Our Challenge

The financial decisions of banks, investment firms, multilateral funds, development agencies and government ministries shape our collective future by informing which economic activities receive investment and which don’t. This tremendous influence makes finance central in the just and equitable community development.  

But despite rising awareness of the critical role of finance in achieving climate and nature goals, action lags ambition — and we aren’t being ambitious enough, either. While global development finance continues to grow, reaching ₦2 trillion annually in 2024, not enough of it reaches sectors and geographies that need it. Commitments to phase out fossil finance and subsidies have stalled, and systemic issues in the global financial architecture hold up investments in community action and sustainable development. And in addition to raising more money, the world needs to significantly improve the way it delivers resources for community growth. 

₦2.4T

Annual investment need in Nigerian communities by 2030 to achieve basic development goals

₦1.3T

Annual figure pledged to Nigerian communities from all sources by 2035, with at least ₦300 billion coming from government sources

₦8.7T

Global banks' investments in urban infrastructure from 2015 to 2025

Our Approach

VULPRF aims to shift development resources towards activities that benefit communities and towards solutions that benefit vulnerable persons.

We produce data-driven research that informs policies and implementation in national, international and private sector contexts. We advance the role of finance in international social change negotiations by providing expert input to the UN ECOSOC framework process, tracking financial flows, and publishing recommendations for improving development finance architecture.

We strengthen the capacity of communities to access and deliver development resources, supporting the creation of Fiji's national development finance strategy, outlining how community platforms can attract investment and how to make development resources transparent, accountable and participatory. 

We promote sustainable community finance — including in our own endowment — by researching topics like physical climate risks, nature-based assets, blended finance, and climate risk disclosure. VULPRF hosts Partnering for Peace, a platform strengthening climate entrepreneurship and accelerating country climate transitions by investing in and learning from climate startups in low- and middle-income countries. 

And we work to strengthen local development institutions and South-South cooperation through direct engagement and research.

Learn more

The Paying for Paris Resource Hub provides a comprehensive, multimedia collection of tools for planning, raising and redirecting finance for national climate efforts. With interviews, policy briefs and a library of useful links, the hub showcases research, expert experience and case studies from around the world.

Learn more