A year of impact
MESSAGE FROM THE FOUNDER
At the Clara Lionel Foundation, everything starts with community. What I know for sure is that when local leaders are trusted, resourced, and given the space to shape their own futures, extraordinary possibilities emerge.
That belief guided us through every moment last year. In 2025, we showed up for communities in crisis, from LA to Jamaica and beyond, while building solutions to help them stand strong before the next crisis hits. We went deeper with our partners and kept listening to the people who are closest to both the challenges and the solutions, because that’s where game-changing ideas live.
None of this happens without collaboration, creativity, and genuine care. It’s built by our partners, our team, and the communities we live alongside every single day.
Innovation isn’t selective: it’s inclusive. And so is this work.
Thank you for being part of it.
With love and gratitude,
ROBYN RIHANNA FENTY
Founder, Clara Lionel Foundation
LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & BOARD PRESIDENT
Dear Friends and Partners,
In many ways, 2025 marked an important evolution for CLF—a year where longstanding commitments deepened, and new opportunities for impact took shape.
Two initiatives stood out in particular: our work with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to support Pockets of Hope in Haiti, and our collaboration with the Mellon Foundation to launch Ripple Effect, an initiative investing in Caribbean artists and cultural institutions. Together, these efforts expanded the reach of our work while reinforcing the importance of investing in local leadership, creativity, and long-term resilience.
2025 also marked a meaningful milestone for CLF internally as we convened our partners together for the first time in Barbados. Bringing organizations from across the Caribbean and the U.S. South into one shared space created opportunities for connection, learning, and collaboration that will continue far beyond the convening itself.
Throughout 2025, communities faced significant climate-related events—from the LA wildfires early in the year to Hurricane Melissa in the Caribbean later in the fall. These moments underscored the importance of preparedness, trusted local partnerships, and sustained investment in resilience before crises occur.
Across every pillar of our work, we remained focused on supporting the people and organizations building lasting change in their communities every day.
We are deeply grateful to our partners, supporters, and communities who continue to shape this work with us. Together, we are building a future grounded in partnership, creativity, and collective possibility.
2025 BY THE NUMBERS
$5.2M
4.7M
$7.25
1,300+
2025 / OUR WORK IN ACTION
ARTS & CULTURE
Caribbean artists have shaped global culture for generations. In 2025, CLF deepened its investment in the creative communities and institutions helping shape what comes next.
RIPPLE EFFECT
In partnership with the Mellon Foundation, CLF launched The Ripple Effect—a major initiative supporting Caribbean artists, institutions, and cultural ecosystems across Barbados and the wider region.
The initiative provides direct funding, artist fellowships, and institutional support designed to strengthen creative infrastructure while expanding global visibility for Caribbean artists.
Fresh Milk Barbados (Saint George, Barbados)
Operation Triple Threat (Bridgetown, Barbados)
Pinelands Creative Workshop (Bridgetown, Barbados)
The Ripple Effect introduced CLF's first cohort of Artist Fellows—four creatives whose work spans themes at the heart of CLF's mission. Meet the 2025 fellows:
Through their work exploring climate, identity, health, and collective memory, these artists demonstrate that creativity and social change are deeply connected.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Fresh Milk Barbados—Bridgetown, Barbados
Fresh Milk Barbados served as both the anchor and curator for The Ripple Effect— expanding its capacity to support artists through residencies, mentorship, and public engagement, while curating the initiative's signature exhibition in Bridgetown. The exhibition brought together works from CLF artist fellows and the broader Barbadian creative community, drawing themes of climate resilience, health, and cultural identity into conversation. It was open to everyone. That access—art as a shared public resource—is central to Fresh Milk's mission, and to CLF's vision for what a thriving Caribbean creative ecosystem looks like.
CLIMATE SOLUTIONS
Communities are already living with the realities of climate change — stronger storms, rising temperatures, flooding, and increasing uncertainty. In 2025, CLF worked alongside trusted local partners to support both immediate response efforts and long-term resilience strategies designed to help communities adapt and thrive.
When wildfires swept through Los Angeles in early 2025, community organizations stepped in immediately — organizing resources, supporting families, and helping neighborhoods begin to recover.
More than a year later, these organizations continue to serve as trusted anchors within their communities—demonstrating the power of locally rooted leadership in moments of crisis and recovery.
Sustaining Recovery Beyond the Headlines
In 2025, CLF continued to invest in hurricane recovery across the Caribbean and the U.S. South, extending assistance to partners affected by Hurricane Helene and reaffirming its commitment to long-term recovery beyond the immediate response.
Rebuild & Reimagine Fund
After Hurricane Melissa swept across Jamaica, Haiti, and the wider Caribbean in late 2025, CLF launched the Rebuild & Reimagine Fund to support recovery efforts shaped by the communities themselves.
Health Access: Launch of the Caribbean's first solar-powered mobile health clinic in St. Vincent and the Grenadines to expand year-round access to healthcare in underserved communities and rapidly deploy routine care following disasters to address surge healthcare needs.
Water Security: Innovative off-grid water systems that produce clean drinking water in compostable, plant-based bottles when traditional infrastructure is disrupted following hurricanes and other disasters.
Resilient Education Infrastructure: Reconstruction and strengthening of public schools damaged by disasters – through resilient design, schools can serve as both centers of learning and Category 5 hurricane-resistant community shelters.
Rebuild & Reimagine Fund 2025 Anchor Partners
Breds Treasure Beach Foundation
Liberty Caribbean Foundation
Industrial and Marine Services Ltd
The Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
Hopewell Primary School
St. Elizabeth, Jamaica
The project includes storm-resistant infrastructure, reliable electricity, and clean water access—resources that support students and educators every day while also serving as critical emergency infrastructure during climate events.
Developed in collaboration with local stakeholders and aligned with Jamaica’s national disaster preparedness systems, Hopewell reflects CLF’s broader vision for resilience: infrastructure that strengthens communities in both ordinary and extraordinary times.
As work continues, Hopewell Primary School is emerging as a model for how schools across the region can serve as both centers of learning and pillars of community resilience.
In 2025, CLF launched a major investment at Hopewell Primary School in Jamaica — transforming the site into both a thriving learning environment and a designated hurricane shelter for the surrounding rural community.
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KNOWLEDGE & LEARNING
Between 2021 and 2025, CLF deployed over $27 million to 39 partners advancing climate resilience, reaching more than 2.8 million people through clean energy, health systems, environmental justice, and community organizing.
CLF published a five-year Climate Solutions Knowledge Brief reflecting on investments across the Caribbean and the U.S.
Flexible funding gives communities room to adapt and respond as conditions evolve.
Locally rooted solutions create more equitable and durable outcomes.
Investments in healthcare, food systems, infrastructure, and local leadership strengthen both everyday life and help them respond more effectively when disasters strike.
FUTURE GENERATIONS
Across the Caribbean, students are already shaping the future of the region—in medicine, science, public health, and climate leadership.
CLF Scholarship Program
In 2025, CLF awarded scholarships to three exceptional students:
Tamya Bowen
Tamya manages the full weight of medical school while staying engaged in her community—volunteering at health screenings and first aid events. She describes the CLF scholarship as something that expanded her world, creating recognition and opportunity beyond just the financial support.
"The CLF scholarship has not only supported my academic journey financially but also opened opportunities for me to be recognized, whether it is at school or from local youth-led groups and organizations."
Jameka Beckles
Jameka is training to become a physician at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. Before the demands of medical school are even finished, she is already giving back to her community by leading student health outreach programs and volunteering to provide free blood pressure screenings. The CLF scholarship gave her something practical: financial support and the mental space to fully focus on her training.
"Receiving the CLF-funded scholarship made a large difference in my life, both academically and personally. It gave me not only financial relief, but also peace of mind and the freedom to dedicate more time to my studies, my patients, and my growth as a future clinician."
Micah Morgan
Micah is studying Environmental Chemistry with a focus on climate solutions—a field the Caribbean needs urgently. He has navigated new environments with resilience, stepped into leadership within the Barbados Students Association, and begun to build the confidence that marks a scholar realizing their potential. When the CLF team visited Jamaica and took the time to meet him for breakfast, Micah said it simply: the foundation cares.
"The CLF scholarship has made a meaningful difference in my life by providing financial support and giving me the confidence to keep striving toward my goals. Knowing that the foundation believes in my potential motivates me to continue improving myself academically and personally."
Tamya Bowen
Tamya manages the full weight of medical school while staying engaged in her community—volunteering at health screenings and first aid events. She describes the CLF scholarship as something that expanded her world, creating recognition and opportunity beyond just the financial support.
"The CLF scholarship has not only supported my academic journey financially but also opened opportunities for me to be recognized, whether it is at school or from local youth-led groups and organizations."
Jameka Beckles
Jameka is training to become a physician at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill. Before the demands of medical school are even finished, she is already giving back to her community by leading student health outreach programs and volunteering to provide free blood pressure screenings. The CLF scholarship gave her something practical: financial support and the mental space to fully focus on her training.
"Receiving the CLF-funded scholarship made a large difference in my life, both academically and personally. It gave me not only financial relief, but also peace of mind and the freedom to dedicate more time to my studies, my patients, and my growth as a future clinician."
Micah Morgan
Micah is studying Environmental Chemistry with a focus on climate solutions—a field the Caribbean needs urgently. He has navigated new environments with resilience, stepped into leadership within the Barbados Students Association, and begun to build the confidence that marks a scholar realizing their potential. When the CLF team visited Jamaica and took the time to meet him for breakfast, Micah said it simply: the foundation cares.
"The CLF scholarship has made a meaningful difference in my life by providing financial support and giving me the confidence to keep striving toward my goals. Knowing that the foundation believes in my potential motivates me to continue improving myself academically and personally."
HEALTH ACCESS & EQUITY
Across the Caribbean and the U.S. South, too many people still struggle to access quality healthcare because of where they live, limited infrastructure, and longstanding inequities. In 2025, CLF invested in healthcare models that meet people where they are—bringing care directly to those who have historically faced barriers to access.
THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN'S FIRST SOLAR-POWERED MOBILE CLINIC
In partnership with the St. Vincent Planned Parenthood Association, CLF supported the launch of the Eastern Caribbean’s first solar-powered mobile health clinic. Designed to reach all 101,000 residents across St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the clinic delivers primary care, STI testing, health screenings, and reproductive healthcare to rural and underserved communities. Built to navigate mountainous terrain and travel between islands by ferry, the clinic became an especially critical resource following Hurricane Beryl, serving communities still recovering from the storm.
Over a year after launch, the clinic has allowed SVPPA to reach over 25% more residents than the previous year across SVG — demonstrating what's possible when health infrastructure is designed for the realities communities face.
Together with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, CLF announced a joint $1.5 million investment in Pockets of Hope—a multi-partner initiative supporting Haitian-led solutions for children, families, and communities.
The initiative reflects a shared belief that lasting change in Haiti must be shaped and led by Haitian communities themselves.
Across the country, women-led organizations are expanding access to education and early childhood development, farmers’ cooperatives are rebuilding food systems, and youth-led movements are creating new civic pathways.
INDIGENOUS HEALTH INITIATIVE
In 2025, CLF launched its first Indigenous Health Solutions cohort—supporting organizations advancing healing practices rooted in land, culture, food systems, and intergenerational knowledge.
From Dominica to South Carolina, these partners are preserving and expanding traditions that have supported community wellbeing for generations.
Partners were selected through a participatory grantmaking process designed to shift decision-making power directly into the hands of communities themselves.
The 2025 Indigenous Health Solutions partners:
Kalinago Council—Dominica
Fancy Primary School Community Garden—St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Tamukke Feminists—Guyana
Helen's Daughters × Mount Kailash Herbal School—St. Lucia / Regional
Grown in Haiti × AgraNatif—Haiti
Centro de Saberes Ancestrales del Caribe x Taino Studies—Dominican Republic / Regional
The Beloved Early Education and Care Collective (BEE Collective)—South Carolina
Caribbean Yard Campus—Regional
Ancestral practices are living knowledge systems—and CLF is proud to support the communities carrying them forward.
WOMEN’S ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Across the U.S. South, women entrepreneurs are creating businesses, jobs, and economic opportunity, yet many still lack access to the capital, networks, and business support they need to grow.
In 2025, CLF launched its Women's Entrepreneurship initiative in the U.S. South, drawing on lessons from the Caribbean to invest in women as drivers of economic growth, innovation, and resilient local economies.
U.S. SOUTH INITIATIVE
The U.S. South is one of the country's fastest-growing economic regions. Yet despite its economic importance, the region remains chronically underinvested by philanthropy—particularly Black and Indigenous women entrepreneurs, who continue to face significant barriers to capital, business support, and networks.
CLF’s first phase of investment focused on entrepreneurship support for organizations across South Carolina. These trusted local partners provide the training, mentorship, networks, and access to capital that help women entrepreneurs start, grow, and sustain their businesses.
These investments are about more than business development - they create jobs, preserve cultural traditions, and strengthen local economies.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT
BLACQUITY
Beaufort County, South Carolina
Located in the heart of Gullah Geechee territory, Beaufort County is home to one of the country’s most culturally significant African American communities — and one that has historically been underinvested.
CLF partnered with BlacQuity, an entrepreneurship support organization rooted deeply in the community. Through business training, mentorship, and community programming, BlacQuity equips women entrepreneurs with the tools, relationships, and visibility needed to grow sustainable businesses.
Just as importantly, the organization helps entrepreneurs expand opportunity without leaving behind the communities they are building for.
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GATHER
Led by a team of African women, CLF’s Gather Initiative backs climate-smart companies that increase the income and assets for African girls and women. It focuses on agriculture, construction, education, and technology.
In 2025, Gather delivered a strong portfolio performance. It’s portfolio companies increased the number of women and girls served and more than doubled its initial projections.
Gather continued its success by actively supporting its priority programs, while successfully exiting Mobility for Africa (Zimbabwe). In addition, Gather both strengthened and anchored the resilience of its portfolio through new ventures: AkiraChix (Kenya) and BuildHer (Kenya).
The initiative’s key outcomes spanned from achieving fundraising goals for Metis, to extending Kubik’s operational runway, to implementing a student safeguard strategy for Loropio Girls Senior High School. It also exemplified outstanding leadership of a catalytic bridge round for Giraffe Bioenergy.
BUILDING TOGETHER
INAUGURAL GRANTEE PARTNER CONVENING
BARBADOS, 2025
In August, CLF hosted its first-ever grantee partner convening in Barbados, bringing together more than 20 organizations from across the Caribbean and U.S. South alongside foundation partners like Mellon Foundation and the Kellogg Foundation.
The gathering created space for connection, learning, and exchange across sectors and geographies. Organizations working on climate resilience, public health, entrepreneurship, education, and cultural preservation shared ideas, explored common challenges, and built new relationships rooted in shared purpose.
The convening marked an important step in strengthening a growing network of partners committed to community-led change.
THE CLF COMMITMENT
CLF's commitment extends beyond funding. We invest in the relationships and networks that help organizations grow, learn from one another, and increase their impact over time.
The Barbados convening reflected that commitment, bringing partners together from across the Caribbean and the U.S. South and East Africa to exchange ideas, build relationships, and identify new opportunities for collaboration. These connections open doors to new funding, strategic partnerships, and greater impact.
STEWARDING FOR THE FUTURE
In 2025, one thing became increasingly clear: lasting change happens when communities have the resources, trust, and flexibility to lead.
As CLF looks ahead to 2026, three priorities will continue shaping our work:
Scaling Impact With Partners: CLF will continue connecting partners to share ideas, learn from one another, and build relationships that strengthen communities.
Amplifying Creative Voices: Building on the success of The Ripple Effect, CLF will continue investing in artists and cultural institutions, shaping conversations across the Caribbean and beyond.
Strengthening Pathways to Growth: From climate solutions to mobile healthcare and food sovereignty, CLF will continue investing at pivotal moments in a partner’s journey while connecting to new partnerships, opportunities, and additional funding opportunities.
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