Rhonda Bannard believes women are the changemakers for climate action and Mother Earth

Yahoo

04-05-2025

This is part of a monthly series highlighting Arizona's climate leaders and answering readers' climate-related questions. The stories, which appear in print and online the first Sunday of the month, aim to help to connect and inspire Arizonans who care about protecting a livable climate and may be struggling to find hope in that effort lately. You can nominate an unsung Arizona climate leader for a story or ask a question by filling out the form at https://forms.gle/QCCxBPSHGy1bUJQ99 or by emailing climate reporter Joan Meiners at [e-mail].
Less guru, more Velcro and glue.
That's how Rhonda Bannard sees her role in the environmental movement. As a mom, businesswoman, former media professional and "just an average, everyday person," she tries to bring her innovative thinking and networking skills to the table to build community and a better world.
She doesn't have a degree in climate or environmental science. She "just wants to help people find one another and work together to drive solutions forward."
Bannard has spent her career doing this mostly with other women.
For nearly 20 years, she's hosted a monthly "Inspired Women's Salon," gathering together members of her Phoenix networks to discuss topics like courage, equality and climate change. She's passionate about those issues. But she's perhaps most excited about the catalytic power of community.
"When I was divorced with two little kids and felt like I needed unity, what I valued most was meaningful conversation," Bannard said. "I'm not a small talker. I like deeper conversations. That's where I get energized, listening and learning from other women and seeing connections happen."
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She's known for that energy and real talk in her circles around Phoenix, and for using it to get things done.
Before COVID shut down in-person gatherings for a time, she had arranged for a speaker to come talk to her women's group about championing a cause. But at the last minute, the speaker sent an 18-year-old Arizona State University freshman instead. That student, Brian Macinas, an organizer with AZ Youth Climate Strike, spurred Bannard toward a new goal.
"He was so knowledgeable and so profound," Bannard said. "There's a few kids I've met over my lifetime, and thought 'I want to be like you when I grow up.'"
She ended up joining Macinas at some of the youth climate group gatherings and, before long, she found herself marching with them to the state capitol demanding climate action.
"And it was shortly after that I came back and said, 'What about a giving day for the environment?'" she said.
Bannard was the right woman for the job. With decades of experience working with nonprofits and being named to the inaugural "40 under 40 Leaders to Watch" list put out by the Phoenix Business Journal as part of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, she was savvy about fundraising. And as a former journalist who covered agriculture and civil rights in Mississippi after graduating from the University of Arizona, she also knew how to connect with people on important issues and get the message out.
In 2022, she launched the first giving day of her new nonprofit fundraising platform Earth Gives — the result of recognizing a gap in funding for climate action, where only 2% of philanthropy ends up going to organizations focused on climate solutions, despite much higher enthusiasm for this cause.
'The number one reason climate orgs only get 2% is that it's hard to tell the story if there's no immediate action," Bannard said. "If you're planting a tree, then you see a tree, but the work to absorb carbon and all that stuff is less visible and that's part of the reason why the funding is so low.'
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Animal rescues, wildlife protection efforts and some of the big household-name conservation groups siphon off a lot of the money people give to broad environment platforms, she said. It's a "very small nut" that's left over for climate-specific boots-on-the-ground work. She thinks there needs to be more direct support for addressing climate change.
So she put together the Earth Gives platform. Right now, it mostly functions to help donors find climate organizations to support during the main giving window, starting this year on Sep. 5 and leading up to "Earth Gives Day" on Oct. 7. Registration for nonprofits wanting to solicit donations is open now through Aug. 22.
But eventually she hopes to build Earth Gives to the point where she can employ an accountant year-round and seamlessly funnel donations to groups working on conservation issues, climate justice, biodiversity preservation, nature podcasts, documentaries and more.
'Then it would become the type of thing where you can discover organizations, you can find their events, you can sign up to volunteer," Bannard said. "It's another tool in their toolbox. I hope one day it really becomes the go-to place for everyone involved.'
In the meantime, Bannard is building the platform's offerings by hosting monthly Community Commons sessions for environmental nonprofits to convene and learn from one another about how to organize and tell their stories using tools like graphics and art.
She draws inspiration from the corporate social responsibility guidelines pioneered by Patagonia, a company leading the way on ethical and sustainable practices. She's been following "the Patagonia sensibility" of lifting each other up and recognizing shared responsibility to the planet and one another since getting involved with nonprofits decades ago. Capitalism doesn't have to just be about consumerism, and she hopes Earth Gives can show that.
'It's not just about a monetary transaction," she said. "It's actually a shift in how you show up in the world and how you exist and in all of your thinking.'
Bannard is also motivated by the work of other women, like those in her community salons, on behalf of the planet and future generations.
'The reason I'm doing this is because I'm a mom," she said. She has a 26-year-old daughter who studied biology at Northern Arizona University and a 24-year-old son who learned filmmaking skills at the University of Arizona that he now uses to help his mom edit her Earth Gives videos. "I'm very concerned about now and our future. I'm inspired by our youth and what we need to do together."
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Dads can be climate champions. The movement has Al Gore, she notes, and his Climate Reality project. But when you look around the climate nonprofit action space, it's made up of a lot of moms: groups like Science Moms and Mom's Clean Air Force fighting for a cleaner, better future with a more stabilized and livable climate.
'I believe women are the changemakers," she said. "When you want to get shit done, you call busy women and you make it happen. We're the protectors. I mean, the Earth is called 'Mother' for a reason. She's been taking care of us and we need to take care of her.'
In the end, what Bannard has learned most through all her community-building and nonprofit-activating, is that it's all about love.
"It's just always fascinating how these conversations go, and how it comes down to joy and love and community and bringing people together," she said. "I mean, that's what really fills my heart, connecting with people through words and meaningful moments. That's how you build and advance change in the world.'
Read our full climate series: The latest from Joan Meiners at azcentral: climate coverage from Arizona and the Southwest
Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Her award-winning work has also appeared in Discover Magazine, National Geographic, ProPublica and the Washington Post Magazine. Before becoming a journalist, she completed a doctorate in ecology. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles, on Bluesky @joanmeiners.bsky.social or email her at [e-mail].
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Rhonda Bannard believes in women, love and donating to climate causes