions and health practitioners to support place-based, community-driven solutions while building a stronger field of practice among health care and public health professionals. This strategy works to deepen partnerships between health professionals and community-based organizations, creating more effective place-based approaches that improve climate, health and equity outcomes for low-wealth communities and communities of color.

The most effective solutions are designed and implemented by those who know their communities best. Working together, we can ensure that all people—no matter who they are or where they live—have the opportunity to be healthy and thrive.